VACCINATIONS

One of the most important things that you can do to ensure your companion animal’s health is to vaccinate him or her for potentially deadly diseases. Vaccinations are safe, affective, and sometimes required by law. There are core and non-core vaccines available. Core vaccines are the most common recommended inoculations for all dogs and cats in the United States. Non-core vaccines are recommended depending on the patient, area, and exposure risk. Here are a few guidelines and important information to consider when vaccinating your companion animal.

Dogs
AAH guideline -> DHPP, Rabies, and Bordatella are highly recommended.

DHPP – This is a core vaccine and it protects against four of the most deadly viruses that can affect a dog. “D” is for Distemper, a virus that attacks the dog’s organs and nervous system, which can cause immunosuppression, neurologic disorders, and eventually death. The “H” is for hepatitis caused by Adenovirus, which can be passed through saliva, urine, or feces and can cause liver failure and death. “P” is for canine Paralinfluenza, which causes similar disease as the flu in humans. The other “P” is for Parvovirus, a very contagious disease that is spread through infected feces and is almost certainly fatal without aggressive treatment. Finally, the only way to prevent these diseases is through the vaccine. Initially as a puppy under 6 months, the vaccine is given as a series of four shots with a two to four week intervals in between shots. Once this series is finished a once yearly vaccine is all that is required.

Rabies – This is a core vaccine and also required by law. Rabies is a highly contagious disease that affects the central nervous system of an animal. This virus is a zoonotic disease meaning that humans and other animals can contract it. If untreated this virus is deadly to people and animals. This vaccine is first given to a puppy after 12 weeks, then again at one year of age. At Atlantic Animal Hospital, we carry the 3 year inoculation and it is then boostered once every three years. Some veterinarians may only carry and use the 1 year vaccine.

Bordatella – This is a non-core vaccine and it prevents against “kennel cough” and is required by our hospital for any surgical procedure, to be boarded at a kennel, or to be taken to a groomer. Kennel cough is an upper respiratory infection that is spread through coughing and sneezing. In the more advanced stages it can be fatal. This vaccination can be given at 8 weeks of age and requires a once yearly booster.

Leptospirosis – This is a non-core vaccine. Leptospirosis is also a zoonotic disease that can be transferred to people and other animals. It is a bacterial infection that is transferred through urine that attacks the kidneys and the liver and can be fatal. This vaccine is highly recommended for dogs that live in areas highly populated by wildlifeor swim in lake or rivers where wildlife may urinate. The veterinarian can determine that appropriate age for the vaccine to be initially administered, then the dog will require one booster two to four weeks after the initial vaccine. Then the vaccine will be administered once a year for the rest of the dogs life.

Lyme Disease – This is a non-core vaccine. Lyme disease is also a zoonotic disease that can be transferred to people and other animals. It is spread by tick bites and is therefore more common in the North Eastern states. We recommend this vaccine for all dogs exposed to ticks and especially for the ones that travel to the North Eastern states.

Coronavirus – This is a non-core vaccine. This disease can cause gastro-intestinal disease similar to parvovirus but not as severe. The virus is difficult to detect and most signs may self resolve. We carry this vaccination but do not require or recommend it for majority of our patients.

Cats
AAH guideline -> FVRCPC and Rabies are highly recommended for all cats and FeLV only for cats with outdoor exposure.

FVRCPC – This is a core vaccine also commonly known as the feline distemper vaccine. It consists of “FVR” Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis a type of Herpesvirus that can cause eye and respiratory diseases. “C” is for Calicivirus which can cause oral and respiratory ulcers and disease. “P” is for Panleukopenia which causes severe immunosuppression and gastro-intestinal disease and high mortality rates similar to Parvo in dogs. The other “C” is for Chlamydia which can also cause oral and respiratory diseases. This vaccine is administered as a series of three inoculations to a kittens under 6 months of age. After the initial series, this vaccine is given once a year.

Rabies – This is a core vaccine that is also required by law. Just like the canine rabies vaccine, the feline rabies vaccine is first given to a kitten around 16 weeks of age then once again at one year. After that the vaccine is given once yearly.

FELV – This is a non-core vaccine which prevents Feline Leukemia Virus that attacks a cat’s immune system. The disease can only be contracted by direct contact with an infected cat or thru an infected mother during pregnancy. We recommend testing all cats or kittens at least once and then only giving the vaccine to cats with outdoor exposure. It is administered in a series of two vaccine initially, then once yearly for the rest of the cats life. We require annual testing for all cats with outdoor exposure as the vaccine is NOT 100% affective and rarely the patient can still contract Leukemia even with full FeLV vaccinations.

FIV – This is a non-core vaccine for the Feline Immunodeficiency virus which also attacks a cat’s immune system. It is similar to HIV but is NOT transmissible to humans. This vaccine is also NOT 100% affective and unfortunately it causes all FIV tests to be false positive. We recommend that all cats be tested at least once for this disease. We only recommend that cats living with other FIV positive cat(s) be vaccinated with this inoculation.

Please note that there are several other available vaccines for your companion animal. We also offer vaccine titers to check the immunity level against some of these diseases. In summary, every patient has a different exposure risk and immunity level. Please speak with one of our veterinarians about what protection is best for your companion animal. Please click here to schedule an appointment now.