Dog Vaccination Schedule: Puppy, Adult & Senior Dog Vaccine Chart

Core puppy vaccines from 6 to 16 weeks

Puppies receive a series of core vaccine doses because maternal antibodies fade at unpredictable times. The series, not one single shot, is what gives reliable protection. Your veterinarian should adjust the exact dates to the puppy's age, records, health, and local disease risk.

• Common core protection includes distemper, adenovirus/hepatitis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza in a DHPP or DAPP combination.
• Rabies is legally controlled in many places, so timing and revaccination interval depend on local rules.
• Ask when your puppy can safely visit parks, daycare, grooming, and training classes after the final parvo-related dose.
• Keep every certificate because boarding, travel, grooming, and emergency clinics may ask for proof.

Adult dog booster schedule

After the puppy series and first adult booster, many core vaccines move to longer intervals. Risk-based vaccines may be annual because exposure can change with boarding, daycare, travel, ticks, regional outbreaks, or household routines.

• DHPP or DAPP: commonly boosted at the one-year adult visit, then on the interval your veterinarian recommends.
• Rabies: follow the law where the dog lives or travels; certificates matter as much as the injection date.
• Leptospirosis, Bordetella, Lyme, and canine influenza: discuss annually if your dog's lifestyle or location creates exposure risk.
• If you are trying to avoid unnecessary revaccination, ask whether antibody titers are appropriate for your dog.

Core versus lifestyle vaccines

A good dog vaccine plan separates broad protection from vaccines selected for a specific dog. That keeps the plan useful instead of generic.

• Core protection covers severe diseases that are broadly important for dogs.
• Lifestyle vaccines are chosen after questions about boarding, grooming, training classes, dog parks, wildlife, ticks, travel, and local outbreaks.
• A small apartment dog and a hiking dog in a tick-heavy region may need different vaccine plans.
• Do not copy another dog's schedule without checking your veterinarian's recommendation.

What to do if your dog missed a vaccine

Do not guess or restart a series from internet advice. Call your clinic, share the last certificate date, and ask whether your dog needs a booster, a restarted series, a titer, or a temporary exposure restriction.

• Send the clinic a photo of the last vaccine certificate if you have one.
• Tell the clinic about boarding, travel, dog parks, grooming, and exposure to unknown dogs.
• Ask for the next due date in writing after the catch-up visit.
• Update your reminders immediately so the same gap does not repeat.

Never miss a booster again

The hard part is not only knowing the schedule; it is remembering a certificate months or years later. Store each vaccine record in PetVault AI, attach the certificate, save the clinic's next due date, and set reminders early enough to book the appointment.