General Guidelines for Puppy Shots
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 pet in the state of Kentucky)
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 three years after that.
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.

It is highly recommended that new puppies visit a veterinarian as soon as possible. The veterinarian will then educate the owner on the needs of the new puppy, advise a puppy shot schedule, look for congenital defects as well as look for signs of parasitic or viral infections. If all looks well, the puppy is then started on what is commonly called its "puppy shots."

 

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