Irish Setter dog / By dannaragrim on Pixabay
One of the main preventative treatments for your dogs, cats, and rabbits is annual vaccinations. Vaccinations work by exposing the body to small, harmless doses of a specific disease. Your pet’s immune system then reacts by producing defensive antibodies that ‘remember’ the disease in question. These memory antibodies will fade in time, and at a variable rate depending on the disease. This is why we need to vaccinate against certain diseases more frequently than others.
Dogs
Dogs get vaccinated every year against leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is spread mainly through the urine of infected animals and can also be found in contaminated ground and water. It can be spread from rats, which are prevalent in farms and cities and are common carriers of the disease.
Dogs also need to be vaccinated against distemper, parvovirus, and hepatitis.
Distemper is a contagious viral disease that affects a dog's respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Parvo is a fatal condition that causes haemorrhagic diarrhoea. Hepatitis is caused by a virus that infects the liver, lungs and other organs.
Puppies are vaccinated at 8 and 12 weeks against distemper, parvovirus, and hepatitis. This is then repeated at their adult first booster, then every three years.
Cats
Cats are vaccinated against feline viral rhinotracheitis, panleukopenia, and calicivirus.
Every three years, cats are also vaccinated against feline leukaemia, which follows their first annual booster.
Rabbits
Rabbits are vaccinated yearly against viral haemorrhagic disease and myxomatosis. These are both fatal to rabbits if contracted.
To ensure your pet is up to date with their vaccinations, we are running a vaccination amnesty month for dogs, cats, and rabbits. Over the month of July, you can get a vaccination restart at Coquet Vets! A restart is £60 for dogs and cats, and £50 for rabbits.
To read more about why vaccinating your pet is so important, see our other vaccination articles:
Prevention is always better than cure, so if your pet has lapsed in its vaccinations, please call us at Coquet Vets on 01665 252 250 and get your pet back up to date.
Promotion - Vaccine Amnesty Month - July 2025
Preventative health care is one of our main priorities at Coquet Vets, which is why we are running a vaccination amnesty month for dogs, cats, and rabbits. Get your pet back up to date with their vaccinations this July, with a vaccination restart!
