Do Not Let Your Pet Miss The Trip Due To A Missing Vaccination

26 July 2017
 Categories: , Blog

Share

If you are going to be traveling out of the country, or living abroad for a while, you may want to take the entire family with you which may include your family dog. But unfortunately, if you do not meet certain guidelines, you may find yourself waylaid at the airport, or your pet may have to spend an extended period of time in quarantine. Although these vary based on the countries you are traveling to, here are a few vaccinations that you may want to make sure your dog has.

Rabies

Although this disease is now quite rare compared to what it use to be, states are taking the necessary states to keep it that way. Because of this, most states have laws on the books that require your dog to be vaccinated for rabies by a certain age, as well as have a periodic booster. The animal's age, as well as the frequency of the required vaccinations is often a state decision.

States such as Georgia, defer the actual authority to make a requirement to the counties for animals born within the state, but they require any animal entering the state to already have this vaccine. You will be required to show a health certificate certifying that your pet is already vaccinated if they are 3 months of age or older.

Hepatitis

Your dog can develop canine hepatitis as a result of being infected by canine adenovirus type 1. This is a rapidly progressive virus that affects the structures in your dog's body such as their throat. As the virus invades the respiratory system, you pet presents with a case of pneumonia, and it will eventually cause your dog's liver and/or kidneys to fail, which will ultimately result in their death.

While there is also a type 2 of this condition, it usually only results in a cough and is not infectious. Unfortunately, type 1 can be fatal as there is no cure and it can be particularly painful for you and your pet to endure. This can be a very quick death from the time the first symptoms appear until your pet's death. The beauty is that this condition can be completely avoided by having your dog vaccinated.   

Leptospirosis

This is an infection that you dog can get when tiny bacteria invade your dogs body by penetrating through their skin. Once they burrow through the skin, they rapidly spread by reproducing in many of your pet's internal organs. This results in your pet having infection throughout their bodies. This infection is often able to be cleared by your pet's own immune system and medication if you catch it in time. Unfortunately, this can result in death in a pet with a compromised or less developed immune system. This condition can be contagious and can be transmitted to both humans and other animals. This condition can be avoided with the proper vaccination.

It is very important that your pet not only has their core vaccinations, but all of the extra vaccinations that your veterinarians recommends for your region and anywhere that you may be traveling. Ensuring that your pet has received the required puppy shots, vaccinations, and ongoing booster from your veterinarian will not only allow you to be within compliance and keep your pet with you at all times, it will also help to keep your pet safe while you are traveling. Make sure that you check with the embassies of the countries you will be traveling to at least six months prior to your trip to ensure you have time to get everything you need from your veterinarian.