Your puppy's first four months decide how well they are protected for life. Here is the schedule most Indian vets follow, what each vaccine protects against, and how to never miss a dose.
A puppy gets some protection from its mother's milk, but that protection fades at an unpredictable time between about 6 and 16 weeks. While it is still there, it can block a vaccine from working. That is why vets give the main vaccine several times, a few weeks apart: one of those doses lands after the mother's protection has gone, and that is the one that builds your puppy's own immunity.
So the last puppy dose matters as much as the first. Stopping after one or two injections is the most common reason a vaccinated puppy still catches parvovirus.
Most vets in India use a combination vaccine often written as DHPPi+L (sometimes sold as a "7 in 1" or "9 in 1" vaccine). It protects against distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis. Rabies is given as a separate injection.
Your vet may change the timing for your puppy's age, health and local disease risk, but a typical plan looks like this:
Parvovirus causes severe vomiting and bloody diarrhoea and kills many unvaccinated puppies. Distemper attacks the lungs, gut and brain. Canine hepatitis damages the liver. Leptospirosis spreads through the urine of rats and other animals, is common after the monsoon, and can also infect people. Rabies is almost always fatal and is a serious public health risk in India, so it is the one vaccine every dog must have.
Your vet may also suggest optional vaccines, such as kennel cough if your dog will go to boarding, daycare or grooming salons often.
Vaccines work best in a healthy, dewormed puppy, so most vets deworm a puppy before or alongside the first doses. Tell the vet if your puppy has had loose motions, a cough or low appetite; they may delay the dose by a few days.
Mild tiredness, a small lump at the injection site or a slightly lower appetite for a day is normal. Go back to the vet straight away if you see swelling of the face, repeated vomiting, difficulty breathing or collapse.
Until about two weeks after the final puppy dose, keep your puppy away from places where many unknown dogs go: parks, streets, pet shops and the floors of busy clinics. Carry them instead of letting them walk. Meeting healthy, fully vaccinated dogs at home is usually fine and helps with socialisation; ask your vet what is safe in your area.
Keep the vaccination card safe and take a photo of it. Ask the clinic to write the next due date on the card at every visit, and put that date in your phone calendar with a reminder a week before.
Many clinics now send vaccination reminders on WhatsApp automatically. If yours does, make sure they have your correct WhatsApp number. You will also need the vaccination record for boarding, grooming, travel and your housing society, so a digital copy saves a lot of searching later.
Most vets give the first DHPPi+L combination vaccine (protecting against distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis) at 6 to 8 weeks of age.
The first anti-rabies vaccine is usually given at about 12 weeks (3 months), followed by a booster as your vet advises and then regular boosters for life.
Usually three doses of the combination vaccine 3 to 4 weeks apart, with the last at 16 weeks or later, plus rabies, then a booster at around one year.
A short delay is common. Don't restart on your own; speak to your vet, who may give the next dose straight away or add an extra dose.
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