Several vaccination guidelines for dogs and cats have been developed for veterinarians in the USA and Europe. Brazilian veterinarians tend to follow those guidelines for guidance in the immunization process. There is currently a need for local and tailored guidelines for vaccination of dogs and cats in Brazil. The Brazilian COLAVAC-FIAVAC Guidelines were developed taking into account the following principles:

 Vaccination is a medical action.

 Vaccines must be used at the best discretion of the attending veterinarian.

 Practitioners should educate and stimulate owners to vaccinate dogs and cats.

 Puppies and kittens vaccination should be extended until 16 weeks of age.

 It is a professional duty to use good quality vaccines.

 We should aim to vaccinate all dogs and cats, and to vaccinate less frequently each individual.

These guidelines summarize our recommendations based on a judicious analysis of the status of vaccinations of pets in Brazil, and the vaccines currently available in the country. This is a live, evolving document that will be updated in concert with new develops in the field of vaccinology and availability of new in Brazil.

The recommendations for dogs and cats are summarized in the tables below:

Abbreviations: CAV-2: adenovírus canino tipo 2 ("canine adenovirus type 2") CCoV: coronavírus entérico canino ("canine enteric coronavirus") CDV: paramixovírus canino ou vírus da cinomose ("canine distemper virus") CPIV: parainfluenzavírus canino ("canine parainfluenza virus") CPV: parvovírus canino ("canine parvovirus") FCV: calicivírus felino ("feline calicivirus") FeLV: vírus da leucemia felina ("feline leukemia vírus") FHV-1: herpesvírus felino tipo 1 ("feline herpesvirus type 1") FPV: parvovírus felino ("feline panleukopenia virus") MLV - modified live virus VS-FCV: calicivírus sistêmico virulento ("virulent systemic feline calicivirus") Wks - Weeks