{"id":104,"date":"2026-06-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/findmypetcare.com\/?p=104"},"modified":"2026-06-28T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:00:00","slug":"puppy-vaccine-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/findmypetcare.com\/?p=104","title":{"rendered":"A plain-English puppy vaccine schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-group fmpc-tldr is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"fmpc-eyebrow wp-block-paragraph\">TL;DR<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Core vaccines (DHPP and rabies) are non-negotiable. Bordetella, leptospirosis, and Lyme depend on where you live and how your dog lives. Puppies get boosters every 3-4 weeks from 6-8 weeks old until 16 weeks.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The core vaccines every puppy needs<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DHPP protects against distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza. Parvo alone kills about 90% of untreated puppies \u2014 this is the vaccine you never skip.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rabies is legally required in almost every US state and is given once around 16 weeks, then boostered.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The lifestyle vaccines \u2014 it depends<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bordetella (kennel cough) is required by most boarding facilities and doggy daycares. If your puppy will go to either, get it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leptospirosis is transmitted by wildlife urine \u2014 even in cities with rat populations. Ask your vet what&#x27;s endemic in your area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lyme disease matters if you&#x27;re in the Northeast, upper Midwest, or hike in tick country.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The rough schedule<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most puppies see the vet at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. DHPP is given at each visit; rabies at the last. Lifestyle vaccines get added into that schedule based on where you live.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What shots your puppy needs, when, and which ones people quietly skip that they probably shouldn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fmpc_tldr":"Core vaccines (DHPP and rabies) are non-negotiable. Bordetella, leptospirosis, and Lyme depend on where you live and how your dog lives. Puppies get boosters every 3-4 weeks from 6-8 weeks old until 16 weeks.","fmpc_species":"Dogs","fmpc_author_name":"Dr. Ana Ortega, DVM","fmpc_author_role":"Preventive care vet","fmpc_author_bio":"Dr. Ana Ortega focuses on preventive care and client education. She's vaccinated more puppies than she can count and has strong opinions about which ones matter.","fmpc_read_minutes":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-dogs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A plain-English puppy vaccine schedule - findmypetcare.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/findmypetcare.com\/?p=104\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A plain-English puppy vaccine schedule - findmypetcare.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What shots your puppy needs, when, and which ones people quietly skip that they probably shouldn&#039;t.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/findmypetcare.com\/?p=104\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"findmypetcare.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-28T09:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Sarah Jenkins, DVM\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Sarah Jenkins, DVM\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Sarah Jenkins, DVM\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/feded92dc66d84fbfe30619c877e2c26\"},\"headline\":\"A plain-English puppy vaccine schedule\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-28T09:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104\"},\"wordCount\":183,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Dogs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/findmypetcare.com\\\/?p=104\",\"name\":\"A plain-English puppy vaccine schedule - 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