What to know about vaccinating your puppy

Vaccinations are necessary to protect your puppy from some very serious diseases. When your puppy is born, they are initially inoculated by a compound called colostrum in the mother’s milk. Once a puppy is weaned the antibody protection decreases.

At Majestic Woods Swissies, we provide the initial core vaccinations prior to receiving your puppy. Those are:

• canine adenovirus-2 (hepatitis)

• canine distemper virus

• canine parainfluenza virus

• canine parvovirus

We also provide you with a health certificate showing when those vaccines were given and the freshness date. We only use vaccines that are fresh, not expired, and we keep them refrigerated. Please bring the health certificate to your initial vet appointment and share those details about the vaccines we use.

We will provide you with what we believe is the proper schedule for your pups’ first year.

The only core vaccine we are not able to provide is Rabies. This should be done by your vet. Rabies is a requirement in all 50 states.

Other non-core vaccines your pup may need depending on your circumstances:

• Bordetella bronchiseptica (kennel cough) – some boarding or daycare facilities may require this.

• Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) – may be advised depending on where you live.

• Canine influenza – the percentage of dogs with this disease is small and it is treatable.

• Leptospira species – Leptospira can be a serious but treatable illness.

At Majestic Woods Swissies, we want your dog to be healthy and happy throughout their life, that’s why we recommend that you titer test after the first year of vaccines.

A 2023 study out of the Boston University School of Public Health found that 50% dog owners showed had vaccine hesitancy citing concerns such as a belief they are ineffective, unnecessary, or harmful. But with titer testing you can be reassured that your dog has the necessary antibodies to avoid disease.

A titer test is a blood test that measures the antibody resistance level to a disease. If the dog’s immunity level is in the specified range, then there is no benefit to vaccinating the dog. While vaccines are generally safe, if there is no benefit to the vaccine, then there is no point in injecting your dog.

Titer tests are about 10-20% higher in cost than vaccinating. But if you determine your dog didn’t need to get shots, and avoided any possible adverse side effects, that cost may be well worth it.

The current standard for core vaccinations is every three years. We recommend that you do the titer test every three years.

Again, Rabies vaccination is mandated by all 50 states, so you must comply with state recommendations.