You can do a lot to ensure your dog lives long and healthy by keeping them up-to-date on checkups and vaccinations against the most prevalent canine diseases. Vaccinations are highly effective and cause minimal side effects in most dogs, such as soreness or swelling at the injection location.
Vaccines may contain “modified live” or “killed” forms of disease-causing organisms, though only in extremely minute amounts. When given, they prompt your dog’s immune system to create antibodies and disease-fighting cells that will help prevent diseases.
Vaccine-Preventable Pet Diseases
Going to the vet frequently over several months for vaccinations and boosters may seem like an inconvenience, but the diseases that vaccinations will protect our pets from are dangerous, potentially fatal, and mostly preventable.
The following is an overview of the illnesses that your pet can be protected from by receiving vaccinations:
1. Parvovirus
The canine parvovirus is transmitted through the feces of infected dogs and is a highly contagious and fatal disease. The most vulnerable canine populations are puppies and seniors who have not been vaccinated.
The virus is highly resistant and can survive in the atmosphere for months. The symptoms include high body temperature, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. Only vaccination can avoid this deadly disease.
Other causes of vomiting in dogs include foreign body obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract and needing surgery. If this happens to be the cause of your pet’s vomiting, you can bring your pet to a trusted vet clinic, like Spinnaker Veterinary Clinic.
2. Distemper
Distemper is a viral respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous system disease that can affect dogs, raccoons, skunks, and other animals. The virus is transmitted through the air when an infected animal sneezes or coughs. Shared water and meal bowls can also spread the virus.
Eye and nasal discharges, a high body temperature, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, twitching, paralysis, and eventually death are all symptoms. Distemper cannot be cured. Treatment includes supportive care and efforts to avoid secondary infections, vomiting, seizures, and more.
3. Hepatitis
Canine adenovirus type I is responsible for infectious canine hepatitis. Dogs can catch it from one another if they come into contact with contaminated secretions like saliva, urine, or feces. Symptoms of canine hepatitis vary from mild to fatal, including liver failure, eye damage, and breathing difficulties.
4. Canine Cough
Canine Parainfluenza virus, Canine Adenovirus type II, and Bordetella bronchiseptica are just some of the bacteria and viruses that can cause respiratory disease in dogs, and the term “canine cough” is used to characterize all of them collectively.
Canine cough is characterized by a dry, hacking cough that can last for weeks and is caused by airborne germs and viruses. It’s a highly contagious illness that can progress to life-threatening pneumonia in some pets, so vaccination is crucial for all dogs.
For more information about pet vaccination, you can search the websites of reputable pet clinics or read articles about it.
5. Leptospirosis
Contact with an infected rodent or other animal urine is the primary route of transmission for leptospirosis, an infectious bacterial illness. This disease can produce permanent kidney damage and be transferred to humans and other animals.
6. Rabies
Rabies is a viral illness that affects mammals. It infects the central nervous system, which leads to symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, hallucinations, excessive drooling, dread of water, and eventually paralysis and death. Rabies is typically spread through a bite from an infected mammal. Mortality will likely occur if an infection is not treated within the first few hours.
Aside from vaccinations, another aspect of pet care should be prioritized – dental health. Make regular visits for pet dental examinations and cleanings with your veterinarian to avoid oral health issues in your pet.
Conclusion
The first thing to know is that there isn’t just one vaccination schedule for all puppies. It depends on several factors, including where you reside and the dog’s individual risk factors. You and your veterinarian should discuss this decision together.
