Vaccination Schedule for Puppies

Vaccination of puppies is an important part of puppy care. It will assure their good health. Vaccination for puppies can vary according to their breed, health condition, age, etc. It is recommended that you consult a veterinarian before taking your puppy for a vaccination, because every puppy has different vaccination requirements. The vaccination schedule for puppies can vary from veterinarian to veterinarian, and many a time it depends on the region you live in. The factors that usually govern the vaccination schedule for puppies are:

• Geographical area
• Health condition of the puppy
• Breed of the puppy
• The puppy's age

Before we move on to the vaccination schedule for puppies, let us first understand the types of dog vaccines. Dog vaccines can be classified into core vaccines and non-core vaccines. As their names suggest, core vaccines are given to all dogs and puppies, while non-core vaccines are given only to certain dog breeds depending on above listed factors. Rabies, canine adenovirus-2, distemper, etc, are considered as core vaccines, while canine parainfluenza, Bordetella bronchiseptica, etc, are some of the non-core vaccines.

Vaccination Schedule for Puppies

The vaccinations required for any puppy also depend on the ability of the puppy to fight against various diseases. Puppies need a series of vaccinations before they complete one year of age. Dog vaccination schedule is usually yearly and not weekly, as it is for puppies. The vaccination schedule for puppies, which is also referred to as puppy shots schedule, may differ for every puppy depending on the individual needs of the puppy. Before you check out the table that gives the vaccination schedule for an average puppy, you should first understand what a combination vaccine is. A combination vaccine is a vaccination that includes vaccines for almost five types of diseases. These diseases include parvovirus, distemper, adenovirus cough and hepatitis and parainfluenza. Thus a combination vaccine is also called 5-way vaccine. Sometimes a combination vaccine is also called 7-way vaccine, and it includes prevention of two more diseases, coronavirus and leptospirosis. Given below is a table that gives the type of vaccine that a puppy should be given according to its age.

Age of the Puppy	Vaccination
5 weeks	Parvovirus
6 and 9 weeks	Combination vaccine (without leptospirosis, coronavirus is optional)
12 weeks or older	Rabies
12-16 weeks	Combination vaccine (with leptospirosis, coronavirus, lyme)
Adults	Rabies and combination vaccine (with leptospirosis, coronavirus, lyme)

Some Facts about Vaccination Schedule for Puppies

• A newborn puppy gets antibodies through the placenta from its mother. Then it receives antibodies from milk until 36 to 48 hours after its birth. These are called maternal antibodies.
• The maternal antibodies that the puppy will acquire are of the diseases for which the mother has been vaccinated recently.
• Immunity against the disease does not start soon after the administration of the vaccine. It takes almost five days for complete protection against the disease.
• A puppy may be vaccinated more than once for complete protection against a disease.
• Similar to human babies, even puppies may face some vaccination side effects that include depression, vomiting, swelling, diarrhea and shaking. In case of any of these side effects contact your veterinarian soon.

Many a time, pet owners complain that their puppy suffered from a disease in spite of the vaccination given against the same disease. This may happen because of the poor immune system of the puppy or some defect in the vaccination schedule planned. Maternal antibodies are usually the main reason for such vaccine failures. If the level of maternal antibodies is high during the vaccination, the vaccine may not be effective. Hence it is necessary to consult a veterinarian, and plan a proper vaccination schedule for puppies to protect them against the diseases. It is a general misconception that puppies belonging to smaller breeds require smaller vaccines as compared to puppies of larger breeds. All the puppies require similar amount of vaccines, regardless of their sizes and breeds.