With the growing concern about infectious diseases, it is a good time to talk about pet vaccination.
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Part of owning a pet is preventative healthcare via vaccinations.
As a young puppy or kitten, a course of vaccines is required to give them protection against potentially-deadly diseases, including parvovirus and distemper.
These initial vaccinations are time sensitive in that they need to be given after the first eight weeks of life and boostered at monthly intervals, for a further two injections.
Prior to eight weeks, the puppy or kitten is protected from disease via their mother's immunity passed on through her milk.
Vaccinations are recommended annually to maintain protective immunity throughout your pet's life.
They are also essential for entry into boarding kennels and participation at many puppy classes and kennel clubs.
Vaccinations in breeding females should be kept up to date in order to pass this immunity onto their offspring.
Pets affected by preventable diseases often become seriously unwell and need high level medical care for a chance at survival.
Unfortunately, not all of these cases get better and so prevention is a sensible way of avoiding a very debilitating time for your pet.
Testing is available to see if your animal has developed a level of protective immunity and thus does not require vaccination during that particular year's annual check up.
This type of testing can be done in cases where there is a reasonable suspicion of adequate immunity after a consistent vaccination history over a number of years.
If inadequate protection is identified, vaccinations are then given as required.
The disadvantage with testing is that it is only measuring one of the many parts of immune defence required to ensure protection against the disease and may give a false sense of safety for your pet's immunity.
These days, many veterinary clinics and hospitals use vaccines that don't need to be administered as often and administered directly to where it is needed.
This means we are able to limit the amount of vaccines your pet receives during its lifetime.
It cannot be denied that the first line of defence against disease is vaccination as recommended by your vet.
The outcome of disease in an unvaccinated pet could be deadly, whereas less severe and usually prevented, in vaccinated animals.