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Pet Vaccines
We offer comprehensive vaccination services to protect your furry friend from preventable diseases and prioritize their health.
Pet Vaccines in Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Vaccines are essential for safeguarding your pet’s well-being by preventing common and potentially life-threatening diseases. Through vaccination, you protect your pet and contribute to the overall community health by reducing the spread of contagious illnesses. They help animals fight disease before it takes hold and keep pet populations safe from infection. To see exactly why vaccines are so necessary and how best to ensure your pet’s safety, it’s critical to understand how they work.
Here are some of the most common questions and their answers.
How Do Vaccines Work?
Vaccines administer a very low dose of a pathogen to a pet so its immune system can “learn” to fight it. When a virus or bacteria enters the animal’s body for the first time, the animal does not possess immunity, but introducing the disease prompts the system to manufacture antibodies to help fight it, explains the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Those antibodies then live in their bloodstream from then on, so should they encounter that pathogen in real life, full-strength, they will already have the tools to fight it.
Will My Pet Be 100 Percent Immune?
This is a tricky question. Some animals who receive vaccines do develop total immunity. Others only develop partial immunity. Still others, if they don’t receive booster shots regularly, may lose part or all of their previous immunity.
That’s why the concept of “herd immunity” is so important. When the entire population susceptible to a particular disease is vaccinated, the disease can’t find a foothold. Therefore, even if an animal didn’t have 100 percent immunity, it wouldn’t matter because other animals couldn’t get infected and pass it on.
However, today’s reports show that not nearly enough animals are getting vaccinated. Let’s all work to change that.
Which Vaccines Does My Pet Need?
Your pet may need “core” vaccines or “non-core” vaccines. Core vaccines for dogs include canine parvovirus, canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, bordetella, and rabies. Core vaccinations for cats include feline panleukopenia, feline calicivirus, feline rhinotracheitis, and rabies.
Depending on your dog or cat, your vet may also recommend other vaccines. For instance, if your cat is at risk of developing feline leukemia, your vet may advise a vaccine to help combat the chance. Or if your dog is exposed to ticks or wildlife, Leptospirosis, Lyme, or Rattlesnake, vaccines may be needed.
Are There Side Effects to Vaccinating?
Usually, no. Vaccines are safe and well-vetted, and we’ve been using the same ones on dogs and cats for years. At most, pets may experience a bit of mild fever or discomfort associated with the low dose of the disease they’ve received. In rare cases, however, you may notice a severe allergic reaction: itching and swelling of the skin and face, vomiting and diarrhea, or difficulty breathing. If you notice any of this, please seek veterinary assistance right away.
Mostly, though, vaccinations are a routine part of any pet’s life, and there’s nothing for you to worry about.
Want to learn more about vaccinating today? Call us at (909) 987-4788 or schedule an appointment online!