North Jersey Animal Hospital provides customized dog and cat vaccination plans to protect pets from disease threats in Wayne, NJ and surrounding areas. We start with puppy and kitten shots, which are established as early as 6-8 weeks of age, and once your pet reaches adulthood, we recommend seeing them annually for routine vaccinations to maintain their health and protection. Vaccines are necessary for all dogs and cats, even those that spend most or all of their lives indoors. All kinds of diseases and parasites can make their way into the home, so even the most sheltered pets are still at risk.
Dog Vaccinations
The DAPP dog vaccine provides protection against canine distemper, adenovirus, para-influenza and parvo. This immunization should be given to puppies at eight weeks old. To eliminate the possibility of maternal antibody competition, we recommend continuing the DAPP vaccination every three to four weeks until your pup has reached 16 weeks of age. We administer this dog vaccine once a year.
Bordetella, also known as kennel cough, is a very common and contagious illness that affects the canine respiratory system. The bordetella dog vaccine is administered orally during the first puppy visit. An oral vaccine is given three to four weeks after the initial dose.
Leptospirosis, also known as lepto, is a bacterial disease that can affect both humans and pets. It occurs all over the world and leads to liver and kidney damage as well as death if left untreated. Humans and pets can get this bacterial infection by coming into contact with infected wild animals (e.g., opossums, skunks, raccoons and rodents), lepto-infested water or infected urine. Since this disease can harm animals and humans, we encourage dogs to receive this immunization via two initial doses three weeks apart, and then on a yearly basis.
It is by law that all domesticated dogs must be vaccinated against rabies when they receive their initial shots as puppies at or after 12 weeks of age. Rabies is a deadly virus that affects the brain and spinal cord of all mammals, including dogs and humans. Therefore, it is very important to protect your pet from this virus. An adult booster shot is given a year later and administered every three years afterward.
The Lyme vaccine immunizes pets to Lyme disease, an infection transmitted by deer ticks. Risk of Lyme disease exposure and infection may vary depending on your pet’s lifestyle but is still possible even if your pet is on flea and tick prevention year-round. Clinical signs of Lyme disease may not be noticeable until about two to five months post-infection and may include lameness, swollen lymph nodes, joint swelling and pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite. This vaccine is given first at eight to nine weeks of age, repeated three weeks later, and then administered yearly in adulthood.
Cat Vaccinations
Rabies is a deadly virus that affects the brain and spinal cord of all mammals, including cats and humans. This being the case, it is very important to protect your pet from this virus. At North Jersey Animal Hospital, kittens receive this cat vaccine one time after they reach 12 weeks of age. Following the initial vaccine, adult pets receive the Purevax® form of this cat vaccination yearly for the most advanced safety and protection.
FeLV (i.e., feline leukemia virus) is a deadly viral disease that wreaks havoc on affected cats’ immune systems and can lead to an array of cancerous conditions including leukemia. Because symptoms can remain hidden for months or even years in affected cats, many owners don’t realize there is a problem until it is too late and other cats in the household have already been exposed to the disease. For the best protection, our feline friends should start receiving this cat vaccination beginning at nine weeks of age. After the second set of immunizations is given, a booster is administered one year later, and then every three years afterward.
