Puppy Shots

"When should you think of puppy shots for your pet?" A newborn puppy, although immunity-wise not strong enough to fight the deadly diseases of the doggie world, is not totally defenseless. For the first few days, it has antibodies received via placenta from its mother to fall back on. During the first two days of its life, mother's first milk tries to bolster puppy's defenses by supplying additional antibodies. Both these type of antibodies are called maternal antibodies and fortifies the puppy against diseases to which its mother was vaccinated against or exposed to. Puppy's immunity can, still, further be boosted by following a strictly adhered to puppy shots schedule. For each dog breed, puppy shot timeline varies and for it to be effective for your puppy, one needs to be advised on this type of puppy care by a vet.

Puppy Shots Schedule

Any pet owner who is interested in knowing the puppy shots schedule for an average dog as a reference should go through the following table.

Dog Vaccination Schedule
Age	Vaccination
5 Weeks	Parvovirus
6-9 Weeks	5-Way Vaccine
12 Weeks or more	Rabies
12-15 Weeks	Leptospirosis & Lyme

More Information on Puppy Shots

Do you think the administration of the puppy shots gives your pet complete immunity from the diseases? A puppy does not acquire instant immunity after the administration of the vaccine. Well, it may or may not. It takes time (5-14 days) for your pet's immune system to recognize and remember them for future reference in mounting effective defense against the diseases. It is found the modified live vaccines and puppy shots administered intranasally works fast. The 'may not' factor comes into play because of the interfering maternal antibodies, malfunction of costly as well as low cost dog vaccinations, the puppy shots themselves, your pet's own immune system, or genetics. Any of these may become an obstacle for the immune system in its learning through puppy shots and lead to the vaccine failure. Most often than not, the maternal antibodies are found to the source of the trouble.

Dog care in the form of puppy shots for your little pet cannot be immediately started after its birth. These vaccines are, sort of blocked off, by the maternal antibodies that are circulating in the puppy's blood to anticipate foreign bodies trying to enter. This leads to a period within a few weeks of the puppy's birth, when the protection offered by the mother is strong enough to take the edge out of the puppy shots, but, weak enough for the disease causing agents to sneak in. This is called the window of susceptibility, which for each puppy of the litter is different. It was found that the response to the puppy shots varies depending on how late it is administered. If the shots are administered at:

• 6 weeks of age grants immunity to 25% of the puppies
• 9 weeks of age grants immunity to 40% of the puppies
• 16 weeks of age grants immunity to 60% of the puppies
• 18 weeks of age grants immunity to 95% of the puppies

Even if you are for administering puppy shots at home, consulting your vet about when to do so, is an essential step. He can advise you about the puppy shots schedule that can be used effectively to make your pet as immune as possible to the dog illnesses. Depending on the brands of the vaccines, the puppy shots cost may range from $35-$40 to $100. You will have to shell out more money, in case, there arises need of special dog vaccines for your pet. It is important to know what the law stipulates about dog health problems that can be taken care through puppy shots. In some countries, rabies shots for the dogs are mandatory.