Canine Vaccines

Core Vaccines for Dogs: 

Core vaccines are recommended for all dogs due to their widespread prevalence and potential severity:

• Canine Distemper Virus: Transmitted through urine, feces, vomit, and secretions. Causes flu-like symptoms followed by severe liver and nervous system damage, leading to seizures and often fatal outcomes.
  
  
• Adenovirus (Canine Hepatitis): Transmitted through bodily fluids, causing severe liver damage and is almost always fatal.
  
  
• Parainfluenza: Transmitted through bodily fluids, leading to mild to severe respiratory disease such as coughing and pneumonia.
  
  
• Rabies: Transmitted through bodily fluids from bites, affecting the nervous system with behavior changes and eventual death. Vaccinating against rabies is a legal requirement in Ontario.
  
  

Non-Core Vaccines for Dogs: 

Non-core vaccines are recommended based on lifestyle and risk factors:

• Bordetella (Kennel Cough): Combination virus and bacteria transmitted through casual contact and air, causing a persistent cough that can progress to pneumonia.
  
  
• Leptospirosis: Bacterial infection transmitted through urine of wild animals and contaminated water, damaging the liver and kidneys.
  
  
• Lyme Disease: Transmitted by ticks, causing lethargy, lameness, joint swelling, and potentially kidney disease.
  
  

Incidents of Leptospirosis have spiked in recent years, so vaccination against this disease is strongly recommended. If your dog hikes or lives near wooded areas, consider vaccinating against Lyme disease as well. Lepto and Lyme vaccines are administered separately from core vaccines.

For adult dogs and cats with no previous history of vaccination, boosters will need to be given 3-4 weeks after first initial dose.

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