WHAT VACCINATIONS SHOULD MY DOG HAVE AND WHEN?

While the exact schedule varies from vet to vet, basically puppies need the DHLPP vaccinations at 6-8 weeks of age, and then must have boosters of these shots at 12 weeks and then again at 16 weeks of age. After the last booster, DHLPP shots must be updated annually or as recommended by your vet through the dog's adult life.

Puppies must also get a RABIES shot at 16 weeks of age, and this is generally given with the second or final booster series of DHLPP. The rabies shot must then be updated 1 year later. After that, an adult dog must get regular rabies booster shots either annually or every 2 or 3 years. These intervals vary depending on individual vets and what each vet recommends.

You must also get your dog a vaccination for BORDATELLA. This may be given at the same time the first DHLPP shots are given and then must be updated at least annually.

DHLPP stands for:

D.....Canine Distemper Virus
Distemper is still a common and deadly viral infection of dogs that is most common in young puppies. Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, nasal and eye discharges and sneezing. Later, severe diarrhea, cough due to pneumonia, paralysis and convulsions can occur. Treatment is usually ineffective and most dogs with the illness die. Prevention is essential to stop this killer.

H.....Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH)
ICH is a virus that causes a contagious form of hepatitis in dogs. (not humans) Symptoms include loss of appetite, weakness, eye and nasal discharges and a cough. Later gums and other mucus membranes may turn yellow and death can occur. Treatment involves intense IV fluid therapy, intensive nutritional support, antibiotics and other medications to sustain liver healing. Vaccination can prevent this disease.

L.....Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that attacks the kidneys and liver of infected dogs. The disease is contracted by drinking contaminated water or from contact with urine from an infected animal. Symptoms include fever, depression, yellow gums and other mucus membranes, and blood in the urine. Dogs infected can become chronic carriers. Treatment involves the use of antibiotics, IV fluids, and general supportive care.

P.....Canine Parvovirus
Parvo has become one of the most common and deadly viral illnesses of pet dogs. Dogs of all ages are affected but young puppies will have the most severe form of the illness. Symptoms include a sudden onset of vomiting, diarrhea that can become bloody, weight loss, dehydration and death. Treatment includes IV fluids, antibiotics and intense supportive care. Many dogs can be saved. Vaccination is important to prevent this disease.

P.....Canine Parainfluenza
A transmissible upper respiratory infection of dogs, which is characterized by coughing and gagging. Parainfluenza is also known as tracheobronchitis. This viral respiratory disease is often partly responsible for "canine cough" in dogs.

RABIES is a serious and fatal illness of most mammals with dogs being an uncommon victim. The infection is spread by the bite of another infected animal. Symptoms include unusual behavior and unprovoked attacks. Treatment is unavailable but a vaccine is. All dogs must be vaccinated for this illness from 4 months of age on. Since 1987, Pennsylvanians who own or keep dogs over three months of age must have them vaccinated against rabies.

BORDATELLA BRONCHISEPTICA is one of the organisms that contribute to Canine Cough. A dog with Canine Cough will develop a coarse, dry, hacking cough about three to seven days after being infected. It sounds as if the dog needs to "clear it's throat" and the cough will be triggered by any extra activity or exercise. Many dogs that acquire Canine Cough will cough every few minutes, all day long. Their general state of health and alertness will be unaffected; they usually have no rise in temperature, and do not lose their appetite. The signs of Canine Cough usually will last from 7 to 21 days and can be very annoying for the dog and the dog's owners. Life threatening cases of Canine Cough are extremely rare and a vast majority of dogs that acquire the infection will recover on their own with no medication. Cough suppressants and occasionally antibiotics are the usual treatment selections.

What Is Canine Cough?

Actually, clinical cases of Canine Cough are usually caused by several infectious agents working together to damage and irritate the lining of the dog's trachea and upper bronchii. The damage to the tracheal lining is fairly superficial, but exposes nerve endings that become irritated simply by the passage of air over the damaged tracheal lining. Once the organisms are eliminated the tracheal lining will heal rapidly. The most common organisms associated with Canine Cough are the bacteria called Bordatella bronchiseptica and two viruses called Parainfluenza and Adenovirus and even an organism called Mycoplasma.

How Is It Transmitted?

