Which diseases can dogs be vaccinated against?
Dogs can be vaccinated against several diseases.
- Distemper: A highly contagious virus that affects the lungs, intestines, eyes and nervous system. Often fatal.
- Infectious canine hepatitis (HCC): Caused by an adenovirus. Can be acute and life-threatening.
- Parvovirus: Known for bloody diarrhoea, vomiting and severe dehydration. Especially dangerous for puppies.
- Leptospirosis (Weil’s disease): A bacterial infection that can infect both dogs and humans. Affects the kidneys and liver. Protection lasts for a maximum of one year.
- Rabies: Always fatal and transmissible to humans. Required when travelling abroad.
- Kennel cough: A collective term for different pathogens (such as Bordetella and parainfluenza). Especially relevant for dogs that stay in groups.
- Lyme disease (optional): A bacterial infection (borreliosis) transmitted by ticks. Vaccination is sometimes recommended in high-risk areas.
Core and optional vaccinations
Vaccinations that are essentially always needed are:
These vaccines often provide protection for three years. A rabies vaccination is required as soon as you cross the border.
Depending on your dog’s lifestyle, additional vaccinations may be advised:
- Leptospirosis: needed annually
- Kennel cough: needed annually if at risk (boarding, shows, training classes)
- Lyme disease: depending on region and tick exposure
The importance of puppy vaccination
Puppies are especially vulnerable to parvo, distemper and HCC. That is why they receive multiple vaccinations to build solid protection.
Typical vaccination schedule for puppies:
- 6 weeks: parvo and distemper
- 8 to 9 weeks: parvo, distemper, HCC and leptospirosis; kennel cough if needed
- 12 weeks: booster of core vaccines; rabies if needed
Maternal antibodies
Puppies receive antibodies via mother’s milk. These protect well, but can block vaccinations. This is why puppies are vaccinated several times so the vaccine can take effect at the right moment.
Antibody titre testing: when is it useful?
With an antibody titre test, you measure whether your dog still has sufficient antibodies in the blood against certain diseases and whether vaccination is needed. Titre testing is only possible for:
Titre testing in puppies:
A titre can help determine when maternal antibodies are low enough for the first vaccination to work optimally.
Even for puppies that were vaccinated at the standard ages (6-9-12 weeks), it can be useful to perform a titre test at 20 weeks of age. At 20 weeks, maternal antibodies are gone in all puppies. Testing then shows whether the vaccinations were effective. If not, vaccination is repeated at 20 weeks. After 3 to 4 weeks, the titre should be measured again. This approach can also identify so-called non-responders (dogs in whom vaccination does not take).
Titre testing in adult dogs:
By determining the antibody titre, you can avoid unnecessary revaccination if antibody levels are still high enough.
Limitations of titre testing
A titre test is very useful to avoid unnecessary vaccination or to assess vaccine effect. Unfortunately, it is not available for all diseases. A titre cannot be used for:
- leptospirosis
- kennel cough
- Lyme disease
Additionally:
- Leptospirosis and kennel cough protect for a maximum of one year, so annual vaccination remains necessary when risk is increased.
- A titre measures antibodies, but does not say everything about cell memory and practical protection.
The value of titre testing in non-responders
Some dogs belong to the small group of non-responders: animals that do not produce antibodies after vaccination. This may be hereditary or due to an underlying immune disorder.
In these cases, a titre test is very valuable because it allows you to determine:
- whether a dog truly does not respond to vaccination
- whether a booster makes little sense because antibodies are not being built up
- whether further investigation of the immune system is needed
This prevents a non-responder from being vaccinated unnecessarily often, while also making it clear that this dog may need extra protection against exposure to diseases such as parvo or distemper.
It may be useful to vaccinate these dogs with a different vaccine (different virus strain) from another manufacturer.
Do you have questions about your dog’s annual vaccination? Please contact us at veterinarian@vetsend.co.uk.
