Vaccinations

Your dog counts on you for protection. One of the best things you can do to give your dog a long and healthy life is to ensure that they are vaccinated against common canine diseases. Vaccines contain small quantities of altered or “killed” viruses, bacteria, or other disease-causing organisms. By vaccinating your pet, you help protect your furry friend from various diseases including Rabies, Distemper, Parvovirus, Infectious Hepatitis, Bordetella, and others.

Vaccinating your dog annually helps lessen the spread of infectious diseases throughout pet populations. Vaccinating against zoonotic diseases such as Rabies and Leptospirosis not only protects your pet but you as well. A little prevention can save you dollars in treatment and extend the life of your pet.

What types of vaccinations do you offer for adult dogs?

At Westwood Veterinary Hospital, our vaccines are divided into two groups.

1. Core vaccines, which are recommended to be given to every dog. It includes Distemper (an incurable disease that can lead to seizures and death), Canine Adenovirus-2 (prevents infectious hepatitis), Parainfluenza (contagious viral lung infection), Canine Parvovirus (which causes severe intestinal or cardiac issues) and Rabies.
2. Non-core vaccines, which would be only given to certain dog’s dependent on the risk of exposure to disease, contact with other dogs, wildlife or ticks.

Our non-core vaccines include Bordetella (kennel cough) and Lyme disease. If you would like more information on any of our vaccines, please consult one of our team members.

Is there a schedule for how often a dog should be vaccinated?

Adult dogs need regular vaccinations to ensure they keep adequate antibodies to fight off common diseases. Most dog vaccines are generally recommended to be done annually, 1 year from the completion of the puppy series vaccinations. At that time, we would do a booster vaccine of the core vaccines and then repeat either annually, every 2 years or every 3 years depending on the vaccine type and dog/cat age. Your veterinarian may recommend slightly different schedules and vaccines specific to the risk factors. Bordetella and Lyme vaccines all require yearly boosters, and typically Rabies vaccinations for dogs have 3-year efficacy.

Why is it important to vaccinate your dog?

Vaccinating your dog is critical to maintain good health and reduce the risk and spread of diseases. Our veterinarians can recommend and advise the vaccination based on your dog’s lifestyle and risk factors. If owners stop vaccinating, we’ll see a lot of these rare conditions coming back, and more severely causing ill pets to need lifesaving treatment.

How much does it cost to vaccinate my dog?

Please call our hospital at 204-489-9111 to speak to one of our team members and discuss pricing.