Dog Vaccination: Understanding why it is compulsory for a daycare situation

If you are looking to board your pet dog at your local pet daycare, you might need first to visit the pet veterinarian and learn the basics. Typically, the process will have the vet guide you on the necessary vaccines before actually boarding the animal. You would ask why vaccines are essential for daycare.

Well, dog vaccines provide the ultimate protection against bacterial organisms and viruses such as rabies to your canine friend. Remember, the actual daycare setting involves interacting with other pets, and this can lead to getting new infections or diseases.

Pet boarding and vaccines

As aforementioned, the daycare environment exposes your dog to other animals from different backgrounds, thus increasing the chances of infection. It is, therefore, necessary to have vaccinations as a preparation measure for your pet’s stay.

Any reputable would have a list dog vaccines recommended to the owners depending on the location and disease prevalence. Some of the common necessary types include vaccines against canine, parvovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and rabies.

There are also optional vaccines that you can consider for your pet. The conditions related to these non-core vaccines affect dogs in a particular lifestyle, in a location or are not in a routine. Vaccines recognized as non-core include canine influenza virus, H3N2 Distemper-measles combination vaccines, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Bordetella. These vaccines are considered less effective or important compared to the core vaccines in place.

What else is necessary for daycare?

In general safety of your pet, most pet boarding centers would recommend getting the Bordetella vaccine as a protective means against the widespread ‘Kennel cough.’ The condition is easily transmitted among dogs through coughs, nose contact, and licking. All the three situations are openly seen in the daycare environment, making it arguably an infection that is highly to occur.

Besides, you will need the assessment of the dog’s health through additional tests. For example, fecal samples may be necessary to assess whether the dog has parasitic infections which can be transmitted to other pets.

The take on vaccination

Despite vaccines being a helpful option to protect your dog against disease and infections, some vets do believe that too many vaccinations can pose several health risks.  Others would agree that these yearly vaccines do prevent potentially fatal diseases from spreading and are therefore vital. Overall, there is little to argue against most vaccines since they are indeed considered safe for most pet dogs.

References: AVMA, VetMed, AAHA, University of Illinois