Vaccinations are a crucial part of pet care, for two reasons they protect the dog from disease like distemper, and they protect humans and the dogs from diseases such as rabies that can be passed from dog to human.
However vaccinations are not necessarily as routine as they once were
Recent studies have begun to show that when a dog has been vaccinated they have protection for longer than was previously thought. In addition, we now understood that the procedure is not as innocuous as it was once thought to be. Immunologist, infectious disease experts have drawn up a new set of guidelines so that veterinarians can review the risk of disease more accurately and then make the vaccination programme more effective.
Nowadays it is recognised that all dogs are different and the decisions have to take into account the age, breed, environment and travel requirements for each individual dog. Fortunately the modern view is coming around to the idea that all vaccinations have an inherent risk and dogs have a right not to be vaccinated against something they are never likely to encounter in their lives.
Accordingly vaccines have been split into the essential and non essential
The core vaccines recommended for all dogs whatever the type age or other factors are adenovirus, distemper, parvovirus and rabies. Despite the risk of a dog having a reaction to these vaccines, the risk of the dog contracting the disease is higher. Kennel cough, leptospirosis and Lyme disease vaccination are regarded as non essential and it is up to the owner to take advice on the risk.
Guidelines recommend that the distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus core vaccines be given once every three years. Rabies vaccinations does depend on local area health requirements and may be anywhere between one a year to once every four years. If you are showing your dog, or it is placed in a kennel environment then it has a real risk of contracting kennel cough, in these cases it is recommended twice a year. If you a dog is less at risk then the vaccine may be given annually.
However because vaccinations may be less rare but it is important not to neglect medical care for dogs taking the dog to a veterinarian for an annual check up is only the same as a once in seven year check up for a human. Titers or effective blood checks to test exactly how much protection your dog has against certain diseases is becoming more common and although they are now still controversial in time they will help to give a fuller picture.