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Wondering why your puppy needs to be vaccinated and why it takes so long for the process to be completed?

Vaccination - Why, When and What Type

Vaccinations or immunizations are given to puppies as well as adult dogs to protect them from an assortment of illnesses which can lead to more or less serious medical problems, some of which are fatal. Parvo virus is a viral disease that is responsible for profound, fetid, bloody, diarrhea. It is most frequently seen in young (2-3 month old) puppies, with a greater incidence in Rottweiler pups than in other breeds. It requires vigorous supportive therapy including intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Even with the best of care many puppies die because the virus is so powerful it wipes out the bodies defenses, notably the white blood cells. A good sign for survival is usually a rising white blood cell count. I usually monitor the white count daily with parvo patients. Vaccination at appropriate times and prevention of your pup's exposure during the critical months will prevent this disease very effectively!

Distemper is also a severe viral disease that causes severe diarrhea and then progresses to pneumonia and encephalitis with seizures. The mortality is high but the same prevention mentioned for parvo will prevent the onset of distemper.

For puppies, a series of 3 or 4 vaccines are given at regular intervals between the ages of 6 and 20 weeks of age. Vaccines are given at frequent intervals because maternal antibody, the protection given by the mother to her newborn inside the uterus or with her first milk, can block the effectiveness of the vaccines by neutralizing them before they have had a chance to stimulate the immune response. How long the maternal protection lasts depends upon the mother's state of immunity at birth. We vaccinate starting at 6 or 8 weeks of age because the mother may have conferred little immunity on the newborn. We vaccinate until 16 to 20 weeks of age because the mother may have conferred a lot of immunity on the her newborn.

Two major types of vaccines exist: modified live and killed. The first type is a weakened organism that will not cause serious disease but will stimulate an immune response in the recipient. Killed vaccines will not cause illness at all, but much larger doses of the organism are needed to stimulate an immune response and local reactions at the injection site and systemic reactions are much more likely in response to vaccine components. They also produce a weaker, shorter lived immune response. I prefer the use of 3 or 4 vaccines of modified live virus given at approximately 4 week intervals.

By Leonard Silverman, D.V.M., Prospect Part Animal Clinic, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NYC

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