Guide: puppy vaccine schedule
Puppy Vaccine Schedule and Deworming: What Is Done Before Go-Home and What Comes Next
A typical puppy vaccine schedule has a combination vaccine every 2 to 4 weeks from about 6 weeks old until at least 16 weeks, a rabies vaccine at 12 weeks or later, and deworming every 2 weeks from 2 weeks old. Your puppy leaves us with its first round done and its records in hand. After that, your own veterinarian finishes the series.
Puppy vaccine schedule by age
This table follows the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) canine vaccination guidelines, the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) and the American Heartworm Society. Your veterinarian will adjust it for your puppy and your area.
| Age | Vaccines | Parasite control | Who does it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks | First combination vaccine at 6 to 8 weeks | Deworming every 2 weeks | Breeder and breeder’s vet |
| 8 weeks | Start monthly heartworm prevention by 8 weeks | Breeder or your vet | |
| 10 to 12 weeks | Second combination vaccine. First leptospirosis dose from 12 weeks. | Monthly preventive | Your vet |
| 12 to 16 weeks | Rabies, at 12 weeks or later as your state requires | Monthly preventive | Your vet |
| 14 to 16 weeks | Final combination vaccine at 16 weeks or later. Second leptospirosis dose. | Monthly preventive | Your vet |
| About 1 year after the last puppy dose | Boosters | Heartworm test | Your vet |
The combination vaccine covers distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus, usually with parainfluenza. AAHA calls for at least three doses between 6 and 16 weeks, given 2 to 4 weeks apart (AAHA).
Core and optional vaccines in a puppy vaccine schedule
AAHA sorts vaccines into core, recommended for every dog, and noncore, chosen by lifestyle and location.
- Core: distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus, rabies and, since AAHA’s 2024 update, leptospirosis.
- Noncore: vaccines such as Bordetella (kennel cough), canine influenza and Lyme disease. Your vet will recommend these if your dog boards, goes to daycare or grooming, or lives where the disease is common.
After the puppy series, AAHA recommends a booster within a year, then the combination vaccine every 3 years and leptospirosis every year. Rabies timing follows state law.
Deworming and heartworm
Most puppies are born with roundworms or pick them up from nursing, which is why deworming starts so young. CAPC recommends treating puppies at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age, then moving them to a monthly broad-spectrum preventive. It also recommends testing a stool sample at least four times in the first year (CAPC).
Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes. The American Heartworm Society recommends starting a preventive as early as the product label allows and no later than 8 weeks of age. Puppies under 7 months can start without a heartworm test, with testing to follow at later visits (American Heartworm Society).
Where can my puppy go before the shots are finished?
This is the question new owners worry about most, and the answer is not “nowhere”. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) says the first three months of life are the most important window for socialization, and that puppies should meet new people, animals and places before they are fully vaccinated, in settings where the disease risk is kept low. It notes that behavior problems, not infectious disease, are the leading cause of death in dogs under three (AVSAB position statement).
In practice:
- Good choices: your own home and yard, friends’ homes with healthy vaccinated dogs, a well-run puppy class, being carried through new places.
- Wait until the series is complete: dog parks, pet store floors and any ground where many unknown dogs have been.
Ask your vet what is sensible where you live. Our puppies start this work early. See how we raise them.
Where your puppy is in its vaccine schedule when it leaves us
Every puppy goes home with:
- A full veterinary check-up
- Its first round of age-appropriate vaccinations
- Deworming
- A microchip
- Vet records listing what was given and when
Take those records to your first vet visit, which we suggest booking within the first week. Your vet will use them to schedule the remaining doses. Read more about our health testing and vet care.
Related guides
- Parvo in Puppies: Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment
- Distemper in Puppies: Signs, Spread and the Vaccine That Prevents It
- Leptospirosis in Dogs: Signs, Risks and the Lepto Vaccine
- When Can Puppies Go Outside? A Safe Timeline
See all our puppy guides, read about our health testing, or meet our Havapoo puppies for sale and Goldendoodle puppies for sale.
Sources
- American Animal Hospital Association, 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines (leptospirosis recommendation updated 2024)
- Companion Animal Parasite Council, Ascarid (roundworm) guidelines and General guidelines
- American Heartworm Society, Heartworm Basics
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, Position Statement on Puppy Socialization
This article is general information and does not replace advice from your veterinarian, who should set your puppy’s schedule.
Questions about your puppy's records?
Call or text us at (801) 414-6659 and we will go through them with you.