Veterinary Care for Animals Planning Overseas Journeys

When It's Extra Important to Get Your Dog's Vaccinations Up to Date

27 September 2018 by Sophie Knight

Vaccinating dogs is an important part of keeping them healthy, preventing diseases that can be fatal in some cases. If your dog is a suitable candidate for vaccination and your vet advises you that it's the best option, you should try your best to keep up with the recommended schedule.

Unfortunately, it's not always easy to keep on top of regular vaccination top-ups. You may miss the right date when you're busy and forget to schedule an appointment afterwards. This puts your dog at risk generally, but there are some situations where you should make an extra effort to bring dog vaccinations up to date.

Taking your dog overseas

Not all countries have the same vaccination procedures for pets, and some places have much higher rates of infectious dog illnesses. There's also the possibility of wildlife carrying diseases like rabies, which can infect a dog through contact.

Because of this, it's extremely important to make sure your dog is covered before taking them abroad, wherever it is in the world you're going. There's also a strong possibility that airlines will expect an animal to be vaccinated before they're willing to carry them.

Putting your dog into boarding kennels

Any reputable boarding kennels will require that all dogs staying with them are properly vaccinated. If you're planning to do this, it's a good idea to plan in advance so you can book your dog in.

It's more than just ensuring you're able to find a good dog boarder, though. The reasons these policies exist is that no vaccine is a total guarantee a dog won't contract a disease, despite many being highly effective. When you have a group of dogs together, there's a risk of an outbreak if just one of them isn't vaccinated, so it's part of your responsibility to protect your dog and others.

Entering a dog show

Like boarding kennels, dog shows are somewhere you get a lot of dogs together. You might assume that there's no risk, but you shouldn't rely on other people vaccinating their dogs in order to keep yours safe, or assume that there won't still be a chance of disease being present.

Contacting your vet to get your dog vaccinated should be an essential part of preparing for any dog show.

Getting a new puppy

Puppies can't be vaccinated until they're around six weeks old at least, so bringing one into your home could put your older dog at risk.

Before you get your new puppy, visit the vet to get your dog up to date and keep both animals healthy as they get to know one another.

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