How Important are Dog Vaccinations?

Pets can contract distemper by sharing food or water bowls with infected animals and from having direct contact with fresh animal urine, blood or saliva. Distemper is more commonly known as ‘hard pad’, as it can cause thickening of the dog’s paw pads and nose. Signs of this highly contagious disease include high temperature, discharge from the eyes or nose among other symptoms. Without the correct vaccination, distemper is a potentially fatal disease – sadly, there is currently no known cure.

Caused by canine adenovirus (CAV-1), the virus can affect lots of areas of the body and causes varied and severe signs, although some dogs will have very mild symptoms while continuing to spread the virus. It is caught when a dog comes into contact with the saliva, urine, faeces, blood or nasal discharge of an infected dog. An infected dog’s urine can be contagious for up to a year, and the virus can survive in the environment for several months. Infected dogs can develop a cough, suffer from vomiting, problems with their blood clotting, have cloudy eyes and display a wide range of other signs.

A condition most commonly referred to as kennel cough, is caused by a bacteria from the same family as the virus that causes whooping cough in humans. The symptoms are also similar which includes and a dry, severe cough that can last weeks. Although the condition is rarely fatal in healthy animals, is a very unpleasant airborne disease that is easily spread between dogs. For this reason, vaccination is recommended where dogs come into contact with lots of other dogs, such as at kennels or doggy daycare.

Leptospirosis is a serious bacterial disease which most commonly affects dog’s liver and kidneys. It is usually contracted by dogs coming into contact with contaminated water or the urine of other animals. Signs can include severe vomiting, fever, liver damage, shivering, diarrhoea, collapse and jaundice. Leptospirosis is regularly diagnosed in pets with active, outdoor lifestyles, who are most at risk of contracting the condition as they are more likely to come into contact with contaminated water.

Although rabies isn’t present in the UK, if you’re taking your pet abroad, you are required to vaccinate your pet against the disease under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Rabies is a severe and fatal virus which affects the central nervous system and is passed onto humans and pets if bitten by an infected animal. Symptoms can include fever, seizures, irritability and excessive salivation. Vets are actively trying to eliminate rabies from the world with “Mission Rabies”, the leading rabies charity. Read about how Mission Rabies is trying to keep people and animals safe on their website.

Parvovirus is a serious viral infection caused by the spread of saliva and faeces between animals. The virus can survive for a year in soil, and so it will often remain in areas where an infected dog has walked for long periods. Unfortunately, humans can also carry the disease on their hands and clothing, which can cause vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and dehydration in pets.

Parainfluenza, an airborne disease, causes dogs to suffer from a harsh dry cough, having been in close contact with many other dogs.