Hi Sandra,
It’s good to hear that he appears to be in a good home now and good on your part for getting his vaccines started. Preventative medicine can go a long way towards a happy healthy life. Vaccines are broken into “core” and “non-core” options. The Distemper-Adenovirus-Parvovirus and Rabies vaccines are considered to be core, or necessary for all dog’s vaccinations. The “non-core” vaccines include Bordetella (kennel cough), Lyme, and Leptospirosis. These can be given but have a discussion with your veterinarian about you and your dog’s lifestyle – where he will go, who he might see, boarding, etc. Lyme disease and Leptospirosis can be more prevalent in some areas so those vaccines may be more pertinent. In terms of the second part of your question, I can’t confirm that vaccinations cause cancer. I hope this helps in leading your discussion with your veterinarian.
All the best.
Dr. Ryan Llera
