Vaccinations

Vaccinations

Vaccination appointments always include a full physical examination and discussion of preventative care and any problems you may have with your animal. The appointment usually takes 15- 20 minutes.

Dogs

We routinely vaccinate dogs against 5 major infectious diseases. The vaccination schedule is as follows:

• 6-8 weeks C3
• 10 weeks C5
• 12 weeks C5
• Annual booster thereafter

Struggletown uses the most up to date vaccines giving the highest level of protection. This means we still see your dog for a full health check and vaccination annually, however the C3 component is only given once every 3 years, while the canine cough booster is given annually.

A C3 consists of protection against:

• Parvovirus: causes haemorrhagic (bloody) diarrhoea and vomiting and can be fatal, especially in young dogs.
• Distemper: causes neurological and respiratory disease.
• Hepatitis: an infectious cause of liver disease.

A Canine cough vaccinations (which makes up a C5 when added to a C3) consists of protection against:

• Bordatella: causes kennel cough which is a highly contagious cough that dogs often contract when in close contact with other dogs, for example in boarding kennels. The disease causes signficant discomfort to dogs (and their owners) but is rarely serious or life-threatening.
• Parainfluenza: a viral cause of kennel cough

Currently due to the risk in the inner Sydney area, the recommendation by the Australian Veterinary Association is that all puppies/dogs are also vaccinated against a disease called leptospirosis which is transmitted by rats. Struggletown recommends adding this to the usual C5 vaccine until such point as the recommendation changes.

Vaccination takes about 1 to 2 weeks to stimulate immunity. If your dog was not previously vaccinated then he or she should be isolated from other dogs in this period.

Puppies: can begin socialisation one week after the 10 week vaccination. Struggletown uses a vaccination which is more effective in younger dogs than the older types of vaccinations. This is because we wish to encourage early socialisation of puppies and attendance at Puppy School.

Cats

Cats are vaccinated routinely with an F3 vaccination but also optionally can be given an FIV vaccination.

The schedule is as follows:

• 8 weeks
• 12 weeks
• 16 weeks

Annual booster thereafter

An F3 consists of protection against the following:

Feline enteritis: a serious infection causing diarrhoea and vomiting as well as bone marrow suppression

Calicivirus: a virus causing sneezing, ocular and nasal discharge (‘cat flu’) as well as occasionally causing joint swelling and pain

Herpesvirus: also causes cat flu; in addition can cause ocular and oral ulceration. Rarely can cause a severe inflammatory skin condition

FIV: ‘Feline Immunodeficiency Virus’ is similar to the human immunodeficiency virus in that it causes suppression of the immune system and increased susceptibility to infections. In cats, it usually causes few symptoms until middle age or later, when the cats start to show signs of gingivitis and skin infections. Some cats with FIV are more likely to develop a type of cancer. The disease is contracted primarily by fighting with other cats and is more common in roaming, male cats. The vaccination consists of 3 injections, given 2-4 weeks apart. Older cats should have a blood test prior to vaccination, in order to make sure they are not already carriers of the disease.