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Puppy Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
I just took my new puppy for his first checkup, and the vet went over all the things that will be needed
in the weeks ahead. He said that my dog needs a series of 4 distemper vaccines. Why are so many needed?
T.R., Wilmington
Dear T.R.,
Sometimes when I tell clients that we need to give a distemper vaccination they respond, “Good…now maybe he
won’t bite me as much!” Unfortunately, giving a distemper vaccine will not help protect your hand from the
ravages of those sharp little puppy teeth.
Distemper is a deadly disease that may cause vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and seizures. In the past,
many young puppies died from distemper. Today, thanks to a wealth of very good vaccines, we see much less
distemper illness in puppies.
When your veterinarian gives a Distemper vaccination, it is usually combined with several other vaccines.
One of the other important vaccines is Parvovirus. It is important that the last vaccine of this series is
given at 16-20 weeks of age.
The reason that a series is recommended for your pet is due to the interference of maternal antibodies (thanks
Mom!) on the effectiveness of the vaccine. While a puppy is nursing on its mother, he receives protective
factors through the milk. These factors not only help protect the puppy from distemper, but they may also
interfere with the effectiveness of puppy vaccinations.
If you could tell when the maternal antibodies were no longer protective, you could begin vaccinating the puppy
at that point. But blood testing is time-consuming and expensive to determine exactly when this point is
reached.
Instead, a series of vaccines is given so that one of the series will likely be given shortly after the maternal
antibodies have disappeared. The closer this vaccine falls to the loss of maternal antibody, the smaller
the puppies “unprotected window” will be.
Vaccination of a 6-month old puppy only requires 2 vaccines because there are no maternal antibodies to contend
with at that point. Unfortunately, the puppy would have a large “unprotected window” before the vaccines were given.
And, as if my discussion has not been confusing enough, the whole question of vaccinations in puppies and kittens
is actively being debated within the veterinary community presently. More research is being done on how long
vaccines last, how effective they really are, what are the potential reaction problems, and what exactly
is an “optimum vaccination schedule” for a dog or cat. Your veterinarian is your best source of sound information
in this important area.
Back to the Puppy Page
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