Puppy vaccines and deworming in Colombia: what is due and when

Which vaccines does a puppy need?

The vaccines the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) considers core for every dog, in any country, are three: distemper, canine adenovirus (infectious hepatitis) and parvovirus. Where rabies is endemic, the rabies vaccine too. And where leptospirosis is endemic and suitable vaccines exist, that vaccine becomes core as well.

This is set out in the 2024 WSAVA vaccination guidelines, the reference used by veterinarians around the world. In practice, the first three usually come combined in a single injection.

There are other vaccines, called non-core, that are given or not according to each dog’s risk: where it lives, whether it goes to daycare, whether it travels. That assessment belongs to the veterinarian, who knows which diseases circulate in your municipality.

At what age is a puppy vaccinated, and how often?

WSAVA recommends giving the first dose of the core vaccines at 6 to 8 weeks of age, repeating it every 2 to 4 weeks and giving the last dose of the series at 16 weeks or later. It adds a booster at 26 weeks or more, rather than waiting until one year.

This table summarizes those general recommendations. It is a guide: the actual schedule is put together by the veterinarian according to the age at which the puppy arrives and what its vaccination record already shows.

The guidelines do not advise vaccinating more often than every two weeks. And if a puppy can only receive one dose, they ask that it be given at 16 weeks or later.

Why is the last dose given at 16 weeks or later?

Because the antibodies a puppy receives from its mother protect it in the first weeks, but they can also cancel out the vaccine. Nobody knows exactly when they disappear in each puppy. Repeating the dose until 16 weeks or later is meant to ensure that at least one works once they no longer interfere.

That is why a record showing “three vaccines” does not say much on its own: what matters is the age at which the last one was given. WSAVA itself explains that even with a dose at 16 weeks a minority of puppies may remain unprotected, hence the booster at 26 weeks or later.

A puppy that changes homes at eight or ten weeks travels with the series started, not finished. The rest falls to its new family, and it is one of the things to make clear when you talk to the breeder. Keep it in mind during the first week at home as well.

Is the rabies vaccine mandatory in Colombia?

Yes. Colombia’s Decree 780 of 2016, Article 2.8.5.2.19, makes it mandatory to vaccinate domestic animals against vaccine-preventable zoonoses, under the conditions of age and frequency set by the ministries. Article 2.8.5.2.41 also obliges the owner to show the current certificate when the authority asks for it.

If you cannot show it, the same article says, the animal may be considered suspected of having the disease. This is no minor formality: rabies is fatal and is transmitted to people.

Public vaccination is the responsibility of the local health departments (secretarías de salud). The Ministry of Health’s Circular 0064 of 2014 orders them to hold mass vaccination days, sets coverage targets of 80% to 100% depending on whether or not the virus is circulating, and asks them to educate owners about annual revaccination.

In Bogotá, for example, the District Health Department gives it free of charge to healthy dogs and cats at least 3 months old that have not received it in the past year. Each municipality organizes its own points and dates: ask your local health department.

How often is a puppy dewormed?

Parasitology guidelines agree on starting early: one treatment at 2 weeks of age and then every 2 weeks until 8 weeks, treating the mother at the same time. That is what the TroCCAP guidelines, written for the tropics, and those of the CAPC say. After that, the veterinarian decides how often.

The reason for starting so early is that some intestinal parasites pass from the mother to the puppies before birth or through her milk. Several can also be transmitted to people.

There are two separate fronts:

• Internal parasites: roundworms and other intestinal worms. They are controlled with deworming medication and with fecal exams; the CAPC recommends at least four exams during the first year of life.
• External parasites: fleas and ticks. In a country without seasons there is no off-season, and the CAPC advises keeping up control all year round.

What must the vaccination record show?

It must make it possible to know what the dog was given, when and who answers for it. Article 2.8.5.2.56 of Decree 780 of 2016 lists what a vaccination certificate contains, and requires that, if it is issued by a private party, it be signed by a veterinarian with their name and professional registration number.

According to that article, the certificate states:

1. The name of the owner or person responsible.
2. The animal’s name, species, breed, age and sex.
3. The diseases the vaccine prevents and the period of immunity.
4. The type of vaccine, the manufacturing laboratory and the health registration number.

In practice that translates into the adhesive label from each vaccine stuck in the record, with a date, signature and stamp. A record with no labels, no signature or dates that do not match the puppy’s age is a reason to be wary.

And once the dog is an adult?

An adult dog does not need to be revaccinated against everything every year. WSAVA states that, once a dog has responded to the core vaccines, they should not be repeated more often than every three years. In Colombia the rabies vaccine follows the annual rhythm required by the health authorities, and the leptospirosis vaccine, when it is used, is also repeated every year.

The annual visit still makes sense even when no vaccine is due: it is when weight, teeth, skin and parasites are checked. And if one day you plan to travel with your dog, an up-to-date record is the first thing you will be asked for.