Pet Blogs, Pet Health Care Advice, Symptoms | Pet Care Tips, Info




Puppy Shot Schedule | Vaccinations for Puppies Health Care

Filed under: Puppy Care — Tags: , — Nik @ 7:04 am

Puppy Vaccination Schedule

Vaccination or puppy shots are an extremely crucial part of owning a dog as it ensures that the dog will have a long and healthy life. Most puppies when born have a certain amount of immunity to infections and diseases on account of the antibodies they derive via the placenta from their mother’s blood. During the first 24 hours post birth the puppy receives additional anti bodies via the mother’s first milk which is also called colostrums.

However, thereafter the puppy is highly susceptible to any infection or virus. Before setting a puppy vaccination schedule care should be taken to consider the duration during which the puppy has not received his mother’s milk as this means that there will be a significantly lower amount of anti bodies in the puppy which will make the vaccine more effective. Else the maternal anti bodies in the puppy will attack the vaccine and thereby nullify its effect. An ideal puppy shot schedule will begin when the puppy is around six weeks of age. Typically a puppy is initially given a combination vaccine at six weeks of age which is then followed up with a booster puppy shot every three weeks till the puppy is almost sixteen weeks of age. When an average puppy is almost five weeks old the first puppy shot administered by the vet is against parvovirus. The next in the list of puppy vaccines is the Combination vaccine which provides immunity against parvovirus, adenovirus cough and hepatitis, Para influenza and distemper and is administered to a puppy between six to nine weeks of age. When the puppy is around 12 weeks of age the vet will usually administer the rabies vaccine. The next vaccine for puppies is again the combination vaccine but this time it will also provide immunity against coronavirus, Lyme and Leptospirosis. Adult booster shots are given by the vet depending on the overall health of the puppy and the environmental conditions it is exposed to.

However each time the puppy is vaccinated it should be monitored closely to see if there are any changes in its activity level or appetite. Some puppies tend to have allergic reactions to these vaccines which may range from mild reactions such as decreased appetite, lethargy, slight fever etc to even more serious reactions such as anaphylaxis which starts out with vomiting or diarrhea and may lead to seizures, drop in blood pressure and even death in some cases.

Vaccination Schedule for Puppies | Shots for Puppy Dogs

Filed under: Puppy Care — Tags: , — Nik @ 1:38 am

Puppy Vaccine Schedule

When puppies are born, they do not have an immune system that is fully capable to fight off diseases which in turn makes them susceptible to infections. Antibodies that do help the puppies initially come directly from their mothers milk i.e. colostrum. Thereafter puppies have to be vaccinated mostly against certain commonly known harmful diseases such as distemper, rabies, canine parvovirus etc. Pet owners also need to remember that the dog vaccination schedule should ideally begin only once the antibodies present in colostrum are minimized in the puppy. Else if the vaccine is administered, these antibodies will identify the vaccines as harmful organisms thereby nullifying the effect.

Typically, a vet will recommend that for an average puppy the first vaccine against Parvovirus be administered when the puppy is almost 5 weeks old. Thereafter, when the puppy is between 5 – 9 weeks old the vet will administer a combination vaccine, which will safeguard the puppy against adenovirus cough, hepatitis, Para influenza, parvovirus and distemper. When the puppy reaches around 12 weeks of age and is an overall healthy puppy, it is then administered a vaccine against rabies as per the dog vaccination schedule. Rabies is a highly dangerous and often fatal viral infection which directly attacks the functioning of the dog’s central nervous system and brain. Additionally this disease is contagious in nature is can be easily transmitted from dogs to humans or vice versa via blood or saliva that has been infected. Hence in most countries it is now legally mandatory that all puppies have to be administered the rabies vaccine. When the puppy is between 12-16 weeks old, the vet will generally administer vaccines against diseases like Leptospirosis, Lyme and Coronavirus. These dog vaccines are generally administered if the puppy is likely to travel to areas where such diseases are rampant. Once the puppy is of around 6 months of age and is basically an adult it is has to go for regular visits to the vet where he is physically examined and given booster shots against the above mentioned diseases and Kennel cough and de-worming as well. Booster shots are generally given on an annual basis.

Most people are under the misconception that the smaller the size/breed of the puppy the smaller is the vaccine dose to be administered, however this is incorrect. All puppies once they are of the stipulated age, irrespective of size, breed, gender, weight etc have to be administered the same type and quantity of the vaccine dose.