Most puppies start their core vaccines at 6 to 8 weeks of age and receive another dose every 2 to 4 weeks until they are at least 16 weeks old. One injection is never enough. The antibodies a puppy inherits from its mother protect it in the first weeks of life, but those same antibodies block vaccines from working, and nobody can predict the exact week they fade.
The short answer
- Core vaccination starts at 6 to 8 weeks, not earlier.
- Doses repeat every 2 to 4 weeks until the puppy is 16 weeks or older.
- Rabies is usually a single dose at 12 to 16 weeks, timed by local law.
- A booster 6 to 12 months after the last puppy dose completes the primary series.
- A puppy is not considered fully protected until roughly 2 weeks after the final dose.
Puppy vaccine date calculator
Enter your puppy's date of birth to see when each round of shots usually falls.
Pick a date of birth to see the schedule.
A planning aid based on common guidance, not a substitute for your veterinarian.
Puppy vaccination schedule by age
The schedule below follows the structure used in the 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines and the WSAVA vaccination guidelines. Products, brand names and intervals differ by country and clinic, so read this as the shape of a normal schedule rather than a prescription for your dog.
| Puppy age | Typical vaccines | What is happening |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 8 weeks | DHPP dose 1 | Maternal antibodies are fading; this dose may or may not take |
| 10 to 12 weeks | DHPP dose 2, optional leptospirosis or Bordetella | Lifestyle vaccines usually start here |
| 14 to 16 weeks | DHPP dose 3, rabies | The dose that matters most for parvovirus protection |
| 18 to 20 weeks | One extra DHPP dose in some protocols | Used for high-risk breeds, shelters or late starts |
| 6 to 12 months | First booster | Completes the primary series |
DHPP covers distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), parainfluenza and parvovirus. Depending on the manufacturer you may see the same combination written as DAPP, DA2PP or DHPPi. They are not different vaccines in any way that changes the schedule.
Which puppy vaccines are core and which are optional
Core vaccines
Core vaccines protect against diseases that are widespread, severe, or dangerous to people. Every healthy puppy should receive them regardless of lifestyle:
- Distemper - a viral disease that attacks the airways, gut and nervous system
- Adenovirus (infectious hepatitis) - causes liver disease and rides along in the same combination shot
- Parvovirus - extremely contagious and frequently fatal in unvaccinated puppies
- Rabies - legally required in most countries and untreatable once symptoms appear
Non-core, lifestyle vaccines
These depend on where you live and what your dog actually does. They are worth a conversation with your vet rather than an automatic yes:
- Leptospirosis - consider it where there is standing water, wildlife traffic or seasonal flooding
- Bordetella and canine parainfluenza - for dogs that board, attend daycare, train in groups or compete
- Canine influenza - relevant during regional outbreaks
- Lyme disease - in tick-heavy regions
Why the 16-week mark matters more than the start date
This is the part most new owners miss. A puppy absorbs antibodies from its mother through her first milk. Those antibodies are protective, but they cannot tell the difference between a real virus and a vaccine, so they neutralise both. The level varies from litter to litter and from puppy to puppy inside the same litter. In one puppy maternal antibodies may clear at 9 weeks; in its littermate they may persist past 14 weeks.
Because that timing is invisible without blood tests, the schedule is built on repetition instead of precision: give enough doses, spaced far enough apart, that at least one lands after the maternal antibodies are gone. The dose given at or after 16 weeks is the one most likely to produce durable immunity.
The practical consequence is blunt. A puppy that stops after two doses at 12 weeks has been to the vet twice and may still have no protection against parvovirus. Finishing the series matters more than starting it early.
Rabies: timing and legal requirements
Rabies sits apart from the rest of the series. It is usually given as a single dose somewhere between 12 and 16 weeks, and the timing is set by national or regional law rather than by the puppy's immune system. Some countries require it at exactly 12 weeks, others allow any time before 16 weeks, and a few require a repeat dose after 12 months.
If you plan to travel, check requirements early. Pet travel schemes commonly require a microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination, plus a waiting period of 21 days or more after the shot before the animal may cross a border. A rabies vaccine given before the microchip usually does not count, and the whole sequence has to be repeated.
Socialisation during the vaccine window
There is a real tension here, and it is worth naming. A puppy's key socialisation window closes at roughly 12 to 16 weeks, which is exactly when it is not yet fully vaccinated. Keeping a puppy completely isolated until the series is finished protects it from parvovirus and can leave it fearful for life.
The usual compromise is controlled exposure: puppy classes that require proof of vaccination in progress, visits to clean private homes with healthy vaccinated adult dogs, carrying the puppy through busy places, and avoiding dog parks, pet shop floors and other high-traffic ground until a week or two after the final dose. Ask your vet what local parvovirus pressure looks like, because the right balance is genuinely different in different places.
What to expect after the appointment
Mild effects in the first day or two are common and not a cause for alarm: a quieter puppy, reduced appetite, a small firm lump at the injection site, or a mild temperature.
Contact a vet promptly if you see facial or muzzle swelling, hives, repeated vomiting or diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, or collapse. True allergic reactions usually appear within minutes to a few hours of the injection, which is one reason many clinics ask you to stay nearby for a short period after the first dose.
Deworming runs alongside vaccination
Vaccination is only half of a puppy's early health plan. Most puppies are born with or quickly acquire intestinal worms, so deworming typically starts at around 2 weeks of age and repeats every 2 weeks until 12 weeks, then monthly until 6 months. The Companion Animal Parasite Council and ESCCAP publish regional schedules worth reading. The same logic applies to cats - see our guide on how often to deworm a cat.
Keeping the schedule straight
The failure mode is almost never refusal. It is a missed date: a dose due during a holiday, a clinic that moves an appointment, or a second dose that quietly never gets booked. Write the whole series down the day you bring the puppy home, with the 16-week dose marked as the one that cannot slip.
If you would rather not keep it on paper, PetVitals stores each vaccine as a dated health record and sends a reminder before the next one is due, so the series survives a busy month. Learning to read your dog beyond the vaccine card matters too - our guide to signs your dog is in pain covers the quieter symptoms owners tend to miss.
This article is general educational information, not veterinary advice. Vaccination protocols vary by country, by region and by individual animal. Your veterinarian is the only person who can build the right schedule for your puppy.