The causative organisms can be present in the breathed out air of an infected dog, much the same way that human "colds" are transmitted. The airborne organisms will be carried in the air in microscopically tiny water vapor or dust particles. The airborne organisms, if inhaled by a susceptible dog, can attach to the lining of the trachea and upper airway passages, find a warm, moist surface on which to reside and replicate, and eventually damage the cells they infect.

The reason this disease seems so common, and is even called "Kennel" Cough, is that wherever there are numbers of dogs confined together in an enclosed environment such as a kennel, animal shelter, or indoor dog show, the disease is much more likely to be spread. The same is true with the "colds" spread from human to human…they are much more likely to occur in a populated, enclosed environment such as an airplane, elevator, or office. All it takes for contagion to occur is a single source (infected dog), in an enclosed environment, and susceptible individuals in close proximity to the source of the infection. Infected dogs can spread the organisms for days to weeks even after seeming to have fully recovered!

NOTE: Even in the most hygienic, well ventilated, spacious kennels the possibility of a dog acquiring Canine Cough exists. Canine Cough can be acquired from your neighbor's dog, from a Champion show dog at a dog show, from the animal hospital where your dog just came in for treatment of a cut paw… Try not to blame the kennel operator if your dog develops Canine Cough shortly after that weekend stay at the kennel! There may have been an infected dog, unknown to anyone, that acted as a source for other dogs in the kennel.

Many dogs will have protective levels of immunity to Canine Cough via minor exposures to the infective organisms and simply will not acquire the disease even if exposed. Other dogs that may never have had immunizing subtle exposures will be susceptible to the Bordatella bacteria and associated viruses and develop the signs of coughing and hacking.

How Is It Treated?

Many dogs that contract Canine Cough will display only minor signs of coughing that may last seven to ten days and will not require any medication at all. The majority of dogs with the disease continue to eat, sleep, play, and act normally…except for that annoying, dry, non-productive coughing that seems so persistent. It is always a good idea, though, to have any dog examined if coughing is noticed because some very serious respiratory diseases such as Blastomycosis, Valley Fever, Heartworms and even cardiac disease might display similar sounding coughing. Your veterinarian, through a careful physical exam and questioning regarding the dog's recent environment, will be able to establish if the dog's respiratory signs are from Canine Cough or some other respiratory insult.

Treatment is generally limited to symptomatic relief of the coughing with non-prescription, and occasionally prescription, cough suppressants. If the dog is running a fever or there seems to be a persistent and severe cough, antibiotics are occasionally utilized to assist the dog in recovering from Canine Cough. It can happen that secondary bacterial invaders will complicate a case of Canine Cough and prolong the recovery and severely affect the upper airway. Therefore the use of antibiotics is determined on an individual basis.

How Is It Prevented?

Many dogs, exposed to all sorts and numbers of other dogs, will never experience the effects of Canine Cough. Some dog owners, though, prefer to take advantage of the current vaccines available that are quite effective in preventing the disease. Usually these dog owners will have to board, show, field trial, or otherwise expose their dog to populations of other canines. Since the chances of exposures and subsequent infection rise as the dog comes in close proximity with other dogs, the decision to vaccinate or not to vaccinate varies with each individual circumstance. Generally, if your dog is not boarded or going to field trials or dog shows, you may not have a high level of need for vaccinating your dog against Canine Cough. If your dog happens to acquire Canine Cough, it will then have some immunity to subsequent exposures. The length of time these natural exposures and the vaccinations will produce protective immunity will vary greatly. How often to vaccinate seems to have a subjective and elusive answer.

Be aware that vaccinating with just the commercial Canine Cough vaccine alone (contains only the Bordatella agent) may not be fully protective because of the other infectious agents that are involved with producing the disease. Some of the other agents such as Parainfluenza and Adenovirus are part of the routine vaccinations generally given yearly to dogs. The intra-nasal Bordatella vaccine may produce immunity slightly faster than the injectible vaccine.

NOTE: Any vaccine takes days to weeks to stimulate the dog's protective immunity to the disease. Vaccinating a dog the day it is exposed to disease may not be protective. If you plan to board your dog, or protect it from exposure, remember to vaccinate a few weeks prior to potential exposure to allow full protective immunity to build up.