It is recognised that vaccines cause potential problems. The risk of a vaccine causing a problem is one in thousands as far as allergic reactions, to one in many millions as far as death. The most common side effect for an adult with a vaccine is still an acute reaction that manifests as facial swelling and irritation, a bit like a bee sting. More serious issues include lethargy, flu type symptoms, sudden death and links to blood-based disorders where the immune system goes a bit crazy and can start to attack itself. There appears to be a correlation to these immune blood disorders and vaccinating in that many dogs with this disease have been vaccinated up to 3 months prior.

The risk of not vaccinating is also high in that diseases within the community come back again e.g. distemper and parvovirus outbreaks are commonly seen every few years. In humans there is now greater risks with the re-emergence of whooping cough, TB and in some cases Polio. Therefore the up side of vaccinating is the animal stays healthy, it gets protected against immune diseases and protects the animals in the community against problems.

The question of yearly vaccinations being too frequent was asked thus creating the concept of a 3 yearly vaccination for adults. It is beyond doubt that kittens and puppies need to have their initial vaccination’s and first yearly vaccination. The decision to vaccinate ongoing must be made on a case-by-case basis where the owner needs to ask themselves are they putting their dog at risk by visiting areas and parks which could have diseases. At risk dogs still need to be vaccinated due to their exposure levels.

The question of yearly vs 3 yearly is a tough one because whilst it sounds safer, there is currently no proof that a 3 yearly vaccine is any safer than a yearly vaccine and questions have been proposed asking if a 3 yearly vaccine is actually a higher risk initial due to the stronger vaccine nature. Technically, an annual blood test can look at a pet’s antibody levels to infectious diseases to determine if immunity is still ok however this can be expensive and invasive.

It’s good that there is a lot of media attention about vaccines. There can be problems with vaccines but there are more problems with not vaccinating in terms of the community.

Thus your animal needs to be assessed on their health basis yearly and vaccinated accordingly. We suggest that if you are interested in using a 3-year vaccine routine, are worried about vaccines or think that an ongoing vaccine regime may not be suitable for your pet then discussion with a vet will help to determine what is best. Please be aware however, we still recommend a once-yearly check-up to ensure your pet is in the best of possible health.