Dog Vaccination Schedule and How to Track Vet Visits

Short answer: every dog needs a small set of core vaccines — canine distemper, canine adenovirus (which causes infectious hepatitis) and canine parvovirus — usually given as a puppy series from around 6 to 8 weeks old and repeated every 2 to 4 weeks until at least 16 weeks, with a leptospirosis vaccine commonly added in India and a first rabies shot from about 12 weeks. After a booster around the first birthday, your vet sets the adult interval. The simplest way to keep track of it all is the paper vaccination card your vet hands you at every visit, backed up with a phone photo of each page and a calendar reminder for the next due date.

The core vaccines, and when they're usually given

"Core" vaccines are the ones every dog should get, regardless of breed or lifestyle, because the diseases are serious, widespread and largely preventable: distemper, adenovirus (hepatitis) and parvovirus, plus rabies almost everywhere because it's fatal and a public-health risk. Leptospirosis — a bacterial infection dogs can pick up from contaminated water, soil or rodent urine, and one of the few diseases that can pass from dogs to people — isn't core worldwide, but it's commonly recommended in India because the risk is genuinely higher here.

Puppy's age	Usually given
6–8 weeks	First combination shot: distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus
9–11 weeks	Second combination shot, plus the first leptospirosis dose
12–14 weeks	Third combination shot, a leptospirosis booster and the first rabies vaccine
16 weeks or older	Final puppy combination shot — international guidelines advise the last one at 16 weeks or later, because a mother's antibodies can block earlier doses
Around 1 year, then as your vet sets	Booster round — combination, leptospirosis and rabies

This is the commonly followed pattern, not a fixed rule — your vet sets your dog's exact schedule based on its health, weight and local disease risk, and may adjust the timing or add vaccines like kennel cough if your dog boards, travels or visits a park often.

If your pup is around 45 days (6–7 weeks) old

A 45-day-old puppy, Shih Tzu or any other breed, is right around the age when that first combination shot typically starts. The exact date still depends on the individual pup — its weight, general health, and how much protection it's still getting from its mother's milk — so it's worth a vet visit to confirm timing rather than booking the first shot off a general schedule alone.

Why leptospirosis usually gets added in India

Leptospirosis spreads through water and soil contaminated by infected animals, especially rats, and India's climate and monsoon conditions make exposure more likely than in drier regions. It needs two initial doses spaced a few weeks apart — one dose alone doesn't reliably protect — followed by an annual booster.

Adult boosters, not just the puppy series

Once the puppy series is done, dogs get a booster at around one year old. After that, leptospirosis needs a booster every year. The core combination is boosted yearly in many Indian clinics, while international guidelines (WSAVA) consider every three years enough for most adult dogs once the first-year booster is done. Rabies revaccination depends on the vaccine used and local requirements — commonly annual or every three years — so confirm each interval with your vet rather than assuming they all match.

Keeping one simple health record

The paper vaccination card or booklet your vet fills in at every visit is the official record — it's what boarding, grooming, travel and pet insurance will ask to see, so it's worth protecting. On top of that, a simple habit covers most of what parents actually need:

• Photograph every page of the card right after each visit, and save it in one phone album or folder named for your dog.
• Set a calendar reminder for the next due date the same day you leave the clinic — a week before it's due, so you have room to book.
• Keep one running note with your dog's date of birth or adoption age, breed, weight at each visit, and anything the vet flagged, so you're not digging through old messages when you need it.

If you already have a VitalPaws order, your 1:1 vet teleconsult is also a good moment to confirm what's due next and get it onto the calendar.

No app yet — here's what actually works meanwhile

There isn't a VitalPaws app for this today — our Daily Pup app is on the way, but we're not going to promise features or a date before it exists. Until then, the phone-photo-plus-calendar-reminder habit above is genuinely enough: it costs nothing, works offline, and travels with you if you switch clinics or cities.

It's also worth noting anything else that changes alongside a vet visit — appetite, energy, coat, stools — since those are often the first sign something needs a closer look. Our guide on the signs of poor gut health in dogs covers what's worth flagging between visits.

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