All dogs should be vaccinated against a core group of diseases that can potentially be serious or fatal to your dog.

For puppies, vets will recommend owners follow this vaccination schedule -

• 6 weeks, 9 weeks and 12 weeks – distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations

• If the puppy is older than 9 weeks, they will still require two vaccinations for distemper, hepatitis, and parvovirus given three weeks apart

For adult dogs, vets often recommend using this vaccination schedule -

• 1 year after last puppy vaccination – vaccinate for distemper, hepatitis, and parvovirus

• Every 2-3 years after this vaccinate for distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus

These schedules can protect against the following diseases -

• Parvovirus - a contagious virus which can cause bloody vomiting and diarrhoea. This can even be fatal in some dogs. It can be transmitted without direct contact and is still prevalent in a lot of the country so it’s essential to protect against it.

• Distemper - now less common due to vaccination but can cause respiratory disease, gastrointestinal and neurological signs and, in bad cases, even death!

• Hepatitis - often a fatal disease which causes fever, signs of liver disease, inflammation, gastrointestinal, ocular and neurological signs.

The other important standard vaccinations for dogs are -

• Canine parainfluenza - a very contagious respiratory virus can lead to canine cough.

Aside from these vaccinations, most vets also recommend vaccinating against the following -

• Kennel cough / Bordetella - if your dog mixes with other dogs frequently (or is going into boarding kennels), it might be a good idea to protect them against kennel cough. This can be given through an intranasal or injectable vaccination. There are many strains of 'kennel cough' (or canine cough if you want to use the more PC terminology!), so vaccination is not always effective but it can help reduce the likelihood.

• Leptospirosis - can be important to vaccinate against as it is a disease that can pass to humans. This form of disease however isn’t as serious as the diseases caught through cows. Leptospirosis is a disease that mainly affects a dog’s liver and is caught from rats. If your dog is often in places where rats can be found (or if you have rats around your home!) you should vaccinate your dog.

Hopefully knowing more about these vaccines will help you decide what the best course of option is for your furry friend! And as always, we recommend discussing the options with your vet!

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