Labrador Retriever Vaccinations
 
The cliché, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, also applies to your Labrador Retriever. Don’t wait for your Labrador Retriever to get sick. Have your Labrador Retriever vaccinated against diseases. Vaccinations are cheaper than having your pet treated for disease.
Veterinarians agree that the immune system of your dog has to learn to recognize an infection so it can produce the required antibodies to combat it. Only vaccination can do this. Unvaccinated Labrador Retrievers can become very sick when attacked with a virus or bacteria because their immune system failed to respond faster. Vaccinations teach the immune system to react faster before the infectious agent can do damage.
When the mother dog is nursing, she is giving antibodies to her pups. These antibodies will protect the young ones but not for long. Once the antibodies from the mother are gone, the pup becomes an open target to many diseases.
Maternal antibodies, though, when still present in a pup’s immune system, makes vaccinations useless. For this, vaccinations must be made in a series. Shots should be made 3 to 4 weeks apart. Vaccinations at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age plus annual boosters guarantee good health for your pets.
Recommended for dogs is the standard DAAPPL. DAAPPL combats distemper, leptospirosis, parvovirus, para influenza and hepatitis in dogs. These diseases are fatal and your pet needs to be vaccinated against them.
Of course, rabies is a big concern too and vaccination is important. At 16 weeks, your pup should be given a rabies shot followed by an annual booster. Depending on the vaccine, the shot can be given every 3 years. The law requires that you have your pets vaccinated for rabies.
But even if the law doesn’t require rabies vaccination, it is always best to have your Labrador Retriever vaccinated because it will not only protect them from rabies but will also protect you from legal issues. There are some cases when an otherwise healthy animal has to be euthanized because it was unvaccinated but later bitten by an unvaccinated animal.
Also, as a responsible Labrador Retriever owner, be mindful of your dog’s lifestyle. The kind of lifestyle it leads exposes it to diseases in varying degrees. If you always enter your dog in dog shows or if your dog goes to boarding kennels, vaccinations for corona and bordetella will greatly benefit the animal. Dogs that are kept outdoors (which we do not recommend) are also susceptible to more disease than dogs that stay in our homes.
Please be a responsible pet owner and have your Labrador Retriever vaccinated!
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