Here is a general schedule for "puppy shots" to give your puppy a healthy start. Please check with your veterinarian for more specific guidelines.
Don't forget your puppy shots! - His/her health depends on it.
6 WEEKS
Examination (for general health)
DHP-PV-CV (1st for distemper parvo/hepatitus/parainfluenza-parvo-carona)
Fecal Flotation (for parasites)
Heartworm Prevention
Flea & Tick Prevention
9 WEEKS
Examination
DHP-PV-CV (2nd)
Fecal Flotation
Heartworm Prevention
Flea & Tick Prevention
12 WEEKS
Examination
DHP-PV-CV (3rd)
Bordetella (Kennel Cough)
Fecal Flotation
Heartworm Prevention
Flea & Tick Prevention
15 WEEKS
Examination
Parvo Vaccine
Rabies - 1 Year (required for every Dog/Cat in the state of Florida)
Heartworm Prevention
Flea & Tick Prevention
NOTES
- Puppies can be spayed or neutered as early as 6 months old.
- Rabies booster shots are one year later and every 1 year after that(depending on your location).
- The DHP-PV-CV vaccination or puppy shot protects pups against upper respiratory and gastrointestinal viral diseases.
Newborn puppies acquire immunities against many diseases by nursing from their mother. During the first two days of life, a puppy that nurses takes in the colostrum that is present in the milk that is first produced. The antibodies that are passed in the colostrum are vital to the puppy’s health and well being.
These antibodies prevent the puppy from being infected by diseases like Canine Distemper and Parvo virus. These same antibodies are also the reason veterinarians suggest vaccinations or puppy shots to be given after six weeks of age.
For dogs and many other mammals as well, the immunity given by the colostrum loses its affect sometime around the fifth week of age. Unfortunately this is also the time when most puppies are placed into their new homes and exposed to a variety of new environments.