Furry family members mean almost as much to you as their human counterparts – if not just as much. Why wouldn’t you, therefore, give them all the same tools to live long, stay strong and experience maximum health?
Of course you would, and vaccines are an inescapable part of any pet health plan. They help animals fight disease before it takes hold, and keep pet populations as a whole safe from infection. To see exactly why vaccines are so important and how best to ensure your pet’s safety, it’s critical to understand how they work.
Here are some of the most common questions, and their answers.
How Do Vaccines Work?
Vaccines administer a very low dose of a pathogen to a pet, so that their immune system can “learn” to fight it. When a virus or bacteria enters the animal’s body for the first time, they will not possess an immunity, but introducing the disease prompts their system to manufacture antibodies to help fight it, explains the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Those antibodies then live in their bloodstream from then on, so should they encounter that pathogen in real life, full-strength, they will already have the tools to fight it.
Which Vaccines Does My Pet Need?
Your pet needs “core” vaccines and may need “non-core” vaccines.
Core vaccines for dogs include:
- Canine parvo virus
- Canine distemper
- Infectious canine hepatitis
- Leptospirosis
- Coronavirus
- Rabies
- Bordetella
Other vaccines we offer for dogs:
- Lyme disease vaccines
- Rattlesnake vaccines
- Canine Influenza vaccine
Core vaccines for cats include:
- Feline panleukopenia
- Feline calicivirus
- Feline rhinotracheitis
- Feline leukemia
- Rabies
Other vaccines we offer for cats:
- Feline Bordetella
- Feline infectious peritonitis
Depending on your individual dog or cat, your vet may recommend other vaccines as well.
