Dogs

Recommended Vaccines for Dogs

  Rabies

• Acute viral brain disease that can infect any mammal
• Transmission: Almost always transmitted via the bite of a rabid animal (often a skunk, raccoon or bat)
• Signs: Sudden, significant change in behavior (irritability, aggression, fear), unexplained paralysis
• Treatment: None; any unvaccinated animal exposed to rabies should be euthanized or strictly isolated immediately (follow state and local laws)
• Prognosis: Always fatal once clinical signs appear
• Vaccination: Recommended for all dogs, often mandated by law

DHPP (Canine Distemper, Infectious Canine Hepatitis, Canine Parvovirus, Canine Parainfluenza Virus)

Canine Distemper

• Caused by a virus related to measles
• Affects respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems
• Transmission: Highly contagious, transmitted via airborne droplets from infected dogs
• Signs: Fever, runny nose, watery eyes, may progress to twitching muscles, paralysis, seizures
• Treatment: Fluid therapy, plus antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections
• Prognosis: Potentially fatal
• Vaccination: Recommended for all dogs

Infectious Canine Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus-1)

• Viral disease that can damage the liver, kidneys, spleen and lungs
• Recovered dogs continue to shed virus in urine for at least six months
• Transmission: Transmitted by ingestion of urine, feces or saliva of infected dogs
• Signs: Fever, thirst, runny nose and eyes, vomiting, bleeding, respiratory disease
• Treatment: Fluid therapy and antibiotics; blood transfusions may be necessary
• Prognosis: Mortality rate is highest in very young dogs
• Vaccination: Recommended for all dogs (CAV-2)

Canine Parvovirus

• Disease of the gastrointestinal tract; puppies most at risk
• Resistant to many disinfectants
• Transmission: Transmitted by contact with infected dogs or their feces
• Signs: Bloody diarrhea, fever, lethargy; some show no signs
• Treatment: Fluid therapy, antibiotics and supportive care
• Prognosis: Most dogs recover with appropriate care
• Vaccination: Recommended for all dogs

Canine Parainfluenza Virus

• Often the primary virus contributing to infectious tracheobronchitis, commonly called kennel cough
• Transmission: Transmitted via airborne droplets from infected dogs
• Signs: Harsh, dry cough, often followed by retching and gagging
• Treatment: Supportive care and cough suppressants
• Prognosis: Can become fatal bronchopneumonia in puppies or chronic bronchitis in elderly dogs
• Vaccination: Recommended for dogs in close confinement, such as when boarding or in veterinary hospitals

Bordetella bronchiseptica

• Often the primary bacteria contributing to infectious tracheobronchitis, an inflammation of the upper airways commonly called kennel cough
• Transmission: Highly contagious, transmitted via airborne droplets from infected dogs
• Signs: Harsh, dry cough, often followed by retching and gagging
• Treatment: Supportive care and cough suppressants
• Prognosis: Can lead to fatal bronchopneumonia in puppies or chronic bronchitis in elderly dogs
• Vaccination: Recommended for dogs in close confinement, such as when boarding or in veterinary hospitals  

Lyme Disease

• Acquired from infected ticks by both dogs and humans
• Lyme disease bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) damage joints, kidneys and other tissues
• Transmission: Transmitted by the bite of an infected tick
• Signs: Lameness, fever, lack of appetite, lethargy
• Treatment: Antibiotics
• Prognosis: Infection can persist
• Prevention: Vaccination prior to tick season in areas where disease is present, regular topical tick control and the avoidance of ticks 

Leptospirosis

• Bacterial disease that can cause disease in the liver, kidneys and other organs
• Transmission: Transmitted through contact with an infected animal's urine
• Signs: Nonspecific early signs include: fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, joint and muscle pain
• Treatment: Fluid therapy and antibiotics
• Prognosis: Acute renal failure occurs in 80% to 90% of dogs with clinically significant disease
• Vaccination: Recommended for dogs older than 12 weeks of age where disease is prevalent 

Canine Influenza

Canine influenza (dog flu) is influenza occurring in canines.  Canine influenza is caused by varieties of Influenzavirus A, such as equine influenza virus H3N8, which in 2004 was discovered to cause disease in dogs.  Because of the lack of previous exposure to this virus, dogs have no natural immunity to this virus.  Therefore, the disease is rapidly transmitted between individual dogs.  Canine influenza may be endemic in some regional dog populations of the United States.  It is a disease with a high morbidity, but a low mortality.

About 80% of infected dogs with H3N8 show symptoms, usually mild (the other 20% have subclinical infections), and the fatality rate for Greyhounds in early outbreaks was 5-8%, although the overall fatality rate in the general pet and shelter population is probably less than 1%.  Symptoms of the mild form include a cough that lasts for 10-30 days and possibly a greenish nasal discharge.  Dogs with the more severe form may have a high fever and pneumonia.  Pneumonia in these dogs is not caused by the influenza virus, but by secondary bacterial infections.  The fatality rate of dogs that develop pneumonia secondary to canine influenza can reach 50% if not given proper treatment.  Necropsies in dogs that die from the disease reveal severe hemorrhagic pneumonia and evidence of vasculitis.