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Read Along to Know More About Immunizing Your Dog

29 11:25:18
We all want to keep pets, but are we ready to give all it takes to take care of these pets. Keeping a pet has become more of a style statement these days. I am not against the idea of keeping pets, all I want to say is before you keep an animal as a pet equip yourself with all the knowledge required to take good care of the pet. Let us take dogs for instance; a lot of people keep them as pets but how many of us know that dogs need to be vaccinated at regular intervals to be safeguarded against deadly diseases. Sad that only a handful of pet owners are aware of these vaccinations. Let us take a quick look at these vaccinations; they are broadly classified into two groups - core vaccines and non-core vaccines. Core vaccines are those vaccines which are given to all dogs worldwide, to immune them from fatal diseases.

Core Vaccines

Canine Distemper (CDV)

This vaccine is administered in young puppies after the age of six weeks and needs to be repeated after every 3-4 weeks up to 14-16 weeks. This vaccination helps the dog be safe from acquiring Distemper, a highly contagious disease in dogs. After the 16th week this vaccination is to be repeated every three years. These vaccines are expected to induce immunization for five years.

Canine Parvo (CPV-2)

This vaccination also follows the same routine as that of Canine Distemper vaccine. This vaccination saves a dog from Canine Parvovirus, which is a contagious, life-threatening viral illness. The period of immunization is five years in the case of this vaccine too.

Canine Adenovirus (CAV)

Canine Adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1) is responsible for causing infectious hepatitis in dogs. This disease is contracted through the mouth or nose, and affects the liver or kidney in the long run. Canine Adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) causes respiratory diseases in dogs. Tracheobronchitis or kennel cough is the outcome of CAV-2 infection. The CAV vaccine induces immunization for seven years. The CAV-2 is a non-core vaccine.

Rabies

Rabies is a highly contagious disease, which may lead to madness and convulsion.Since there is a high possibility of this disease spreading to human beings all dogs need to be immunized against rabies. The rabies vaccine must not be administered before the age of 12 weeks, and once administered it is to be repeated annually.

Non-core vaccines

Non-core vaccines are those vaccines given to those dogs that are under the risk of getting infected by specific diseases because of their geographical location, environment or lifestyle. The vaccines listed under the category of non-core vaccines are - Measles Vaccine (MV), Canine Parainfluenza (CPiV), Bordetella Vaccine (Bb), Canine Adenovirus 2 (CAV-2) Intranasal, Canine Influenza, BorreliaBurgdorferi (Lyme disease), LeptospiraInterrogans, Canine Oral Melanoma, CrotaluxAtrox, and Canine Coronavirus (CCov).

The responsibility of a pet owner does not end in bringing a pet home and feeding it. The pet owner needs to take proper care of the pet's health and hygiene. Even if a pet acquires any health problems, it should be the first priority of the pet owner to contact an animal hospital at the earliest.