Vaccinating Your Dog
Dog vaccination is a requirement of New Zealand law and the best defence in protecting your dog from dangerous and even fatal disease which can be easily preventable.
We are happy to talk with dog owners about which vaccines are suitable for your dog and the schedule you should follow. This includes the timings for your puppy’s vaccines and annual vaccines thereafter. Here are some of the frequently asked questions you may have about vaccines.
Why Are They Important?
Vaccines assist a dogs own immune system in building defence to disease. This is most commonly done via introducing a mimic of the disease-causing virus or organism and this teaches their body in advance how fight it off, or reduce the effects should it ever catch the real virus in the future.
What Are the Common Dog Vaccines for New Zealand?
- Canine Parvovirus
- Canine Distemper
- Hepatitis
- Kennel Cough
- Leptospirosis
Are There Optional Dog Vaccines?
There are many option vaccines and your vet may recommend additional vaccines depending on things like:
- Age
- Medical history
- Environment
- Overseas Travel
- Lifestyle
When to Start Puppy Vaccinations
We would typically start a vaccination schedule between 6 and 8 weeks. Before this a puppy gains protection from its mothers’ milk, so if your puppy is not able to have a mothers milk please speak with your vet as early as possible to discuss the best approach.
Puppy Vaccination Schedule
A general vaccination schedule for puppies is:
- 6 weeks: 1st core vax
- 9 weeks: 2nd core vax, 1st Leptospirosis
- 12 weeks: 3rd core vax, 2nd Leptospirosis, canine cough
- 15 months (1 year after their last vaccination): booster core vax, Leptospirosis and canine cough
Dog will require annual booster vaccinations ongoing.
Are vaccines safe?
Vaccines are extremely safe with only rare negative reactions. If your dog does experience any reaction, call us to discuss. These rare cases would most likely show as:
- Fever
- Sluggishness
- Loss of appetite
- Facial or paw swelling and/or hives
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Pain or swelling around the injection site
- Collapse, difficulty breathing, and seizures (anaphylactic shock)
No unlike humans, mild symptoms can be ignored as your body processes the vaccine, and for anything more severe give us a call.
Scheduling an Appointment for Dog Vaccinations
We keep the common vaccines in stock, so call us for a regular check-up be it a new puppy or dog and we will include this in our initial consultation.