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Vaccination schedule / United States

Puppy vaccination schedule in United States

American vets work from the 2022 AAHA canine vaccination guidelines. Core is DAPP, sometimes written DA2PP or DHPP, plus rabies, which is required by state law rather than federal law. Leptospirosis is technically non core but AAHA says it should be strongly considered for most dogs in North America.

Get the dates for your puppy

The typical schedule: DAPP plus rabies

DoseTypical ageVaccinesTypeNotes
First puppy vaccination 6 to 8 weeks DAPP Core AAHA: the minimum age to begin the primary series is 6 to 8 weeks. Usually done by the breeder or shelter.
Second puppy vaccination 10 to 12 weeks DAPP Core AAHA: revaccinate at 2 to 4 week intervals. Maternal antibody against distemper is usually gone by 12 to 14 weeks, but parvovirus antibody can persist to 15 weeks or longer.
Third puppy vaccination 14 to 16 weeks DAPP Core AAHA asks for at least three doses between 6 and 16 weeks, 2 to 4 weeks apart.
Final puppy vaccination 18 to 20 weeks DAPP Core AAHA: revaccinate until greater than 16 weeks old, and 18 to 20 weeks is preferred in areas of high parvovirus risk. This dose is the one most often skipped and the one AAHA is most insistent about.
Rabies, first dose 12 to 16 weeks Rabies Rabies AAHA: every licensed US rabies vaccine is labelled for puppies 3 months of age and older. The legal deadline is set by your state, not by the label, and it is not always 3 months. New York, for example, sets 4 months. Check your own state.
Booster after the puppy series 6 to 12 months DAPP Core AAHA: a booster within 1 year of the last puppy dose. WSAVA advises revaccinating at or after 26 weeks instead, to catch puppies that did not respond earlier. AAHA does not recommend a 6 month booster, whatever you may have read.
Rabies booster 15 months Rabies Rabies AAHA: a booster 1 year after the first rabies dose regardless of formulation or the age it was given. After that, every 1 or 3 years as your state law and the product label require.
Leptospirosis, first dose 12 weeks Leptospira, 4 serovar Non core AAHA keeps leptospirosis non core but says vaccination should be strongly considered for most dogs in North America, since it is life threatening, endemic across much of the continent and can infect people. AAHA suggests the first dose at or after 12 weeks and recommends the 4 serovar products.
Leptospirosis, second dose 14 to 16 weeks Leptospira, 4 serovar Non core Two to four weeks after the first. Then a dose within a year, then annually.
Bordetella and parainfluenza, intranasal 8 weeks Bordetella bronchiseptica, canine parainfluenza Non core A single intranasal dose for dogs at risk of exposure: boarding, day care, grooming, classes. AAHA prefers the intranasal route over oral. Annual revaccination. Most facilities require it.
Lyme disease, first dose 8 weeks Borrelia burgdorferi Non core For dogs living in or travelling to areas with endemic or emerging Lyme disease, which AAHA maps mainly to the northeast, mid Atlantic and upper midwest. AAHA publishes no minimum age, WSAVA says generally from about 8 weeks. Both doses should be finished 2 to 4 weeks before travel.
Lyme disease, second dose 10 to 16 weeks Borrelia burgdorferi Non core Two to four weeks after the first dose, then a dose within a year, then annually.
Canine influenza, first dose 8 weeks Canine influenza H3N2 and H3N8 Non core AAHA does not recommend routine use in all dogs. Consider it for dogs that board, use day care, visit dog parks, or attend shows and agility events. The bivalent product covering both strains is preferred.
Canine influenza, second dose 10 to 16 weeks Canine influenza H3N2 and H3N8 Non core Two to four weeks after the first, then annually.

This is general guidance, your vet sets the actual schedule. Local disease risk, the products your clinic stocks and your puppy’s own history all change the plan. Take this page to your vet as a starting point, not as an instruction.

Common questions

When does a puppy get their rabies shot in the US?

Every rabies vaccine licensed in the United States is labelled for puppies 3 months of age and older, which is where the 12 to 16 week figure comes from. The legal deadline is set by state law and is not always 3 months. New York, for example, requires the first vaccination no later than four months after birth. A booster follows one year later, then every 1 or 3 years depending on your state and the product.

Did AAHA make leptospirosis a core vaccine in 2022?

No, and this gets misreported a lot. AAHA 2022 kept leptospirosis non core. What changed is the strength of the language: it says vaccination should be strongly considered for most dogs in North America, and it records that some task force members wanted it made core while others preferred to leave the decision to the veterinarian. WSAVA 2024 does list leptospirosis as core, but only in regions where the disease is endemic and suitable vaccines exist.

Should the last puppy shot be at 16 weeks or 20 weeks?

AAHA says to keep revaccinating until greater than 16 weeks old, and that 18 to 20 weeks may be preferred in high risk areas, wording it slightly more strongly for parvovirus than for distemper. Its own summary table describes at least three doses between 6 and 16 weeks. Those two statements sit in the same document. In practice, in a high parvovirus area, a dose after 16 weeks is worth having.

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Sources

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. If a date here does not match what your clinic tells you, your clinic is right.