Vaccinating Your Jack Russell Terrier

Every dog owner wants nothing but the best for their Jack Russell Terrier. Naturally, they want their dog to be happy, lively and healthy. One way of achieving these things is to prevent sickness. And one way to prevent sickness is through vaccination. Vaccine is very important because it promotes your dog's health as well as public health. Puppies between six to eight weeks of age need to be vaccinated especially with core vaccines. Core vaccines are given to dogs to prevent significant infectious diseases. These diseases include Distemper, Canine Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus and Coronavirus.

Another type of vaccine that must be administered to dogs is non-core vaccines. Non-core vaccines vary depending on the lifestyle and exposure of the dog. Meaning if your Jack Russell Terrier is more exposed to Kennel Cough, then the vaccine against this disease should be administered to him. The vaccine to be administered depends on the risk of exposure to the disease.

So how do vaccines work? Vaccine is just like introducing bacteria to your dog. It works by stimulating the dog's immune system to produce antibodies to fight against disease causing bacteria and viruses. However, there are controversies as to how often these vaccinations should be administered. Some says that regular vaccination, such as yearly or every six months follow up is needed to continue the protection. Lately, there are some theories stating that yearly vaccination is not needed because over vaccination may lead to diseases such as cancer.

While there are no known case in which a dog died because of over vaccination, it is still best to pay attention to your dog's health, more importantly as to the proper dose and method of vaccines. Before deciding on giving your Jack Russell his shots, be informed of what these vaccines are. Know whether that certain vaccine is needed by your dog and make sure that he gets only what he needs.

The question regarding the frequency of the vaccination is still left unanswered. Recently, studies show that a dog vaccinated with core vaccines as a puppy, and a booster one year later has prolonged immunity against diseases. Prolonged immunity here means a dog is protected for six to nine years. With this latest discovery, the American Animal Hospital Association set out new guidelines. These guideline suggest that after the puppy has been given core vaccinations and booster, these vaccines need to be boostered every three years. The research simply implies that a dog needs to be re vaccinated once every three years instead of the traditional yearly vaccination.

Richard Cussons is not just a writer but also a great lover of dogs. Discover more about Jack Russell Terriers at this site dedicated to Jack Russell dog.