Leptospirosis in dogs is a dangerous bacterial infection that can cause a whole host of problems for your pet, but what makes this disease an even bigger problem (and completely different than other types of dog diseases) is the fact that it can be spread from animals to humans.
Another big problem with canine leptospirosis is the fact that some animals do not show any symptoms of the disease.
Animals that do not show any symptoms of the disease may be carrying it in their kidneys, where it causes little to no problems for these animals.
Other animals may simply be at too early of a stage of the disease for it to be detected and cause any symptoms.
Leptospirosis can be carried by almost any animal, and sometimes dogs may get it from simply sniffing the infected animals urine.
A 2007 study conducted in Michigan found that a quarter of all dogs that were not vaccinated for leptospirosis had antibodies for the disease in their blood, which means that the dogs had leptospirosis at some point without their owners even being aware that they were sick.
While this is good news that leptospirosis in dogs is often not dangerous at all, it also can be frightening because it means that more dogs are carrying canine leptospirosis than it is possible to even know.
Prevention of leptospirosis
The best way to keep your dog safe from leptospirosis is to have him vaccinated. However, the vaccine is not commonly administered to dogs unless pet owners ask for it.
Veterinarians will help the dog owner consider whether the animal should actually have the vaccine because there are more documented cases of negative side effects with this vaccine than there are for other vaccinations that are typically given to pets.
This is especially true for toy breeds such as Doodles. They have a high reaction rate to the vaccine. Due to this is will not be recommended unless the disease is prevalent in your area.
Also it is possible that the vaccination will not work at all. The answer of whether to vaccinate your dog against this disease depends entirely whether your dog is likely to come into contact with the disease.
For example, dog owners who work in an animal shelter may want to vaccinate their own dogs against it because they will have a lot more contact with animals that might carry the disease.
If vaccination is recommended, then the shots will be given starting when the puppy is four months old. Veterinarians will usually give this shot by itself because of all the documented risks associated with it.
12 to 16 months
Rabies, DHPP
Coronavirus, Leptospirosis, Boradetella, Lyme disease
Every 1 to 2 years
DHPP
Coronavirus, Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Lyme disease
Every 1 to 3 years
Rabies (as required by law)