Dog Vaccination

VACCINATE!

Recent bad press about vaccinating animals has caused a swift reponse by both the British Veterinary Association and Vaccine manufacturers. They both stress the fact that we see very few examples of the diseases for which pets are vaccinated, BECAUSE, they are vaccinated. In other words, these vaccines work VERY well and under current knowledge, pets MUST have annual boosters to keep theit protection high. There may be some pets whose immunity may last much longer, but the only way to tell would be by blood testing the pet and checking for antibodies to each disease. The cost of this would be many times the cost of a check-up and vaccination, so we vaccinate, to be sure that ALL pets are protected.

The few who are NOT vaccinated are only safe because most other pets ARE vaccinated, so the diseases do not have enough succeptible population to start on. BUT as more people become lax and miss boosters, more and more pets become succeptible, then we see a sudden plague of disease, with everyone rushing for booster vaccinations, then the population is protected again and all goes quiet. We have seen this to take a seven year cycle in Dundee. Just like the state of measles vaccination in children, where, as more people do NOT vaccinate, more disease  starts to show.  

A recent independant survey by the Animal Health Trust has shown there to be NO correlation between vaccination and illness, up to 3 months AFTER  vaccination. A very reassuring finding for everyone. So do not listen to scaremongerers and allow your pet to become a statistic by allowing immunity to wane.   Keep immunity high with an annual booster. Remember, your pet receives a full clinical examination at the same time, so it is good peace of mind all round. At the end of 2007 we have seen confirmed Parvovirus cases at Parkside, so be aware and keep you dog protected. Vaccinating a dog as a pup does NOT give the dog lifelong protection.

Read more about the diseases and vaccine protocols HERE