When Should You Take Your Dogs For Vaccination

Vaccination is essential for maintaining your dog’s health in a good state. Vaccination shots administered on time helps the dog’s immune system in combating a plethora of dangerous infectious diseases which is not only harmful for the dog but also for people around it. Vaccination schedule for dogs are determined by vets, however, there are some essential vaccines that must be administered within a fixed period.

For puppies

The immune system of a newly born puppy is not well developed. However, the mother’s milk contains antibodies which provide protection to the puppy against diseases. The maternal antibodies disappear by the age of 16 weeks. Thus, 6-8 weeks is the age at which you need to take your puppy to a vet for administering puppy vaccines. There are certain essential vaccines called core vaccines which provide protection against various widespread diseases. Rabies vaccine is the most common core vaccine for dogs. Other core vaccines include distemper, adenovirus, parvo virus, etc.

Non-core vaccines may also be recommended such as Bortadella, coronavirus, leptospirosis, para influenza virus and many more. The vaccines need to be repeated every three to four weeks until the puppy reaches the age of four months.

There is a common vaccination schedule followed by dog owners till the age of 4 months although the schedule may vary according to the medical condition of the dog and other factors.

Adult dogs

Annual boosters are commonly administered to grown up dogs. However, vaccination can result in severe allergic reactions which can be fatal if not treated on time. Auto-immune disorders can also develop due to vaccination even though the numbers are very small. Altogether, even if there are risks associated with vaccination the vets believe that the benefits are immense and far outweighs the risks. Many vets, however, recommend vaccinations in every three years instead of annual booster doses.