Vaccinations can slip through the cracks. Let's fix that!
Join our vaccine catch-up campaign to ensure your pet stays healthy and happy. Vaccinations are an important part of building up your pet's immune system to keep them safe from serious infectious diseases.
When you come in for a vaccination appointment for your pet, they always include a full clinical examination, so they are a great opportunity to make sure your pet is in the best health possible.
Both dogs and cats need vaccinations to ensure they are fully covered. While some vaccinations across both species are only administered every three years (Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus for dogs, and Feline Leukaemia for cats), other components of the vaccine do need to be given yearly to maintain immunity, namely Leptospirosis and Kennel Cough in dogs, and 'Flu and Enteritis' in cats.
Here are five reasons your pet needs vaccinating yearly:
Exposure
Many diseases that we vaccinate children against are rare or have even been eradicated. If we consider an infection such as polio, that spreads through infected faeces, modern plumbing and hygiene work alongside vaccination to make infection extremely rare. In comparison, parvovirus is also spread in faeces, but our dogs are exposed to other animal’s excrement daily when out walking, so the risk of encountering the virus is much higher.
Diseases change
Some pathogens, especially viruses, are constantly changing and mutating. We see this in people with influenza and COVID-19. This means that a vaccination given years ago may not be effective in helping the body recognise new strains or variants.
Immune response
Different vaccines trigger different types of immunity, as the immune system is very complex. Some will create very long-lasting immunity that lasts years, while others create a short-term response that gradually wanes. For example, some childhood vaccines are never repeated, while tetanus boosters must be given throughout life and especially in the event of exposure.
Type of vaccine
Like the above, not all vaccines are the same. Some contain a live strain of a virus (such as flu vaccine or kennel cough), others contain killed versions of a bacteria or virus, and some contain only certain parts of the pathogen or a similar agent. These all work in different ways and create different lengths of immunity as a result.
Human safety
Some diseases that we vaccinate our pets against are known as zoonotic, meaning they can spread to people. They often cause more severe disease in humans, so it is particularly important to keep our pets fully protected. Examples include leptospirosis, which causes Weil’s disease in humans, and rabies, both of which can be fatal.
