inoculation

Question
i have a dog thats had its jabs,a friend is bringing there puppy to stay which has,nt had any jabs yet,could they be at risk? allso could a inoculated dog still carry a virus

Answer
Joanne,

Vaccines are modified live viruses, designed to induce the immune response but not illness. In a sense, your dog does carry the virus, but not in a way that would make the puppy sick. Whatever disease and illnesses your dog was vaccinated against (different veterinarians give different combinations of vaccines), he will not catch from or give to the puppy.

Also, this wasn't part of your question, but I always throw it in when discussing vaccines. Puppies do need their full recommended set of boosters (typically starting at 6-8 weeks and then repeating every 3-4 weeks until the reach 16 weeks), because their immune systems are not mature enough to hold a vaccine. However, once an adult dog has been vaccinated, it is not necessary to vaccinate every year like some clinics still recommend. We know for a fact that most vaccines hold for AT LEAST 3 years in adult dogs, and there is evidence they may last the lifetime. Before I became a veterinary technician and learned about this, I was vaccinating my dogs every year. One of them had a bad reaction to her shots and I studied this and have since learned that it is not in the dog's best interest to overvaccinate. The veterinarian I work for recommends the Distemper combo vaccine (common combos are DHLP, DHLPP, and DHLPP-COR) only every 2 years and the Rabies vaccine only every 3 years. This will minimize the chance that your dog is ever overvaccinated, which can lead to a physical reaction or a compromised immune system.

Ashley