Pet Vaccinations: What Your Pet Really Needs

When you need a veterinarian in Murrieta, you can count on our team at Old Town Veterinary Hospital to provide all the routine care that your pets require. We ensure that your puppy vaccinations and kitten vaccinations begin at the correct time and continue, giving your pet the best possible start.

Dog Vaccines

The essential vaccine for your dog is rabies. Any dog over four months old is required to have a rabies vaccination unless it would endanger its life. Other strongly recommended vaccines are known as core vaccines, including:

• Distemper
• Adenovirus
• Parvovirus
• Parainfluenza

Core dog vaccines target severe illnesses like distemper that can significantly impact your dog's life. California also recommends that all dogs be vaccinated for leptospirosis. The schedule for core vaccines involves the first shots at less than 16 weeks and the second set after 16 weeks. Most need to be administered a year after the second set and then either yearly or every three years.

Non-core vaccines, referred to as lifestyle vaccines, include Bordetella (required if you board your dog or for some grooming locations) and Lyme vaccination (recommended for outdoor dogs).

Cat Vaccines

The AAHA provides recommendations for cat vaccinations. For cats, the core vaccines they recommend are:

• Feline calicivirus (FCV)
• Feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1)
• Feline panleukopenia (FPV)
• Feline leukemia (FeLV) - this vaccine is a core vaccine for kittens and young cats

While rabies is not a required vaccine for cats, it's a good idea to consider it if your cat goes outdoors and could come into contact with wild animals carrying rabies.

Cat non-core vaccines include Chlamydia felis and Bordatella. These conditions are treatable and, in adult cats, rarely serious enough to be considered core conditions. Vaccinations begin in kittens, and adult boosters are administered following AAHA guidelines.

Contact Our Veterinarians in Murrieta, CA

When you need puppy vaccinations, kitten vaccinations, and general puppy care, you can count on Old Town Veterinary Hospital. Give our office a call to make an appointment today.