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7 vaccinations your puppy needs

Most breeders begin a series of vaccinations soon after puppies are weaned, and annual booster shots should continue throughout the dog’s life. The following refers to contagious diseases that can be prevented with the appropriate vaccinations.

canine distemper:
Despite available vaccines, canine distemper (canine plague or hard pad) continues to be a major threat to young puppies. It is caused by a virus that attacks the dog’s respiratory tract, intestinal tract, and brain. Often resulting in spasms, convulsions, and death, the reservoir for canine distemper exists in populations of stray dogs and wild carnivores such as raccoons, foxes, and mink. Young puppies can die suddenly of canine distemper with few visible symptoms. Older dogs may show fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, dehydration, diarrhea, and vomiting. A yellow or green eye discharge often accompanies canine distemper, and a cough is another common sign of this disease. Some dogs seem to respond to various treatments, only to die later from seizures and paralysis. Hardened paw pads, deficiencies in tooth enamel, and permanent neurological signs, such as blindness or limb spasms, often affect dogs that miraculously survive the disease.

Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH or CAV-1):
This disease is a systemic, incurable and contagious disease that causes fatal damage to the liver. It is highly transmissible between dogs, but is not contagious to humans. CAV-1 is an abbreviation for the causative organism, canine adenovirus type 1. Symptoms often resemble those of distemper, including sudden death in young puppies. Vaccines are highly effective in preventing ICH and are usually combined with other immunizing agents at weaning, requiring annual boosters.

Leptospirosis:
Usually shortened to Lepto, this disease causes sometimes fatal kidney damage. The causative organism is a spirochete organism, similar to a bacterium. Highly contagious, the Lepto organism is transmitted through urine and can infect humans as well as other animals. Signs of Lepto infection include lethargy, lack of appetite, thirst, rust-colored urine, diarrhea, and vomiting. Affected dogs sometimes walk with a peculiar, forced gait. Antibiotic treatment can be effective, but permanent kidney damage often results from infection. The leptospirosis vaccine is usually combined with CD and CAV-1 immunizing products at weaning and is repeated annually.

Parvo and Corona Virus:
These two are among the most recently discovered viruses that cause often fatal canine diseases. Both illnesses often cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and depression. Spread by saliva, feces, vomit, or one-on-one contact with affected dogs, these diseases are particularly devastating to young puppies. Humans are not susceptible to these viruses, but can inadvertently transmit the causative virus on shoes and clothing. Vaccines are usually given at weaning age and annual boosters are required. Consult with your veterinarian about the use of these products.

Kennel cough:
This syndrome is caused by several different viruses and bacteria. Parianfluenza virus and Bordetella bacteria produce the typical cough, fever, loss of appetite and depression. This syndrome affects dogs of all ages, is quite contagious, and is easily transmitted by aerosol (airborne droplets of saliva and nasal discharge from an affected dog’s cough or sneeze). The bronchi, trachea and larynx are affected. Uncomplicated kennel cough can bother the dog and owner for two to three weeks if the dog is not stressed. It has a much lower mortality rate than some of the diseases discussed above, but when complicated by pneumonia or other problems, it can be serious.

Upper respiratory vaccines include intranasal types that are often less predictable than injectable types, but their reliability is improving. Consult with your veterinarian about the best product to protect your dog.

Lyme’s desease:
The carrier of this disease of dogs and humans is the deer tick. A few years ago, Lyme disease was most commonly reported in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States, but it has now spread across the country and is now known to exist in at least 40 states. White-tailed deer and voles are the main reservoir hosts for Lyme virus.

Lyme disease can cause lameness in an affected dog and is accompanied by warmth, pain, and swelling of one or more leg joints. Body temperature is usually elevated and the dog is listless. Early treatment is important for it to be effective. The risk of Lyme disease is related to how long an infected tick remains attached to the dog. When you are in an area where deer ticks have been seen, check your dog at least once a day for their presence. They are tiny (about 0.1 inch or 0.04 cm in diameter), black or red and black, and resemble a small mole on the skin. As they suck blood, they become much larger and grayer, with female ticks sometimes reaching the size of a grape.

A Lyme disease vaccine is available and newer vaccines are in development. A good tick prevention program is essential in any case.

Rage:
Rabies, a deadly viral disease of all warm-blooded animals, including dogs and humans, is transmitted primarily through contact with the saliva of an infected animal. It is usually associated with bite wounds.

Brain changes are the characteristic signs of rabies. The average time between an infected bite and signs of illness (incubation period) can be as short as two or three weeks, but is sometimes as long as several months. The rabies virus travels from the bite site to the brain via nerve trunks; therefore, if the infectious bite occurs on a foot, it results in a longer incubation period. After reaching the brain, the rabies virus migrates to the salivary glands where it reproduces, causing typical symptoms.

The signs of rabies in a dog are varied. Sometimes the affected dog becomes aggressive and very irritable. As the disease progresses, the dog may become partially paralyzed or vicious.

Immunization for this disease is usually given later than other vaccines. Check with your veterinarian for local requirements. Many cities and counties have laws requiring rabies vaccination when dogs reach three months of age, and the law generally stipulates that the vaccine must be administered by, or under the direction of, USDA licensed and accredited veterinarians.

Reservoirs for the rabies virus are found in wild animals such as skunks, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, bats, and other wildlife. Since this incurable and deadly disease can infect all warm-blooded animals, great emphasis is placed on rabies prevention programs.