We all know that when an animal is young, it is as important to vaccinate them as it is our own children. There are a lot of debilitating and life threatening diseases floating about in our environment. But, as an animal gets older, is it really necessary to keep vaccinating them, or indeed start a vaccination program if they have not been vaccinated in their youth?
My answer is a resounding ‘Yes'.
There are several diseases that are vaccinated against. For dogs these include:
•Distemper Infectious canine hepatitis (ICH)
•Leptospirosis Parvovirus Canine contagious respiratory disease (CCRD)
•Rabies
In cats we vaccinate against:
•Panleukopenia Feline upper respiratory disease (FURD)
•Chlamydia Feline leukemia virus (FeLV)
Even rabbits are vaccinated against myxomatosis and viral hemorrhage disease (VHD). All of these diseases are highly contagious and can be life threatening, especially to the young, elderly or infirmed. So it is essential that we protect our pets by regularly vaccinating them from an early age or as soon as you get them if they are older.
Over a period of time immunity builds up in the animal's system just as it does our own so it may not be necessary for the yearly booster's that we give our beloved pets. However, as an animal gets older so does their immune system. Just as we recommend that older people have jabs for common illnesses such as influenza, it should be recommended that older pets are given more health care than the younger generation. As pets become older they are more susceptible to illnesses, even those we cannot vaccinate against so it is especially important to keep them healthy in any way that we can. Vaccinating is just one way to give them as long a life as we possibly can.
It may seem silly to start a vaccination program once an animal has reached a certain age; if it has lasted this long surely it has built a certain amount of immunity up right? Well to a certain point, yes, but if the animal has not been in contact with a specific disease then it cannot have made the antibodies it requires to fight off infection. If an animal is unvaccinated or has not been vaccinated on a regular basis it may fall prey to one of the above mentioned diseases.
As I mentioned before, it may not be necessary to give our pets the yearly boosters that we do. There is, however, no specific medical evidence to say that the vaccinations give longer than twelve months protection. It is an argument vets’ hold regularly, but until there is proof it is safer to assume that they do not.
If these terrible and life-threatening diseases aren’t enough to convince you to get your pet vaccinated, you should consider that animal shelters and kennels will also make sure that any animals are fully vaccinated before being re-homed, and most kennels and catteries will not allow an animal to be boarded unless they are up-to-date with their vaccinations.
As a veterinary nurse and a pet owner, I would always recommend that a pet is fully vaccinated, no matter how young or old the animal is. It is one of the ways we can keep our beloved furry friends safe, healthy and happy.