For our friend to live many happy years, with an enviable state of health, it is very important that we take him to the vet so that he can get the vaccines that are mandatory in the country where we live. But it is not enough to vaccinate, but also we will have to deworm it, since both fleas and ticks, as well as internal parasites can transmit you some other disease that could be dangerous.
But, what are the vaccination and deworming guidelines that we must take into account? How often do we have to vaccinate and deworm it?
The importance of deworming the dog
There are many parasites, both internal and external, that can put our friend's health at risk. Internal parasites, which are commonly known as worms, can transmit serious diseases such as filariasis, which affects the heart, or leishmaniasis, which causes general malaise and ulcers. As for external parasites, such as fleas or ticks, they can cause allergies, such as allergic dermatitis, whose main symptoms are peaks and redness of the skin, but also more serious diseases such as bite paralysis.
To avoid taking unnecessary risks, it is very important that we deworm the dog, not only in the hot months, which is when the parasites reproduce more quickly, but also throughout the year.
How to deworm a dog
In pet stores and veterinary clinics you will find all kinds of insecticides that will keep any parasites away from your dog. But since the same is not used to prevent or eliminate internal parasites as external ones, we will see separately what to do in each case:
Prevent or eliminate internal parasites
To prevent or eliminate internal parasites we have to give our dog a lozenge or syrup that we will find for sale in veterinary clinics, and sometimes even in pharmacies. We must follow the instructions given by the veterinarian or pharmacist to the letter, since otherwise we could poison it. Usually it will be given once every four months.
Prevent or eliminate external parasites
To prevent or eliminate internal parasites, we do not have to go to the veterinary clinic 🙂. We will find pipettes, sprays and collars in any pet store.
- Pipettes: They are applied to the back of the neck (on the back), usually once a month.
- Spray: the spray is applied whenever necessary all over the body, protecting the eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
- Necklaces: They are placed as if it were a normal necklace, and it is left for the time indicated on the box. In general, you have to change it once a month, but there are some that are effective for 7-8 months.
Deworm puppies, how to do it right
The case of puppies is special, since there is a greater risk of poisoning due to their own size and age. Even so, it is becoming easier to find insecticides -both for internal and external parasites- special for them. Ask your vet which one you can give your furry, and start deworming before his first puppy vaccination, which will be put on after 45 days as we will see below.
Puppy vaccination plan
All the vaccinations in puppies consist of very important -In fact, there are some that are mandatory- so that the health of our dog is not compromised. Whenever there are doubts about when to start vaccinating the puppy, it is best to go to the vet. But to give you an idea, the vaccination plan that the professional can follow is the following:
- At 45 days of life, he will give him the first puppy vaccine, which is the first dose against Parvovirus.
- A las 9 weeks old, he will put one to protect him against Distemper, Adenovirus type 2, infectious Hepatitis C, Leptospirosis, and he will also give him the second dose against Parvovirus.
- A las 12 weeks, a dose of the previous vaccine will be repeated, and the third dose against Parvovirus will be given.
- At 4 months, you will be vaccinated against Rabies.
- Once a year will give you the pentavalent vaccine (effective against five diseases), which will protect you against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza; and also another against rabies.
What are vaccines made of?
Vaccines are made up of inactivated viruses that, once administered, cause the immune system start producing antibodies. Thus, if the dog comes into contact with a virus from outside, it can easily defend itself. Each vaccine can have one or more strains of each virus, depending on the manufacturer.
The first puppy vaccine, called "puppy", being administered at such a young age, interferes with the antibodies your mother gave you through milk. For this reason, it is very important that you be revaccinated within a few weeks.
We hope we have clarified your doubts about the vaccination and deworming of your dog. Remember that prevention is the best cure 🙂.