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Vaccinations have always been a highly debated topic and more recently due to the current measles outbreak. However, this hot topic does not stop at the human species. Should you vaccinate your pets? What are the risks of vaccinations? The anti-vaccination movement has affected pet owners across the country.  One must ask themselves what is the risks by not vaccinating your animal to fatal diseases? Vaccinating your pets not only maintains their health it also prevents them from contracting an infectious disease from other animals. Additionally, vaccinating your pets protects you and your family members from being exposed to infectious diseases. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 36 percent of cat owners do not visit a veterinarian and more than double that percentage of dog owners do not take their dogs to visit a veterinarian.

Some argue that keeping their pets indoors will prevent them from ever being exposed from harmful diseases. While keeping your pets indoors does help prevent them from being exposed to infected animals. It is very unrealistic to think that your animal will never escape out of the house. It only takes one time for an animal to sneak out of their indoor environment to be exposed to deadly disease such as rabies. The majority of rabid animals do occur from wildlife animals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. The CDC estimates that 15 million people around the world are treated with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) due to a potential exposure to rabies yearly. Of that total, 30-60 thousand people are from the United States.  Most of those people reported exposure were from close contact of a household animal.  There is no known cure for rabies. Once a person shows signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease is almost always fatal. It is estimated that 59,000 people worldwide die from rabies, most commonly contracted from a domestic animal. Thankfully in the Unites States canine rabies has been almost non-existent due to vaccinations. In order to keep that statistic from changing it is important that we continue the effort in educating pet owners the importance of vaccinating their animals.

Rabies vaccinations are not the only vaccinations that are important for your animals.  The AVMA recommends owners should at least get the 4 core vaccines for all dogs and cats. For dogs: parvovirus, distemper, canine hepatitis and rabies. For cats: panleukopenia (feline distemper), feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus type I (rhinotracheitis) and rabies.  These core vaccines are vital to your pet’s health. Just like rabies, these diseases have fatal outcomes and could affect your health and environment as well. There are several other non-core vaccines available for both dogs and cats that are available to pets which may be needed depending on your pet’s environment and lifestyle. Your veterinarian will determine which vaccines are necessary for your pet’s medical needs.

AVMA Vaccination Recommendations for Dogs

Vaccination Recommendations for Cats

Should you have concerns regarding your pets health and the safety of vaccinations contact your veterinarian.

Recommended Shot Schedule

Each animal will have their own recommended shot schedule depending on your regional location and the health of your pet. As stated above most veterinarians recommend the 4 core vaccines and the rabies vaccination is mandatory in all states, however each states varies on the how frequent they need to be updated.

Canine

Feline