Importance of vaccinations and parasite preventives as your puppy grows up

During early puppyhood, your puppy saw the veterinarian every few weeks for vaccinations and deworming. Now that they’re growing, you may be wondering—when does a puppy have vaccinations again after their initial puppy series is complete? What does an adult dog need in terms of parasite prevention?

Just like you need the occasional booster for your vaccines to ensure they remain effective, your puppy needs regular boosters to keep their immune system prepared to fight off infection. Some of these boosters are legally required in many areas. Boarding facilities, training classes and social outings may also require boosters for your young dog.

Similarly, deworming your young dog when they were a puppy does not mean they have lifelong protection from parasites. Adult dogs remain susceptible to heartworms, ticks, fleas and intestinal parasites.

What vaccinations does a puppy need in adulthood

Before we get into the booster schedule, we’ll review the necessary vaccines. Your young dog had quite a few vaccines in early puppyhood! These included the DAPPV vaccine, CIRDC vaccine, leptospirosis vaccine and rabies vaccine. For some dogs, the canine influenza and/or Lyme disease vaccines may also have been recommended, depending on your puppy’s lifestyle and geographic location. 

So, what vaccines should puppies have as they become adults? They need the same vaccines they needed as a puppy. They’ll just receive these vaccines on a different schedule from the one you followed in early puppyhood.

When it comes to legal requirements, the rabies vaccine for puppies is the vaccine that’s typically required by jurisdictions. As your puppy moves into adulthood, they’ll continue to need the rabies vaccine to be licensed in most areas.

Some vaccines require annual boosters while others only need boosters every few years. Most commonly, vaccinations for dogs are given during their annual wellness appointments. 

What parasite preventives do puppies need as they become adults?

Your young dog should remain on parasite prevention year-round throughout puppyhood and adulthood. Parasites can affect your young dog at any time of year.

Parasite preventives come in several forms, including topical treatments, injectables, tablets and chews. Most parasite preventives provide protection for one month, though some forms last longer. 

You’ll want to ensure that your dog’s parasite prevention plan covers heartworms, fleas, ticks and intestinal worms. Your young dog’s prevention plan may include a combination product that covers all these parasites, or they may require a separate tick and flea preventive. Your VCA care team will help you choose safe, effective products to protect your young dog from these parasites.

What is the vaccination schedule for puppies as they become adults?

If you got your puppy really young, they likely finished their puppy vaccine series when they were between 16 and 18 weeks old. If they were a little older than 4 months when you got them, they may have just had two vaccine appointments 2 to 4 weeks apart.

Regardless of when your young dog finished their series of puppy vaccines, they become due again one year later. For most puppies, this will be around 16 to 20 months of age.