Recommended Dog Vaccines and Worming Schedules

The most commonly recommended dog vaccines include:

• Bordetella: This is a bacterial infection sometimes known as "kennel cough."
• Corona Virus: This disease affects the intestines.
• Distemper: This disease affects the lungs, intestine and brain.
• Giardia: This is a parasite that lives in the intestines.
• Hepatitis: This disease affects the liver.
• Leptosprirosis: This disease is a bacteria that affects the urinary system.
• Lyme Disease: This is a serious disease that is spread by ticks.
• Parainfluenza: This disease is similar to bronchitis.
• Parvovirus: This disease affects the intestines and the heart.
• Rabies: This is a dangerous disease that can be fatal and that can also affect humans and ay other mammal.

While vaccination schedules may vary from dog to dog depending on breed, environment and particular risk factors, this is a sample vaccination schedule for dogs.

Bordetella
6 weeks
Monthly to yearly or as needed (depends on whether nasal vaccine or injection is given)

Corona Virus
6-8 weeks
9-11 weeks
12-14 weeks
15-16 weeks
Yearly

DHLPP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus)
6-8 weeks
9-11 weeks
12-14 weeks
15-16 weeks
Yearly

Giardia
6 weeks
9 weeks
Yearly

Lyme Disease
6 weeks
Yearly

Rabies
16 weeks
Yearly

It is important to keep your dog's shots up-to-date. It is proactive and cuts down on disease. It gives your dog a better quality of life. Check with your veterinarian regarding any regulations your state or area has on dog vaccinations. Your vet can also tell you if there are other vaccines your dog may need based on his breed's risk factors.

It is very important to regularly worm your dog. Dog wormers come in liquid or tablet form. All adult dogs should be wormed at least once a year, and at least twice a year if they are in contact with children. Dogs who are showing any signs of infection should be wormed immediately and all breeding females should be wormed prior to mating.

Several of these parasites or worms affect dogs but the most important and most common are the ones which belong to the Ascarid family, and live in your dog's small intestine. Other roundworms infest places such as the large intestine, blood vessels and even the respiratory tract.

Ascarids feed on digesting food in your dog's stomach, and are particularly harmful to puppies. They often penetrate a puppy's gut wall and pass via the blood to the liver and then to the lungs. From there they will crawl up the trachea to be coughed up and swallowed, which places them again in the gut. An infected puppy may develop hepatitis, pneumonia, fits, and obstruction to the gut.

As your puppy gets older most of the worms will travel to his muscles, where they will form cysts. These will lie dormant until the puppy becomes pregnant. They will then migrate to the lungs of the unborn litter. This is why virtually every puppy is born with roundworms, and must be wormed on a regular basis.

Roundworms can infect humans. Good hygiene and common sense concerning children and puppies should control the problem fairly well.

The tapeworm will tickle the dog's anus and cause your dog to drag its rear-end along the floor. If you see this behavior you should have your dog tested for worms. In fact, it is a good idea to have a fecal culture done for worms once a year.

Strategic deworming is a practice recommended by the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Initiate treatment at 2 weeks; repeat at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. For a puppy at increased risk, also treat at 10 and 12 weeks, and then monthly until the puppy is 6 months old. Thereafter, use a heartworm preventative medication that is also effective against hookworms and roundworms.

Treat concurrently with puppies

Treat regularly for prevention. Also monitor and eliminate parasites in your pet's environment.

Worm immediately after 2 weeks.

Discuss with your vet what wormers to use, when and how to use them.