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Should Your Pet Be Shot?
The Pet Vaccination Controversy

Cathy Wilkie, DVM

Recommendations for vaccinating cats and dogs


  1. Vaccine programs individually tailored.
  2. For dogs: at minimum 2 vaccines as a puppy, one at 8-10 weeks followed by a "booster" at 12 to 14 weeks, using a vectored high-titer canine vaccine. Core vaccine only (distemper, adenovirus type 2, parvovirus).  Some puppies at higher risk will require vaccines at a younger age, and will need an additional vaccination.  Rabies vaccine given at 16 weeks of age. Bordetella (kennel cough) intranasal is a relatively innocuous vaccine and can be given any time after 9 weeks of age. I do not recommend coronavirus, giardia, lyme, or leptospirosis except in very unusual circumstances for dogs in this area.
  3. For cats: 2 vaccines 4 weeks apart (at 8 and 12 weeks of age) for feline panleukopenia (distemper), viral rhinotracheitis (herpes) and calicivirus. Feline leukemia testing before FeLV vaccination. Kittens who will be going outdoors should also receive feline leukemia vaccines 4 weeks apart. Rabies at or after 16 weeks of age. Strictly indoor cats should not receive feline leukemia vaccination. All kittens should be tested for FeLV and FIV, either before vaccination or by 6 months of age (if not receiving a FeLV vaccine). I do not recommend FIP, ringworm or chlamydia vaccines except in very unusual circumstances (such as cattery or rescue operations with high disease rates).
  4. Revaccination for cats and dogs one year after the puppy or kitten vaccines.
  5. Depending on the pet's lifestyle, risk factors, concurrent diseases, travel history and plans, nutritional status, immune status, other pets in the household and their lifestyles, and response or reactions to previous vaccines, intervals of 3 to 7 years (or longer) between vaccines, with the exception of Bordetella. Antibody titers may be done to assure that at least the humoral arm of the immune response has responded in a normal way to the vaccine. The value of the titer test lies in the initial test only. It is a crude measure of the immune response, and any assessment of the pet's degree of protection from disease based on antibody levels is an assumption. Nevertheless, in some cases it can be a reassurance that the pet has, indeed, made at least some appreciable response to previous vaccinations.