Vaccines
We recommend vaccinating your pet against serious but preventable diseases like dogs against Rabies, Distemper, Infectious Hepatitis, Parvovirus enteritis, Leptospirosis, Panleukopaenia, Parainfluenza, Leishmaniasis. Some kennels request that a dog be vaccinated for kennel cough (Bordetella Bronchiseptica); Cats against Rabies, Rhinotraheitis, Calcivirus, Panleucopenia, Feline leucemia (FeLV); Ferrets against Rabies and Canine Parvovirus enteritis. All dogs, cats and ferrets has to be given the Rabies annual vaccination. Other vaccinations are not obligatory, but are strongly recommended, because here in Spain are very high temperature around whole year compared with other countries.
We tailor our vaccine recommendations to each particular pet’s environment and lifestyle. Kittens, puppies, and other pets receiving vaccinations for the first time usually will need a series of shots given about 3-4 weeks apart to establish their immunity. Once the initial series has been completed, your pet will need a booster shot each year.
For more information ask for you veterinarian.
Internal and external parasites control
A variety of both internal and external parasites have evolved to live, often in peaceful harmony, with cats and dogs. A few are potentially transmissible to us, or are certainly happy to live on or in us. Fortunately, most are simple to prevent, or treat.
Roundworms, the size of small earthworms, are often inherited by kittens and puppies either via the placenta or in the first milk. They may be vomited or passed in faeces.
Tapeworms are most often contracted by eating infected fleas. Usually rice grain sized segments are passed from the cat’s or dog’s anus or you may see in feces. Pets may be vomited, loss weight, diarrhea.
Giardia is a single cell protozoan parasite contracted by drinking contaminated water. It causes chronically loose stools.
Heartworm disease or Dirofilaria immitis worm is serious disease that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage. Transmitting by mosquito.
Leishmaniasis is disease caused by a protozoan parasite transmitted though the bites of sand flies. They bites a dog which is carrying leishmaniosis. Later, the same sand fly bites a healthy dog and injects leishmania with her saliva under the skin of the dog. From the site of infection, the “chancre”, the leishmania start a very difficult development in several steps until they reach the blood and after an incubation period of between 3 weeks and 3 months (sometimes 3 years), depending on the state of the dog’s defense system, the first visible symptoms occur. Signs may take several years to manifest and include soft cough, tiredness, weakness, loss of weight and condition. Eventually heart failure may ensue.
Fleas leave black shiny specks of dirt in the coat, sometimes their eggs too. They may cause skin allergic reactions and transmit tapeworm eggs.
Ticks attach themselves where cats or dogs find it hard to lick. They gorge on blood for several days then drop off. Ticks carry a variety of potentially serious disease like Erlichiosis, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Boreliosis.
For prevention you have to use spot-on drops or tablets for your pets.
Sand fly prevention
Leishmaniosis is one of the common diseases in south of Spain, Malaga province. Leishmaniosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease transmitted through the bites of the phlebotomine sand flies and is the third most important disease worldwide.
How is Leishmaniosis spread?
The disease is carried from dog to dog by a microscopic parasite called Leishmania infantum, which is spread by sand fly bites. Dogs can be bitten up to 100 times an hour.
Prevention of Leishmaniosis
It is very difficult to prevent leishmaniosis 100%, because sand flies are so very tiny they can even penetrate mosquito netting, but there are 3 key points to help avoid risk of infection.
*Dogs should be kept inside at night to reduce exposure to sand fly bites.
*Provide your dog with a special anti-sand fly collar or spot-on drops.
*Immunotherapy: vaccination with Canileish vaccine and prevention with Leisguard.
*A yearly blood express test to make sure your dog has not contracted this disease.
DANGER: Some ‘spot-ons’ that contain pyrethins, for example Advantix, which is safe and effective for dogs, are potentially lethal for cats. Never use products with pyrethrins either on cats or on dogs that live with cats.