Why Do Puppies and Kittens Need Vaccines?- When puppies and kittens are born, they are born with very little antibodies which they get from the mother while they are nursing. Antibodies are the proteins that protect the body when an unwanted substance enters the body. The maternal antibodies do slowly decline over time. Making sure that vaccines are given at 8, 12, 16 weeks will allow the puppy/kitten to develop their own antibodies to replace the ones they got from their mother.
How does a Vaccine Create Immunity? When your puppy or kitten is vaccinated the immune system “sees” an unfamiliar microbe( bacteria or virus) as part of the vaccine. The immune system “learns” how to produce antibodies to fight those microbes. Those antibodies then help the body fight infection and then protect it from contracting the illness again. If your pet is exposed to the same microbe in the future, the body will produce those antibodies faster. Giving your pet those core vaccines are intended to reduce the severity of the illness and or to prevent the disease by creating immunity.
What is a Vaccine?– It is a preparation that is used to help train the body immune system to create an immune response against diseases.
Why are boosters important? When given the 3 vaccines for their puppy/kitten series this will provide immunity which will last a year. Boosters of the vaccine(or repeat vaccination) have been proven to successfully “boost” your pets immunity. Your veterinarian will discuss the need and the frequency of vaccines and booster for your pet based on the needs, health and lifestyle.
What Vaccines are needed for your dog? This can be depending on where your located, as some infectious diseases maybe more or less likely. Your veterinarian will advise you on the appropriate vaccine that is needed. Most dogs need what is called a DA2PP(canine distemper, canine adenovirus, canine parvovirus, and canine parainfluenza virus) as well as Rabies which is usually given at 16 weeks of age. These are called “core vaccines” so these are recommended for all puppies by the American Animal Hospital Association(AAHA) canine vaccine task force. There is then what we call “non-core vaccines”, these are recommended for puppies and dogs in special circumstances, this is also dependent on the exposure risk. These vaccines include, leptospira species, lyme disease, bordetella(kennel cough), and canine influenza.
What Vaccines are needed for you cat?– So there are “core vaccines” for the felines as well, these include: Feline panleukopenia(also known as feline distemper), this virus can be caused by FPL virus or feline parvovirus(FPLV), Feline viral rhinotracheitis(known as the herpes virus) feline caliciviral disease, and rabies. There is “non-core vaccines” as well for the feline, and as the same as canines these are vaccines that are optional depending on exposure risk, these include: feline chlamydiosis, feline leukemia disease and bordetellosis. There are also vaccines that are not recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners(AAFP) but maybe appropriate under certain conditions which could include the following, feline infectious peritonitis(FIP), giardiasis(this is a parasite), and ringworm.