Vaccinations

Why Are Veterinary Vaccinations Important?

While there are many other focuses of owning a young pet, ensuring they receive necessary vaccinations as soon as possible is critical. Don’t wait until it’s too late to prioritize your pet’s health and protection. Administering common vaccinations when pets are puppies and kittens is crucial because their young immune systems are still developing and need protection to stay healthy.

While any medical treatment involves some degree of risk, in the case of vaccinations, the benefits far outweigh any potential side effects. Adverse reactions are rare and usually mild and short-term when they do occur.

Which Vaccines Should My Pet Get?

“Core” vaccines are those recommended—and possibly mandated by law—for most pets. Core vaccines include:

Other non-core, but highly suggested vaccinations for cats include FIV for feline immunodeficiency virus and FeLV to protect against feline leukemia. For dogs, bordetella and canine influenza shots are recommended if they frequent dog parks, boarding kennels, or any place where they’re socializing with other canines.

It’s also important to note that even pets who live primarily indoors should be vaccinated, as they can still be exposed to a disease. Your Mount Airy Veterinary Associates veterinarian can advise you which vaccinations are required or recommended for your pet based on age, health, and lifestyle.

Prioritizing Preventative Care

Our doctors recommend at least once yearly exams to check on your pet’s wellness. Our preventative care and wellness programs involve full physical examinations, vaccinations when needed, and tests for common diseases of the species and breed you own (I.e., testing dogs for heartworm, tick-borne diseases, or intestinal parasites).

Preventative care means identifying any potential issues faster, which gives us time to enact the right solutions for managing any health problems in the long term. From preventative medicine to dental care, advanced diagnostics, vaccinations, surgeries, and beyond, our full range of veterinary services will keep your pet safe and happy. To learn more about our preventative medicine, visit our Wellness Services page.