Vaccination Guidelines

Protect Your Pet From Preventable Disease.

At Sardis Animal Hospital, we understand that vaccines protect most pets from serious diseases. However, we don’t believe in giving pets vaccines they don’t need. Our vaccine protocols are based on the recommendations published by the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and The American Association of Feline Practitioners. We consider your pet’s lifestyle, exposure to other animals in kennels and urban dog parks, and your pet’s risk of preventable diseases, then tailor your animal’s vaccine program to his or her particular needs.

Dogs

We may recommend the following canine vaccines:

• Distemper/Adenovirus/Parainfluenza/Parvovirus (DAPP)— 3–year vaccine in second year of vaccinations
• Rabies—3–year vaccine in second year of vaccinations
• Leptospirosis—annually, as needed based on your pet’s lifestyle
• Bordetella (Kennel Cough) —every twelve months, as needed based on high exposure environments
• Lyme—annually, as needed based on your pet’s lifestyle and exposure to infected Ticks

Puppy Series

Typical vaccines may include:

• DAPP —start at 8 weeks, then a booster every 4 weeks, at least three doses
• Rabies—at 16 weeks with last set of puppy boosters
• Leptospirosis—after 12 weeks as needed for your puppy’s lifestyle
• Lyme—after 12 weeks as needed for puppy’s lifestyle

Cats

Recommended feline vaccines may include:

• Feline Distemper/Upper respiratory (FVRCP) — 3–year vaccine in second year of vaccinations
• Rabies—3 year vaccine in second year of vaccination
• Feline Leukemia (FeLv) —annually, then trienniel in older cats as needed

Kitten Series

Typical vaccines may include:

• FVRCP and FeLV —start at 8-9 weeks, booster in 4 weeks
• Rabies—at 14–16 weeks
• FeLv —recommend for all young cats, at 8–9 weeks, booster 4 weeks later

If you board your animal, or travel with your pet across the U.S. border, you will usually be required to produce up-to-date vaccination records. We recommend keeping these records handy in order to avoid any last minute confusion.

We welcome you to bring your questions regarding disease prevention to your pet’s wellness visit, or feel free to call our office with your concerns. For more answers to frequently asked questions about vaccinating your pet, check out the American Veterinary Medical Association website, which is an excellent resource.