Vaccinations

Dog Vaccination

We vaccinate against several different diseases - we see cases of PARVOVIRUS every year, if not treated quickly and aggresively the outcome is fatal. 

Puppy vaccinations should be started as soon as possible; if a pup has left its mum, chances are good that its old enough for its first shots. Your dog will also require vaccinations throughout its adult life. For our core vaccines, top up shots are required every two years. For Leptospirosis and Kennel Cough, revaccination is required annually.

Parvovirus, Distemper and Hepatitis are covered with our core vaccination plan.

In Taranaki, we also offer cover against Leptospirosis. This is a disease carried by cattle and rodents; it can be passed to dogs and people can catch it too. Our vaccine isn’t perfect - for various reasons it doesn't cover every species of Leptospirosis - but it is the best we have, and it does stack the odds in your pet's favour.

It can be combined with the core shots, so it’s still only one injection, and it adds just $15 to the cost of each vaccination.

We can also vaccinate against Canine Cough. Your pup will need this if they are likely to go into kennels. Canine Cough is a very infectious, airborne disease and can be caught anywhere groups of dogs congregate together. If your dog is going to training classes, agility, shows; or frequents the more heavily populated doggy areas in town; we would advise this vaccination as well. We can do this at the same time as core vaccination.

The Canine Cough vaccine covers the most common types - it is similar to the human ‘flu vaccine' in that the dog might still pick up the bug, but it will be a shorter and less severe disease course.

Cat Vaccination

Our core vaccination in cats is against 'flu and enteritis' from 8-9 weeks of age - however we also have the option of vaccinating against the Feline Aids Virus too. Our core vaccine requires adult vaccinations every 2 years; the FIV vaccine requires a yearly top up.

Feline Aids (FIV) is spread mainly by fighting - so young cats vying for territory are at the most risk of contracting it. FIV doesn't immediately cause a problem - it inserts itself into the cat's body and lurks there, only to pop up in the animal's more senior years. The effects of the virus vary, depending on which part of the cat's body the virus has taken up residence. Often oral health suffers, but immune compromise can show up in other ways. We tend to find that FIV positive cats are more likely to have health problems in their latter years than vaccinated cats. The time to vaccinate is early - as soon as you get your kitten, talk to us about when you can start the course.

For the core vaccination course, we advise two vaccinations, with the last being given at over 3 months of age. The FIV vaccination course requires 3 shots, given at 2 week intervals (with the last also being given at over 12 weeks) as the vaccine works a little differently. We can vaccinate against both in the same consultation.

Rabbit Vaccination

We advise vaccinating pet rabbits against Rabbit Calicivirus (Viral Haemorrhagic Disease) a highly infectious and often fatal disease affecting both wild and domestic rabbits. 

We can vaccinate from 8 weeks of age - but all rabbits should recieve a top up vaccine at 12 weeks when they are sure to respond well to the vaccine. Before this 12 week mark the maternal antibodies passed in the milk can interfere with the vaccine uptake.