Vaccinations

A vaccination is extremely important to the health and welfare of your pet. Timely vaccination is critical as it stimulates the body’s natural defences against a series of nasty and potentially fatal diseases.

During your pets vaccination appointment at The Causeway Veterinary Clinic, your veterinarian will complete a thorough physical examination and health check. This is also a good opportunity for you to discuss any healthcare concerns that you may have with your pet.

For your convenience and your pet’s health we have a reminder system in place to ensure that important vaccination dates are never overlooked!

Remember Vaccination is the only real form of protection for your pet!

Dog Vaccinations

Your pet’s routine C3 Vaccination protects your DOG against:

1. Canine Parvovirus: A highly contagious virus that localises within the gut wall resulting in extreme bloody diarrhoea and uncontrollable vomiting. Parvovirus is very easily spread and does not necessarily require dog to dog contact for its transmission. Even with intensive veterinary intervention and treatment, patients often die from severe dehydration. This deadly disease is commonly diagnosed in the Goulburn Valley.

2. Canine Distemper: Another highly contagious disease. Patients present with varying symptoms that may include fever, sneezing, nasal discharge, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite and depression. Muscle tremors, seizures and paralysis usually occur later in the disease process and as a result treatment is difficult, and recovery is unlikely. This disease is rarely diagnosed now largely due to current vaccination protocols.

3. Canine Hepatitis: Often results in sudden death and like Canine Parvovirus and Distemper, is highly infectious. In those animals that appear to recover from the initial infection, ongoing liver and kidney disease is a likely outcome. These patients may also act as potential carriers, spreading the disease for several months.

Your pet’s routine C5 Vaccination Protects your DOG against Canine Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis and Canine Cough:

4. & 5. Bordetella bronchiseptica & Parainfluenza & Adenovirus type 2 (or Canine Cough): Although not usually a life threatening disease, it is highly contagious and is spread in the air just like the human flu. While Canine Cough was previously thought to only occur in boarding kennels (hence commonly called kennel cough) it can be easily spread in areas where dogs congregate, for example: parks, walking tracks, obedience clubs and dog shows. Even if your dog never leaves the backyard, it still has potential exposure to this disease. A dog walking on the adjacent foot path may cough resulting in localised spread of the infection. Canine Cough presents as a dry hacking cough that usually lasts a couple of weeks. More severely affected animals may develop a significantly elevated temperature become very sick and stop eating and drinking. In severe cases dogs develop secondary pneumonia

Puppy Vaccination Protocol

Puppies are ‘temporarily’ protected against the diseases and viruses listed above through maternal antibodies they receive from their mother (providing that their mother has been vaccinated). These ‘maternal antibodies’ do however begin to decline from approximately 6 weeks of age. For this reason it is recommended that your new puppy visits The Causeway Veterinary Clinic for 2 or 3 (dependant on your pet’s age) vaccinations during this early immune developing phase of their life.

The Standard protocol consists of:

6-8 weeks of age: 1st Vaccination – C3 Vaccination -protecting against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvo Virus.

12 weeks of age: 2nd Vaccination – C5 Vaccination – protecting against Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvo Virus and Canine Cough.

16 weeks of age: 3rd Vaccination Due to developments in current vaccination technologies most puppies will no longer require a vaccination at 16 weeks. In particular breeds such as the Rottweiler and Doberman, a 3rd vaccination may be advised by your veterinarian due to well documented issues associated with maternal antibody transfer in these breeds. Likewise if your puppy is at high risk of contracting Canine parvovirus it may be recommended that they have an additional vaccination. Again this will be discussed with you at your 12 week vaccination.

Your puppy should then receive a YEARLY C5 Booster Vaccination.

Yearly Vaccination Booster

Your dog must receive a yearly Booster Vaccination to ensure that its immunity is maintained for its entire life.

It is important to remember that Vaccination is the only real form of protection for your DOG!

Cat Vaccinations

At The causeway Veterinary Clinic we recommend cats be vaccinated with a F4 vaccination protecting your CAT against:

1. Feline Enteritis: A highly contagious virus that results in excessive vomiting and diarrhoea (often bloody). As seen with Canine Parvovirus, many cats die of dehydration despite veterinary intervention. Cats that appear to have clinically recovered from the disease can pass the virus on for several months.

2. Cat Flu: The term used to describe the viruses (Feline Herpesvirus/Feline Rhinotracheitis and Feline Calicivirus) that result in a highly contagious respiratory disease in cats. The clinical signs of Cat Flu are typically sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, discharge from the eyes and mouth ulceration. Cat Flu is usually only life threatening in young and old cats (or those with other immune compromising factors), however all cats that are infected with Cat Flu can develop a chronic form of the disease. This means that a previously infected cat can develop Cat Flu multiple times throughout its life from only one exposure.

3. Chlamydia: Generally classed with the Cat Flu viruses and causes conjunctivitis that usually only affects one eye and can be extremely painful.

In addition to the routine F4 Vaccination, we recommend that you vaccinate your cat against Feline AIDS with a Feline Immunodeficiency Vaccine or FIV vaccine. Feline AIDS causes a potentially fatal viral disease that interferes with the immune system of your cat. AIDS is contracted through bite wounds. Initially cats that have contracted AIDS may present with fever, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes, and a loss of appetite or diarrhoea. As the disease progresses symptoms such as weight loss, sores in and around the mouth and evidence of chronic infection become apparent. Eventually the immune system becomes too weak to fight off mild infections and diseases and death usually results. Recent statistics report that between 14 – 29% of cats in Australia are infected with Feline AIDS and many positive cats have been identified in the Goulburn Valley.

Kitten Vaccination Protocol

Kittens are ‘temporarily’ protected against the diseases and viruses listed above through the maternal antibodies they receive from their mother (providing she has been vaccinated). These ‘maternal antibodies’ do however begin to decline from approximately 6 weeks of age. For this reason it is recommended that your new kitten visits The Causeway Veterinary Clinic at 6 weeks of age to start its vaccination program.

The Standard protocol consists of:

6 – 8 weeks of age: 1st Vaccination – F4 Vaccination – protecting against Feline enteritis, Cat flu and Chlamydia

10 – 12 weeks of age: 2nd Vaccination – F4 Vaccination – protecting against Feline enteritis, Cat flu and Chlamydia & 1st FIV Vaccine protecting against Feline AIDS

14 – 16 weeks of age: 3rd Vaccination F4 Vaccination at protecting against Feline enteritis, Cat flu and Chlamydia & 2nd FIV Vaccine protecting against Feline AIDS

16 -18 weeks of age: 3rd FIV Vaccine protecting against Feline AIDS

Your kitten should then receive a YEARLY F4 & FIV Booster Vaccination.

Yearly Vaccination Booster

Your Cat must receive a yearly Booster Vaccination to ensure that its immunity is maintained for its entire life.

It is important to remember that Vaccination is the only real form of protection for your CAT!