Important Factors to Consider When Vaccinating Your Pets

Photo by: Bigstockphoto
Photo by: Bigstockphoto

When it comes to caring for a pet, health should always be the priority. And one way to make sure your pet is healthy is by vaccination. For pet owners who are getting their pets vaccinated regularly, they know exactly what types of vaccines their pets should get, as per the advice of their vet. But for those who are getting their pets vaccinated for the first time, the very idea of it is a little challenging. In today’s post, we are listing down some of the most important vaccines your dog or cat should get.

There are two types of vaccines for dogs and cats, core and non-core vaccines.

Core Vaccines

Core vaccines feature a class of drugs that are important to ALL pets. These vaccines are for serious diseases that include rabies, canine parvovirus, feline/canine distemper, and canine hepatitis. These kinds of diseases will affect anyone’s pet regardless if it’s a cat or a dog.

Rabies shots are so important that by law, all pets should be given rabies shots. Rabies shots aren’t as affordable as other vaccines and your pet will require regular shots each year but you and your pet will benefit from it greatly.

As a side note, the pet can experience certain symptoms after being vaccinated. If your pet just got a rabies shot, he or she may experience pain in the affected area, followed by swelling. Your pet may look uncomfortable or sickly but this will go away within a few hours to a couple of days. If your pet’s condition become progressively worse, take him back to the vet.

Non-Core Vaccines

None-core vaccines will help immunize your pets against canine parainfluenza, bordetella, and Lyme’s disease.

Generally, dogs and cats should be immunized to common diseases within the first few months. Your pet’s veterinarian has a clear idea what kind of vaccine is suitable for your pet’s age and size. You can talk to your vet to determine the appropriate age for certain shots.

Benefits of Vaccination

Pet vaccination is an important step to maintain the health of all pets. This is why all pet owners should be well-versed on important shots their pets need. Clinical tests show that vaccination helps decrease the likelihood of serious health problems in dogs and cats. Wouldn’t you want to protect your pet from these diseases?

Millions of dogs died from rabies, parvovirus, and distemper decades before vaccination became the norm. Of all the diseases mentioned above, parvovirus is the deadliest of them all. In the 70s, thousands of pups died from parvovirus alone and local government and major pet health groups worked together to protect the healthy ones.

Once a pup is infected by parvovirus, he will become dehydrated. He will vomit and experience bloody diarrhea. If a dog is infected by this virus, there is little chance that he will survive. Creating and vaccinating dogs with parvovirus shot dramatically reduced canine deaths. Don’t let the anti-vaccine craze fool you into compromising the health of your pet.