Vaccinations and Your Puppy

• Vaccinations are to help protect your puppy from diseases that remain a high risk and can be fatal

• Always check with your vet if you are unsure if your puppy has already been vaccinated

• Some injections are needed annually, others every 3 years

• There are a range of diseases your puppy will need to be vaccinated for

Vaccinations are considered one of the most important things you should do in the first few weeks of bringing your pup home. 

Regular vaccinations help puppies grow and remain free of infectious disease, but most importantly can also help prevent them from passing diseases onto other animals or pets in the local area. 

Vaccinations are likely to be a requirement if you plan to travel with your dog abroad, aim to place them in boarding kennels, dog boarding or dog walking.

Puppies are vaccinated around eight to ten weeks, although they can be vaccinated as early as four weeks. Speak to your vet about what suits your pup best. Most often, puppies will require booster vaccinations around 6 - 12 months with repeat annual boosters throughout your dog's life.

The diseases usual vaccinations protect against are as follows:

• Canine Distemper

• Canine Parvovirus

• Kennel Cough

• Leptospirosis

• Parainfluenza

• Adenovirus 1 & 2

• Rabies

Although rabies is not a compulsory vaccination requirement currently for dogs in the UK, if you plan to travel abroad with your dog or to another country it will need the rabies injection. 

Your puppy will also need to be at least 12 weeks old & microchipped to receive this vaccination. 

Currently, it is a requirement, among others to receive a Pet Passport or allow you to bring them back into the UK. This could be subject to change depending on the changes with pets and travel due to Brexit.

The cost for the vaccinations in the UK varies depending on many factors, but on average the initial set of vaccinations are around £60 with annual boosters costing around £40.

Pet owners can take out healthcare plans that include vaccinations as part of the monthly fee. The price of these healthcare plans can vary depending on age and breed but usually are around £15 per month.

Vaccinations, in general, will not be covered under your pet insurance policy as it falls under routine procedures.

The provision that talks about vaccinations can typically found under the “General Conditions” section in your policy wording and will fall under a “Routine Care” clause.

A normal routine clause will state that you need to take all the necessary steps to look after your pet. One of these being that you vaccinate your pet as per the recommendation from your vet.

Most anxiety surrounding vaccinations stems from the uncertainty around opting out of vaccinating your pets and your insurance.

Waggel can’t speak for all insurers, but our policy is that electing not to vaccinate is still your choice, and it won’t void your entire policy. However, if your pet does contract a disease that could have been protected against, then we are unlikely to pay out the claim and will also be unlikely to pay out any future related illness.