Dog Vaccines & Puppy
Dog Vaccination Schedule

The most frequent dog vaccination schedule are those against leptospirosis, distemper, hepatitis, hydrophobia and parvovirus. These are the most serious diseases, and inoculation is fundamental. In the case of a puppy vaccination, the best is to inoculate them twice at eight and twelve weeks, followed by yearly vaccines to keep them immune. This system provides the same protection as the milk the mother provides her babies, specially the part known as colostrum, which is produced for a short period after birth. In children, the protective antibodies against infections pass through the connection with the placenta before birth. But this connection is less important for dogs and antibodies pass through the colostrum. These specific proteins are not digested but absorbed by the puppies body. As soon as the immunology system of the dog starts to work to protect him from infections, the colostrum antibodies level starts to reduce. In some cases, depending on the amount of colostrum consumed by the puppy, the mother's antibodies may disappear before eight weeks of age, but generally this lasts a short time. The colostrum protection will be lost by the twelfth weeks in any case. It's difficult to detect when the mother's antibodies have disappeared, therefore, in case of the puppies that have contact with other dogs, like at a pound, the first vaccine is eight weeks since birth. This will give the protection needed. However, as antibodies will hamper the effect and action of the vaccine, it's usual to vaccinate the dog again twelve weeks after birth, cause at this time the colostrum antibodies will have disappeared. Then, the vaccine can favor the development of antibodies produced by the immunology system of his body.

There are some variations concerning inoculations against hydrophobia, though these are not used in some countries, like England. Nevertheless, if you are traveling abroad, or if your puppy has been imported, inform your veterinarian. A shot at eight weeks of age, probably, will not give him much protection, so you better don't forget the second series of vaccines. Normally, there's no consequence, and you can take your dog out of home in a short time. How long does the teething period last?