Pet vaccinations Geelong

Vaccinations prevent your dog, cat and other pets from contracting some serious diseases which can be either fatal or cause ongoing medical complications for your pet.

Puppy and dog vaccinations protect against:

Parvovirus – this is viral gastroenteritis which is highly contagious between puppies and dogs. Symptoms to look out for include a low mood, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea, often containing blood. Parvovirus is serious and often fatal.

Canine cough – also known as kennel cough. Symptoms include a barking or hacking cough, fever and severe loss of weight.

Canine distemper virus – this virus causes flu-like symptoms, as well as severe seizures and paralysis. It causes death in up to 50 percent of puppies and dogs that contract the disease.

Hepatitis – an extremely serious disease for puppies which can cause sudden death. For older dogs the symptoms include weakness, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, high temperature and even bleeding.

Puppy vaccinations and dog vaccinations are known as the C5 vaccine. The C5 vaccine works by stimulating your dog’s immune system to produce antibodies to protect against certain diseases. It is important to remember, however, that vaccination does not provide life-long protection for your pet. Vaccinations need to be kept up to date to continue to offer protection. If not, the immunity in your dog will decrease over time meaning an increased vulnerability to infection if exposed to diseases.

Kitten and cat vaccinations protect against:

Feline infectious enteritis – If infected, few cats recover from this virus. Kittens and younger cats are particularly vulnerable to infection if not vaccinated. Symptoms include a high temperature, low mood, severe weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Feline respiratory disease – more commonly known as “cat flu”, this virus is very contagious and can spread rapidly from cat to cat. Symptoms include sneezing, loss of appetite and a fever and swollen, red eyes.

Feline leukaemia virus – Also known as feline AIDS, this virus is usually transmitted when cats fight with each other. Note that feline AIDS is only transmissible to cats. Humans, dogs and other animal species cannot contract the virus from cats.

Kittens are particularly vulnerable to disease and as such it is vital to ensure that kitten vaccinations are carried out to protect your new pet from serious diseases. For cats and kittens the vaccination is known as the F4 vaccine.

Vaccinations for puppies begin between six and eight weeks of age. Another vaccination should occur at 12 weeks, after which you can take your puppy out in public areas. Continuing on, vaccinations for dogs should be administered on an annual basis.

Kittens are vaccinated each month from six to eight weeks of age until 16 to 18 weeks of age. After that, it is important to continue with vaccinating your cat on a yearly basis.

Veterinarian Dr Trevor Brown will visit your home to administer all vaccinations scheduled on the pet’s vaccination passport. As these vaccinations take place on an annual basis, this is also a great time to have a general health check carried out on your dog, cat or other pets. Dr Brown is your Geelong veterinary surgeon who can advise you on cat and dog dental care, carry out any nail clipping if it is needed and advise you on flea, tick and worming preventative treatments.