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Schedule OnlineLast reviewed: September 2026. Written by Mike Wesselink, DVM, from vaccine work at The Pet Advocate in Tracy, California.
Your puppy needs core vaccines starting at 6 to 8 weeks old. Boosters follow every three to four weeks until the final dose at 16 weeks or older. Rabies is given between 12 and 16 weeks, and California requires it for dogs.
I see new puppies for shots every week. The chart below is the schedule we use, with what each vaccine costs.
| Puppy's age | Vaccines | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 6–8 weeks | DHPP (first dose), deworming | Core |
| 11–12 weeks | DHPP (second dose), leptospirosis (first dose) | Core |
| 16 weeks or older | DHPP (final dose), leptospirosis (second dose), rabies | Core |
| Based on lifestyle | Bordetella, canine influenza | Non-core |
| 1 year after the series | DHPP, leptospirosis, and rabies boosters | Core |
A vet may change this schedule for a puppy with a known history or a specific risk. Deworming at each of these visits is $12.
Most clinics follow the AAHA canine vaccination guidelines. The core list for dogs is DHPP, rabies, and leptospirosis.
DHPP is one shot that covers four diseases: distemper, adenovirus (hepatitis), parainfluenza, and parvovirus. Distemper attacks the nervous and respiratory systems and often kills unvaccinated dogs. Adenovirus causes infectious hepatitis, which damages the liver, and the same vaccine also guards against a respiratory strain.
Parainfluenza is a respiratory virus that feeds into kennel cough and moves fast where dogs gather. Parvovirus causes severe vomiting and diarrhea in young puppies. It stays in the environment, which is why the series keeps getting repeated until 16 weeks.
Rabies is fatal once symptoms start. It attacks the nervous system and can pass to people.
Leptospirosis moved onto the core list in AAHA’s 2024 update. It is a bacterial infection found in standing water and wildlife urine, and it can spread to people. AAHA now lists it as core for all dogs. We carry leptospirosis in a combined shot with DHPP, listed as DHPPL. The dog and puppy vaccines we carry are listed on the site.
Lifestyle vaccines depend on where your puppy lives and what they do. I recommend these case by case.
Bordetella guards against kennel cough. I suggest it for puppies who board, visit a groomer, or join daycare. The shot we give is an injection.
Canine influenza fits social dogs who spend time around other dogs in close quarters.
I do not stock a rattlesnake vaccine or a Lyme vaccine. The evidence on rattlesnake shots has not held up, and Lyme disease is uncommon in the Central Valley. Your own vet may weigh those for your area.
A newborn puppy gets its first protection from its mother. In the first day of life, a nursing puppy absorbs antibodies from her colostrum, the rich first milk. Those antibodies guard the puppy through its early weeks.
The same antibodies block vaccines. They can neutralize an early shot before the puppy’s own immune system responds, so that dose does little.
Those antibodies fade between 8 and 12 weeks in most puppies. The timing differs from one puppy to the next. It depends on how much colostrum the puppy took in during that first day.
In some puppies the antibodies last longer, and they can block a shot given as late as 16 weeks. I cannot predict the exact day they clear for any single puppy.
That is why we repeat the puppy vaccine series. Each dose lands at a different point while those antibodies wear off, so one of them is given after the puppy can respond on its own. The DHPP dose at 16 weeks or older is the one most puppies actually respond to.
Most puppies handle their shots with no trouble. When a reaction happens, it tends to be mild and short. You might see soreness at the injection site or a mild fever. Some puppies eat less for a day.
Smaller and younger puppies react a bit more often than larger ones. For a small-breed puppy, I may space the shots out across visits rather than give several at once.
Serious reactions are rare. Call a vet right away if your puppy has facial swelling, hives, repeated vomiting, or trouble breathing after a shot. Go back to whoever gave the vaccine, or to an emergency clinic if it is after hours.
A puppy is not fully protected until about one to two weeks after the final core dose at 16 weeks or older. Until then, parvovirus is the main concern. It survives in the environment and hits unprotected puppies hard.
You can still get your puppy out. Clean sidewalks and your own yard are fine. Carry your puppy through busy areas if you want the outing without the ground contact.
Hold off on dog parks and pet store floors until the core shots are done. Set up playdates with healthy, vaccinated dogs you know. A puppy still needs other dogs and new places during those weeks.
A missed puppy booster does not mean starting the puppy vaccine series over. If you are only a few weeks late, the next visit picks up the remaining doses.
A long lapse is different. Leptospirosis and rabies follow their own timing rules, and a big delay can mean repeating part of those two. Reschedule a missed dose soon rather than wait.
California law requires rabies vaccination for dogs. The first dose can be given at 12 weeks, and that first shot needs to be done by 4 months of age. I give most puppies their rabies vaccine at 16 weeks, at the same visit as the final core dose. California posts those rabies timing rules on the CDPH rabies page.
The first rabies vaccine is good for one year. Every shot after that lasts three years, as long as the previous one was current when I gave it. If the vaccine lapses, the next dose is good for one year again, then the three-year cycle can restart.
Puppy vaccines in Tracy cost:
A first visit for an 8-week puppy is $42 for DHPP and deworming. Add an optional flea, tick, and heartworm preventive and that visit lands around $65 to $70. There is no exam fee.
Walk-in vaccine hours run Monday through Friday, 12 to 3 PM.
The full price list is on the site.
Puppies get their first core shot at 6 to 8 weeks old. The first DHPP dose starts the series, and a booster follows every three to four weeks until the final dose at 16 weeks or older.
Puppies can get the first rabies shot at 12 weeks, and California law requires it by 4 months of age.
Puppies need three core vaccines: DHPP, leptospirosis, and rabies. DHPP covers distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and parvovirus. Some puppies also need lifestyle vaccines like Bordetella, based on where they live.
A puppy is fully vaccinated about one to two weeks after the final core dose at 16 weeks or older. That last visit is DHPP, the second leptospirosis dose, and rabies.
Puppies can visit clean, low-traffic spots before they finish their core shots. Avoid dog parks and pet store floors until about one to two weeks after the final dose.
Core puppy vaccines run $30 to $35 each. A first walk-in visit for an 8-week puppy lands around $42 with deworming, or about $65 to $70 with an optional preventive. There is no exam fee on walk-in vaccines.
DHPP includes the parvovirus vaccine along with distemper, adenovirus, and parainfluenza. A puppy that gets DHPP is protected against parvo, so a separate parvo shot is not needed.
No. A titer test cannot replace the puppy vaccine series. It measures antibodies already in a dog’s blood, and vets use it in adult dogs to check existing immunity. Puppies still need the full set of shots through 16 weeks.
Puppies start core vaccines at 6 to 8 weeks, boost every three to four weeks, and finish at 16 weeks or older with DHPP, leptospirosis, and rabies. Dog parks and pet store floors wait until about one to two weeks after that last visit.
AAHA 2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines, including the 2024 leptospirosis update. UC Davis vaccination guidelines. California rabies rules at CDPH.
Mike Wesselink, DVM, UC Davis 2015. Owner of The Pet Advocate in Tracy.