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| Flannery Animal Hospital |
| DOGS The outgoing nature of dogs bring them into contact with other animals - increasing their exposure to disease. Fortunately, for your pet, vaccinations are available to help prevent many dog diseases. Vaccinating your dog is the best and least costly way to prevent disease. Prevention assures the best quality of life for your pet, and it cost less than treatment. Vaccines protect dogs against common viruses and bacteria. At some time in their lives, almost all dogs will be exposed to a serious or even fatal infectious disease. Without proper vaccination, they could be unprotected.This web page outlines the primary diseases that can endanger your dogs health and vaccination strategies to help prevent them. Why do Puppies Require a Number of Shots? A nursing puppy receives antibodies (called maternal antibodies) that protect it from disease during the first months of its life. Unfortunately, these antibodies can also keep a vaccine from being effective. These maternal antibodies gradually decrease during the first few months of the puppy's life. That's why puppies are given a series of vaccinations. That way, if maternal antibodies interfere with early vaccinations, later doses will stimulate the puppy to produce its own antibody to disease. RABIES All warm blooded animals (dogs, cats, livestock, wildlife) can become infected with rabies virus. Because rabies is also a threat to humans, all pets should be vaccinated. CANINE DISTEMPER Canine Distemper (CD) is a virus widespread in the dog population. Unprotected dogs can develop this disease, and many, especially puppies, may die. So all dogs should be vaccinated for CD when they are puppies. HEPATITIS Most adult dogs that develop infectious canine hepatitis recover, but the disease in puppies often fatal. Hepatitis is spread mainly through infected urine. Protection is provided by a vaccine containing a virus (designated CAV-2) similar to hepatitis. LEPTOSPIROSIS Leptospirosis, caused by bacteria, can affect dogs of any age, damaging liver, kidneys, and other major organs. An infected dog can spread Leptospira bacteria for months after it has been sick. Other dogs and even humans can pick up the bacteria from the infected dogs urine. VIRAL DIARRHEA Two viruses commonly cause diarrhea in dogs - canine parvovirus and canine coronavirus. Sometimes dogs can be affected with both viruses at once., leading to very serious diarrhea. Viral diarrhea is easily spread, because millions of viral particles remain in the loose, watery stool of an infected dog. Adult dogs generally survive viral diarrhea, but in puppies with diarrhea the loss of fluids can easily be fatal. Dogs can be protected from viral diarrhea with vaccines against parvovirus and coronavirus. In puppies, several vaccinations are required 3-4 weeks apart because of the presence of maternal antibodies. RESPIRATORY DISEASE When your dog is exposed to sick dogs at a kennel or dog show, it can catch kennel cough. Also referred to as "canine cough" or by its scientific name, tracheobronchitis, this stubborn respiratory infection can keep dogs coughing from weeks to months.Canine respiratory disease isn't usually fatal unless pneumonia develops. But it can cause appetite loss, lack of energy, and poor appearance, in addition to the cough. Cats are independent animals. Their natural roaming habits of cats may bring them into contact with other animals - increasing their exposure to disease. Several diseases that cats get are almost always fatal - feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis, and rabies, for instance.
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