Dog Vaccination

Vaccination for a puppy is a routine but crucial procedure done in veterinary clinics. Once a dog reaches the age of 11 – 16 weeks, it’s essential that he be given vaccinations shots. But why is it important for your dog to undergo this type of procedure?

Simply put, a vaccination stimulates the dog’s immune system to help protect itself from harmful diseases the dog might encounter in its lifetime. What is basically happening when a vaccine enters the dog’s body, since vaccines are just weaker samples of antigens or infectious agents, it will be recognized by the dog’s immune system as a foreign object and triggers the production of antibodies to stop and destroy it. The dog’s immune system then remembers it and responds more quickly the next time a similar antibody enters the dog’s body.

After a vaccines has been induced to the puppy, expect to notice some reactions for the next 24-48 hours such as reduced activity and loss of appetite. Rarely, some more severe reactions occur like hives, swelling of the face, or vomiting, but these ca be prevented by giving the dog antihistamines during subsequent vaccinations. Always remember to inform your vet if your dog has a reaction to vaccines in the past, as he will know how to make extra precautions.

There are two types of vaccines given to dogs, modified-live and killed. Modified-live vaccines provide stronger and longer lasting protection, less expensive and may only require one dose. However they have a potential to become active and may cause abortions to pregnant dogs. Killed vaccines cannot become virulent and are less likely to be immunosuppressive, but may require several initial injections and more booster shots, and these types of vaccines don’t produce local immunity.

Vaccines can be combined which they refer to as combination shots. But some researchers refer to this as the common cause of immune-mediated diseases due to administration of frequent doses of large numbers of modified-live viruses, over-stimulating the immune system and causing the system to recognize everything as foreign and leading to tissue rejection. But this theory is not widely accepted by most veterinary practitioners. Some who believe so, advice to give separate vaccinations every few days instead of using combination vaccines. The down side is that commonly after the first shot is administered, the system will create a blocking effect hampering the body’s response to second and third shots a few days later.

Combination vaccines commonly contain five antigens in one shot, but some can also have six to seven. Interesting to note though that even though you feel you made most out of your money going with the latter option, a veterinarians suggestion is still more dependable due to affecting factors such as breed types, age, lifestyle and even geographic location.
Vaccination is risky but it’s still worth the risk. It’s better to have a weakened virus and a very small chance of complication that to contract a fatal disease in the future.

Sources: canismajor.com