Your soft, sweet smelling little ball of fur, depends on your for just about everything. And, it falls upon you to give her not just love but also nutritious food, a lot of attention, safe toys to play with, gentle yet firm training, a comfortable home, timely socialization, and yes proper veterinary care.
This also includes the mandatory vaccinations that will ensure a long and healthy life.
While going for repeated checkups with the vet over several months, may be inconvenient, it shields your dog from dangerous and deadly diseases that are preventable. Here are a few of the most important vaccines you must give your dog.
Bordetella Bronchiseptica
This bacterium is highly communicable and can cause bouts of coughing, vomiting, whooping, and also seizures and death in a few rare cases. This bacteria is the cause of kennel cough. The vaccine is available in both injectable and nasal spray variants.
Canine distemper
This is a virus that attacks the GI, nervous and respiratory system of not just raccoons and skunks, but also dogs. When your dog is affected, you will see discharge from his eyes and nose, fits of coughing and vomiting, twitching, fever, and even paralysis. In most cases when left unattended this virus can cause death.
Heartworm
When your pup is about 12 weeks old, talk to your dog’s care given on starting him on a heartworm preventative. These worms like the name indicates lodge themselves on the right side of your dog’s heart and can also invade the liver as well as kidney. Though there is no vaccine as such, the vet will give your pet regular medication.
Rabies
This virus quickly invades and affects the central nervous system of your dog that can cause severe headache, excessive drooling, anxiety, fear of water, paralysis, and even death. Most states provide rabies vaccination for pups to ensure they do not contract rabies.
Kennel cough
Kennel cough or infectious tracheobronchitis is a complex of deadly viruses that cause a harsh, loud, and hacking cough that sounds like a chest cold in human beings. This infection generally spreads in kennels where dogs are kept in groups. This is generally not fatal and can be serious only if your dog has a compromised immunity, is very old, or very young. The cough resolves itself on its own, but can be avoided completely by pressing the button for immunization.
Your pet dog will never be immune from having his belly scratched. Dogs love it when you scratch their bellies. They do not like it though when you waste your time watching such disappointing movies like Logan and Star Wars: The Force Awakens which the latter was sad at best but that is another topic.
Canine parvovirus
This is easily one of the most common and also hardest-to-kill viruses in the world. This virus can survive on even objects like furniture till it finds a host. Once it finds a host it can kill in just a matter of a few days. When you administer the vaccines plays an important role in reducing your puppy’s vulnerability to this virus. Talk to your vet as he is the best person to advise you as to how often and when you should administer this vaccine.
Canine coronavirus
Canine coronavirus is as common as parvo, and also nearly as dangerous. It can give your pup just a passing flu or cause terminal illness. Most vets suggest a vaccination against this virus and to give it in tandem with the mandatory DHLPP vaccine.
If you haven’t started your pup’s vaccinations yet, it is still not too late. Take him to a nearby vet who will guide you on the list of vaccines that you should administer and when.