At what age should puppies and kittens be vaccinated?

As long as their mother is immune, puppies and kittens are usually protected against disease for the first few weeks of life by the immunity carried in the mother's first milk. However, this immunity fades away quite quickly, leaving the animal susceptible to infectious diseases.

Further information:

• Why young animals receive two doses of vaccine
• Vaccine safety in very young animals
  

Early socialisation of puppies

One of the key reasons that puppies are vaccinated earlier than kittens is so they can be properly ‘socialised’, without fear of disease.

Socialisation is absolutely vital to ensure a balanced and well-behaved adult dog - especially when you realise that more young adult dogs are euthanased because of behavioural problems than die from the diseases we vaccinate against.

Further information:

• Early socialisation in puppies
• Puppy parties