Vaccinations

Annual Vaccination:

The AVA has been reviewing its current recommendations for annual vaccination for dogs.

In the meantime, Karen Hedberg, the Chair of the ANKC Canine Health Committee has provided the following information:

The core vaccines of Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus require a 12-15 month follow up after the puppy vaccinations, and thereafter these can be given every 3-4 years. However, it is probably wise to vaccinate breeding bitches at least every 2 years to keep their titre levels high for coverage of puppies up to first vaccination age.

Non core vaccines, which include Kennel cough, can be shorter lasting vaccines and should be done on an annual basis if the dog is under threat (kennel cough outbreak) or when you are placing the dog in a high-threat situation eg.going into a commercial boarding kennel.
If not under threat, they are generally not required as they are generally non lethal infections.

Other vaccines such as Leptospirosis, Tetanus etc are generally only considered in the face of an outbreak of that diseases or due to local known conditions where the use of these vaccines is advisable.