More about Common Diseases

Health and Welfare advice and information

Inoculations are the most effective way of ensuring immunity against the main diseases your dog may catch.
These are - Distemper, Parvo Virus, Hepatitis and Leptospirosis.
Initial puppy vaccinations and annual boosters thereafter is the most common practice.

Parvo virus, Hepatitis and Distemper are highly infections diseases that are frequently fatal, particularly if not recognised early and quickly dealt with. Young dogs are less likely to survive infections than older dogs.

On farmland Leptospirosis is an ever present bacteria found in stagnant water and transmissible by rats and other farm animals who's urine can be contaminated. In open countryside or moorland that is grazed by cattle with standing stagnant water there is also a chance of picking up Leptospirosis. The same applies to wetlands, even woodlands.
Ingesting infected water transmits the disease. It can also be caught by contact with infected animals.

Hepatitis is a virulent virus infection that can be picked up from infected faeces, urine, saliva, blood or by directs contact with the nose, anus or reproductive organs of an infected dog. It can also be contracted by contact with an item an infected dog has used - bowls, toys, etc.

Parvo Virus is another very infectious viral disease. It can be contracted by contact with an infected dog, from infected faeces or vomit or other bodily fluids. It can also be contracted from items that have come into contact with an infected dog and is easily spread around by shoes treading in infected faeces or urine. It does not take a lot to infect a dog and it spreads quickly.

Distemper is primarily an airborne virus and infection occurs by inhalation of fine droplets in the breath or eye fluids of an infected dog when an uninfected dog comes into close proximity. It is also present in a dogs urine. It can be contracted by contact with wildlife and transmitted in clothing or materials. Outside of a host the virus does not survive for long and can be killed by most household disinfectants.

These diseases are terrible. At best a dog contracting one will suffer greatly and they may well die. Dying from any of these diseases is painful. You would not want to see your dog suffering so take preventative measures.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding vaccination. Some argue that it need not be done annually and some argue that regular annual vaccinations actually have an adverse effect on a dogs health and longevity. It is correct that some dog do have an adverse reaction to vaccination and on some occasions it can be fatal but in view of the numbers of dogs vaccinated, the incidence of side effects of any sort is rare.
One thing that is certain, a regular program of vaccinations has made sure that there are not mass outbreaks or epidemics of these canine diseases.
Follow your vets advice on these matters - vets train for five or six years so they probably know a little bit more than that bloke who blogs about animal health on the internet or a self opinionated member of a forum or chat room.

You may argue that your dog/s never go off your property or seldom come into contact with other dogs or you only walk it on the lead. You may stick to the countryside, exercising your dog on moors or farmland but so do a lot of other people, particularly on public footpaths.
Vaccinated dogs may not be susceptible to the diseases they are immunised against but are still capable of carrying infections and passing them on to unvaccinated dogs indirectly.