Is it safe to give my 8-year-old unvaccinated dog distemper shots?

Most unvaccinated, adult dogs can receive a vaccination for distemper once they are, healthy, normal and not ill. She will need two vaccines given 3 weeks apart to set the proper immunity levels. Unless she has an ongoing chronic condition like an autoimmune condition or a blood borne parasite, most pets will not be immune compromised in general but I cannot answer that question for you without knowing her full history. I recommend to call the veterinarian who took care of Chutki last year and ask if she is immune compromised in anyway. Make sure to ask if it is safe to vaccinate her. Chutki's hair loss could be several things including allergies, endocrine disease, parasites, hormonal changes, poor diet or the normal twice yearly shedding of the coat. The only way to figure out the cause is to have her examined by your veterinarian. You can rule out parasites by using an oral medication like Simparica. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Having her spayed can also help to regulate her hormones. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Charlie. Puppies are typically vaccinated for the distemper virus. However, some are never taken to a veterinarian. So I would certainly recommend having Charlie vaccinated now. He would need an initial vaccine and then a booster in 3-4 weeks. This will ensure that he is adequately protected. I hope this information helps!

First, have her examined by your veterinarian. He or she can administer or dispense a dewormer. It will likely need to be repeated in 2 and 4 weeks. Afterwards, start her on a monthly preventative for heartworm and intestinal parasites. A topical or oral flea and tick preventative can also be started. Discuss with the vet what Cherry's lifestyle will be. This will determine which vaccines she will get. Core vaccines include distemper/parvo combination and Rabies vaccines. She will need 3-4 distemper/parvo vaccine every 4 weeks. The rabies vaccine she can get now. It will be repeated next year, then every 3 years. Lifestyle vaccines include Lyme disease, leptospirosis, canine flu and bordatella (kennel cough). These are given based on her risk of exposure. You can discuss their use with your veterinarian. She can be spayed at about 6 months of age.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If she is doing well and you proceed to vaccinate and deworm her now then that would be fine. As long s it gets done then it should not have any longterm consequences. Good luck and have a great day!

Good questions. After your vet examines your pet and deems them healthy for vaccines, then its ok to proceed. There is no way to predict if a pet is going to have a reaction, and the fact that the pet never had vaccines before does not increase their chances of having a reaction. The best thing to do is to monitor Princess accordingly for 24 hrs after her vaccines for signs of a reaction, which include: vomiting, diarrhea and facial swelling. A heart murmur is detected with a stethoscope used by your veterinarian in certain locations on the chest. I am unsure of what was going on with the other pet that received vaccines. However if it took several months for the pet to perish, then this certainly was not caused by the vaccinations and likely was an unrelated underlying condition. Vaccine complications occur within 1-7 days at the most, if they are going to occur. Therefore if my pet were unvaccinated at the age of 6, I would proceed with going forward with the necessary vaccinations based on his/her exposure, so discuss with your vet to determine which vaccines are absolutely necessary for your pet Princess. I hope this helps!

You can give any puppy a vaccine as long as their temperature is normal and they are not actively sick. However, you do run the risk of vaccinating a puppy who already has been exposed, but just hasn't had a full display of symptoms yet. This is an unfortunate situation to be in. Eye mucous is not a clear sign of distemper, but instead it would entail the full scope of the disease which is lethargy, not eating, fever, upper airway infection symptoms, etc. I would suggest getting a vet involved to do a full exam on these puppies first to determine which are not healthy enough for vaccination, and then try to isolate the sick ones to hopefully help prevent the entire litter from catching it. Hopefully you can save a few of these puppies. Treatment for distemiper is costly and very rarely will result in survival. It is just a terrible disease and I hope the best for your pups as they try to get through this. Best wishes and take care.

She is a pretty girl!!! The most important vaccination (and one required by law) is the Rabies vaccine. This is essential. The second most important vaccine is the Distemper vaccine, which is often a combo vaccine sometimes called a DHPP (protects against distemper, canine hepatitis, parvovirus and parainfluenza). These vaccines are considered the "core vaccines" for dogs. Every dog should have them. The rest will depend on her lifestyle. I also recommend the Leptosporosis vaccine for dogs if they spend time outdoors in areas with creeks/puddles/ponds because this disease is a bacteria transmitted to dogs by contaminated water (rodents who have the disease urinate and it contaminates the water and the dogs can acquire it this way). The Lepto vaccine requries a series of 2 booster 3 to 4 weeks apart if she has never had it before. Other vaccines you may consider would include Lyme if your dog is outdoors and exposed to ticks and you are in a lyme endemic area, Bordetella also known as Kennel Cough if you ever take her to the park/groomer/kennel/dog classes/out for walks in areas with other dogs. Canine Influenza is another vaccine I recommend for dogs that come into contact with many other dogs/areas with many other dogs such as kennels or dog shows/events. That vaccine will also require a series of 2 vaccines several weeks apart if she has never had it before.