DOGS ABC

Core Vaccines

Core Vaccines are considered essential and should be given to every dog, regardless of geographic location or the dog's lifestyle. They protect against diseases that are communicable, serious, and often life-threatening. Here are the big ones: Rabies: Rabies is a virus that is usually, but not exclusively, transmitted by biting and scratching. It attacks the central nervous system, causes the brain to swell, and is ultimately fatal if left untreated. The really great part is that once you or your pet start to show symptoms it's usually too late to do anything but wait to die. A quick merciful death for them since they'll probably be euthanized, but you on the other hand get to die a slow agonizing death since we don't euthanize people. The good news is you can vaccinate your pet which will greatly reduce his chances of contracting it, even if bitten by an infected animal. Good work Veterinary medicine, the winner is everyone! Seriously, Rabies is really nasty, plus it's a law pretty much everywhere that your dog be vaccinated even if he never leaves your house. Which would be sort of gross because they have to go to the bathroom sometime. When I get the time I'll give rabies it's own full write up in the dog health root section. Anyway, do everyone involved a favor and get your dog a rabies shot. Distemper: Distemper is a virus that spreads from dog to dog through both excretions and secretions - usually respiratory. It's currently the leading cause of death in unvaccinated puppies aged three to eight months. Did you catch the unvaccinated part? Distemper is incurable and though not always fatal most dogs that survive it have permanent damage to their nervous systems. Distemper is highly contagious and is easily spread via airborne viral particles. Dogs that catch it develop a wide variety of respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms along with some really nasty neurological ones. Most dogs that catch the disease develop encephalomyelitis and die from the complications it causes. Parvo: Parvo is a virus that is spread through infected fecal matter. You'd think that would be easy to avoid, but you'd be wrong. See, Parvovirus can live in the ground contaminated by fecal material for more than five months with favorable conditions. All it takes is for you to walk or drive across that and then walk in your house and you've introduced it into your dog's environment. As if that that wasn't bad enough, Parvo is tough as nails and most disinfectants won't kill it. Bleach is about all you 'll have on hand that will do it. Parvo attacks the lining of a dog's digestive system and once your dog is infected he'll develop symptoms such as loss of appetite, lethargy, and high fever. Other delightful characteristic symptoms are vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Death from dehydration or congestive heart failure follow in about half of all infected dogs 48 to 72 hours later. Those dogs that do survive will often stay weak or sickly the rest of their lives. Adenovirus: There are really two Adenovirus. Adenovirus1 that causes hepatitis leading to liver and kidney damage, and Adenovirus 2 which causes a respiratory infection leading to kennel cough. The virus is transmitted through body fluids such as saliva and urine. The primary mode of transmission is through direct contact, though transmission from infected runs, cages, and human hands is not uncommon. Symptoms of CAV-1 are sore throat, coughing, and clouding of the eye. Symptoms from CAV-2 is usually a dry, hacking cough usually followed by retching or gagging. Both can be fatal, though CAV-1 can kill as fast as a couple hours from the onset of symptoms. Each version of the disease has it's own vaccine, though they do each protect against both forms of the virus. Back to Dog Health