Puppies need a series of core vaccines starting at 6 to 8 weeks old, with boosters every few weeks until they’re about 16 to 18 weeks old. The essential shots protect against distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus (hepatitis), parainfluenza, leptospirosis, and rabies. Depending on your puppy’s lifestyle, your vet may also recommend additional vaccines for things like kennel cough, Lyme disease, or canine influenza.
Core Vaccines Every Puppy Needs
Core vaccines are the ones every puppy should get regardless of where you live or how your dog spends its time. These protect against diseases that are widespread, highly contagious, or fatal. The main core vaccines are bundled into a combination shot commonly called DHPP or DHLPP, which covers five diseases in one injection:
- Distemper: A viral disease that attacks the respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems. Often fatal in puppies.
- Adenovirus (hepatitis): Causes severe liver infection and can lead to organ failure.
- Parvovirus: Extremely contagious and deadly, especially in young puppies. Causes severe vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and dehydration.
- Parainfluenza: A respiratory virus that contributes to kennel cough.
- Leptospirosis: A bacterial infection spread through contaminated water or soil that can damage the kidneys and liver. It can also spread to humans. The 2022 AAHA vaccination guidelines classify leptospirosis as a core vaccine because the disease can occur in any dog, even in urban environments.
Rabies is the other core vaccine. It’s legally required in every U.S. state because rabies is fatal and transmissible to humans.
The First-Year Vaccination Schedule
Puppies don’t get all their shots at once. They need multiple rounds spaced a few weeks apart, typically following this timeline:
- 6 to 8 weeks: First doses of distemper and parvovirus.
- 10 to 12 weeks: DHPP combination vaccine (distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, parvovirus).
- 16 to 18 weeks: Final DHPP booster plus the first rabies shot.
- 12 to 16 months: DHPP and rabies boosters.
After that first year, DHPP boosters are given every one to two years, and rabies boosters every one to three years depending on your state’s laws and the type of vaccine used. In California, for example, all dogs four months or older must be vaccinated for rabies, and a second shot is required one year later before switching to a three-year booster cycle.
Why Puppies Need Multiple Rounds
Newborn puppies get temporary immune protection from their mother’s milk. These maternal antibodies are helpful early on, but they also interfere with vaccines. When a puppy still has high levels of maternal antibodies, a vaccine can’t fully “take” because the mother’s antibodies neutralize the vaccine before the puppy’s own immune system learns to respond.
The problem is that maternal antibodies fade at different rates in different puppies. There’s no way to know exactly when a specific puppy’s maternal protection drops low enough for vaccines to work. That’s why vets give boosters every few weeks: each round catches puppies whose maternal antibodies have recently faded. By 16 to 18 weeks, maternal antibodies have worn off in virtually all puppies, making that final booster the most critical one in the series. Skipping it or delaying it leaves a dangerous gap in protection.
Lifestyle Vaccines Worth Discussing
Beyond the core set, several non-core vaccines are recommended based on where you live and what your puppy will be doing. These aren’t optional in the sense that they don’t matter. They’re just tailored to risk.
Bordetella (kennel cough): If your puppy will be boarded, groomed, attend dog daycare, or visit dog parks, this vaccine is close to essential. Many boarding facilities require it. The intranasal version is given directly into the nose and may cause mild sneezing or a runny nose for a day or two.
Canine influenza: Dog flu spreads quickly in places where dogs congregate. If your puppy will travel, compete in events, or spend time in shelters or group settings, this vaccine is worth considering. It requires two initial doses a few weeks apart.
Lyme disease: This is primarily a concern for dogs in the northeastern United States and other areas where the ticks that carry Lyme are common. If you live in or plan to travel to an endemic region, your vet may recommend it along with annual boosters. Dogs in low-risk areas generally don’t need it.
Your vet should reassess your dog’s lifestyle risks at least once a year, especially if you move or start traveling with your pet.
Socialization Before Full Vaccination
One of the trickiest parts of puppyhood is the overlap between the critical socialization window (roughly 3 to 14 weeks) and the vaccination series. Your puppy benefits enormously from early exposure to new people, sounds, and environments, but isn’t fully protected until after the 16-week boosters.
The safest approach is to keep your not-yet-fully-vaccinated puppy away from dogs with unknown vaccination status and places those dogs may have been, such as public parks, pet stores, and sidewalks in high-traffic areas. Puppy socialization classes held in clean, controlled environments where all attendees must show proof of vaccination are generally a good option. Visits to the homes of healthy, fully vaccinated dogs are another low-risk way to build social skills during this window.
What Vaccine Reactions Look Like
Most puppies handle vaccines with no problems, but mild side effects are normal. The most common reactions are slight fever, lethargy, and reduced appetite, which typically resolve within 24 to 48 hours. A small lump at the injection site can appear from local inflammation and usually shrinks over a week or two. Puppies that receive the intranasal kennel cough vaccine may sneeze or have a runny nose briefly. Some puppies also have a bout of diarrhea.
Serious allergic reactions are rare but require immediate veterinary attention. Warning signs include facial swelling, hives, vomiting, difficulty breathing, pale gums, or trouble walking. These symptoms usually appear very quickly after the vaccine is given, though they can take up to 48 hours to develop. For this reason, many vets suggest staying at the clinic for 15 to 20 minutes after shots.
How Much Puppy Vaccines Cost
The full first-year vaccine series involves three to four vet visits, each with its own exam fee plus the cost of the vaccines themselves. Based on 2025 national averages, here’s what individual vaccines typically run:
- DHPP combination: around $42 per dose
- Rabies: around $35
- Leptospirosis: around $34
- Bordetella: around $38
- Canine influenza: around $53
- Lyme: around $50
These are vaccine-only costs. Office visit fees, which typically range from $50 to $75, are added on top. Altogether, a puppy’s first-year core vaccines plus exam fees commonly land in the $250 to $400 range, with lifestyle vaccines adding to the total. Low-cost vaccine clinics offered by shelters, pet supply stores, and mobile vet services can bring these numbers down significantly, though they may not include a full physical exam.