This week vet Joe Inglis helps a dog owner unsure whether her pet needs annual booster injections, and an owner worried about his cat’s small bumps.

Do dogs need annual vaccinations? Joe Inglis answers your pet questions
Vet Joe Inglis answers your questions each week

A friend told me her vet said you don’t have to have your dog vaccinated after they are eight years old, as their body has built up an immune system. I have always taken my dogs for their yearly booster injections and said I had never heard such a thing. I would appreciate your opinion. Pauline

Vaccinations can be a contentious issue as the traditional routine of yearly booster injections often seems excessive to their owners, who are used to having vaccinations every decade or so themselves. In recent years, advances in vaccine technology and growing evidence for prolonged periods of immunity after injections has meant a shift towards less rigorous vaccination regimes, with most vets now offering full vaccinations every two or three years, with annual injections against just one disease, leptospirosis.

Pet owners are also taking advantage of blood tests that check the level of antibodies in the bloodstream and enable an informed decision on further vaccinations. This is the route I would advise if you have any concerns about continuing with your dogs’ injections, as it is certainly not the case that all dogs over eight will be protected for the rest of their lives and it is not worth the risk of leaving your dogs vulnerable to life-threatening diseases.

I’m worried about small bumps that my cat Lucy often develops. She seems irritated and scratches them. They tend to go away after a few weeks. Have you any idea what they are and is this something  I should be concerned about?  Greg, London

These are probably some form of skin allergy and the most likely candidate is fleas. Flea bites can cause small lumps, which are then intensely itchy for the cat, particularly if they are sensitive to flea saliva. Even if you don’t see fleas on your cat, it could be that she is coming into contact with them and reacting to the bites, so make sure she’s fully protected with an effective flea product.

If fleas are not to blame then there are many other things that can cause skin allergies, such as pollens and house dust mites. Cats and dogs often suffer from skin irritations rather than the red eyes and runny noses we associate with similar hay fever-type allergies. The final possibility is stress, which can also lead to skin problems. If there are other cats invading your cat’s territory, particularly the house, you need to look at how you can  keep other cats away, for example by installing a microchip-reading cat flap that allows only your cats in, or by cat-proofing the garden. If nothing seems to be helping, then I would suggest a visit to your vet who would give your cat a thorough examination and be able to give more specific advice and potentially medical treatment, such as anti-inflammatory drugs.

Please can you tell me if a five-day antibiotic treatment needs repeating if a re-infection takes place or should this protect them for several weeks? Linda

Antibiotics work by either killing or preventing the growth of bacteria and don’t offer long-term protection against injections in the same way that a vaccination would. In cases of long-term chronic infections, antibiotics are sometimes used intermittently to provide relief from debilitating symptoms but this is not ideal and can promote antibiotic resistance. It is much better to address the underlying causes of the problem, such as skin folds or allergies leading to chronic skin infections.

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