Dog vaccination schedule India: core vaccines and when

The core vaccines for dogs protect against distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus, and, where rabies is endemic, against rabies as well. The 2024 guideline of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) starts the puppy vaccines at 6 to 8 weeks of age, repeats them every 2 to 4 weeks, gives the last puppy dose at 16 weeks of age or older, and then advises either a blood test or an extra dose at or shortly after 26 weeks. This article explains what each vaccine is for, what the guideline says about timing, and what WSAVA’s 2015 report on Asia found about vaccination practice there.

What are the core vaccines for dogs, and what do they protect against?

WSAVA defines core vaccines as the ones that all dogs should receive, after considering their lifestyle and where they live or travel. Worldwide, the core vaccines for dogs are those against canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus and canine parvovirus. Where rabies is endemic, WSAVA says rabies vaccination should be considered essential for dogs and cats, even if no law requires it. The leptospirosis vaccine is core only where certain conditions are met, which the article on the leptospirosis vaccine for dogs in Kerala sets out. WSAVA calls vaccines against infections that threaten only dogs in certain places or with certain lifestyles “non-core”, and says a careful conversation between vet and owner is needed to decide which to recommend. It notes that multi-component vaccines mixing core and non-core parts remain common.

The Merck Veterinary Manual’s owner pages describe the diseases the core vaccines prevent.

Distemper. Merck describes it as a highly contagious viral disease that can affect the whole body. Most dogs are infected by breathing in virus droplets from an infected animal. A second fever with eye or nose discharge, tiredness and loss of appetite is followed by digestive and breathing problems, and nervous system signs such as twitching, paralysis and seizures can appear. Merck says nervous system damage is difficult to treat and can be permanent, and that vaccination is the best prevention.

Parvovirus. Merck describes it as a potentially fatal viral disease that most often affects puppies or unvaccinated adult dogs. It spreads by direct contact with infected dogs or their faeces and by objects contaminated with faeces, and the virus may survive for several months or possibly years in contaminated areas. Early signs are nonspecific (dullness, loss of appetite, fever) and progress to vomiting and bloody diarrhoea within 1 to 2 days. Severely affected dogs may be in shock, and others can die within hours of the onset of signs.

Adenovirus. Infectious canine hepatitis is caused by canine adenovirus type 1, which dogs usually catch by swallowing urine, faeces or saliva from infected animals. Young puppies are at highest risk, and Merck says the disease is now uncommon where routine vaccination is used. WSAVA explains that modern core modified live vaccines for dogs contain the related type 2 virus, which gives strong cross-protection against type 1; the older type 1 vaccines occasionally caused a transient cloudy cornea known as “blue eye”.

Rabies. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls rabies a serious public health problem mainly in Asia and Africa, and says that in up to 99% of human rabies cases dogs are responsible for virus transmission. It names mass dog vaccination, including puppies, as the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people.

When should a puppy get each vaccine?

WSAVA recommends the first puppy vaccination against distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus at 6 to 8 weeks of age, then every 2 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks of age or older. Its table says to start no earlier than 6 weeks, to repeat every 3 to 4 weeks, and to continue to 20 weeks in especially high-risk situations. WSAVA calls the dose at 16 weeks or older the most important of the early doses, and advises against vaccinating more often than every 2 weeks. The reason for the 16-week rule is in why puppy vaccines continue until 16 weeks.

A small percentage of puppies may still not respond to a dose at 16 weeks or later. WSAVA therefore recommends either a blood test for antibodies at least 4 weeks after the last puppy dose (at or after 20 weeks) or an extra vaccination at or shortly after 26 weeks. This replaces an earlier recommendation for a first booster at 12 to 16 months. After that, WSAVA says to revaccinate at 3 years of age and then no more often than every 3 years.

WSAVA does not publish a single calendar. The table below is only an example of how its rules can be laid out, with doses 4 weeks apart, which fits both the “2 to 4 weeks” in the text and the “3 to 4 weeks” in the table. The dates are our own arithmetic for a puppy born on 12 January 2026.

Age	Date	What is due
8 weeks	9 Mar 2026	First core dose (WSAVA: start at 6 to 8 weeks)
12 weeks	6 Apr 2026	Second core dose; first rabies dose, if local rules and the product leaflet allow
16 weeks	4 May 2026	Third core dose, the last puppy dose
26 weeks	13 Jul 2026	Extra dose at or shortly after 26 weeks (WSAVA’s alternative to a blood test at or after 20 weeks)
1 year after the first rabies dose	6 Apr 2027	Rabies booster, where the rule is 1 year after the first dose
3 years	12 Jan 2029	Next core dose

For rabies, WSAVA’s table says to follow local laws and the product leaflet, notes that in some countries the first dose is generally not given before 12 weeks, and lists revaccination at 1 year of age or, in some countries, 1 year after the primary vaccination. It says rabies vaccines with a 1-year or a 3-year licensed duration of immunity are available.

Do all vets follow the same schedule? What the Asia report found

WSAVA says the distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus vaccines should be given no more often than every 3 years in adult dogs, and that vaccines should not be given needlessly. For rabies, it says intervals should be based mainly on local regulations and, if there are none, on the licensed duration; where the law and the vaccine datasheet disagree, the law must be followed. A locally made rabies vaccine with a 1-year licence should not be assumed to be safe and effective every 3 years.

WSAVA’s report for Asia (Day and colleagues, published 2014 to 2015, so more than ten years old) described practice at that time. Its executive summary said most practitioners continued to give annual revaccination with both core and non-core vaccines to adult animals. The report also said most core vaccines made by national manufacturers carried a 1-year licensed duration of immunity or had no definitive description of it, and that the group was unable to comment on whether nationally produced vaccines give equivalent protection. It stated that in many Asian countries there is a legal requirement for annual rabies vaccination of dogs, but not cats, and that most first-opinion practitioners in India and China were unaware of the global trends for change in small companion animal vaccination practice.

In Kerala, the Kerala Panchayat Law Manual (page 648, as published on the Panchayat wiki, last edited 2019) has a sub-rule that an applicant for a dog licence must produce a certificate from a veterinary surgeon certifying that the dog has been inoculated against rabies. The page does not show the rule’s title or date, so check the current requirement with your panchayat or municipality.

What if my dog started late or has no vaccine record?

WSAVA gives these rules.

• A dog older than 16 weeks: a single dose of the core vaccine will likely protect most dogs, although some manufacturers recommend two doses 2 to 4 weeks apart.
• An adult dog with an unknown or incomplete history: a single dose of a modified live core vaccine will very likely be enough in dogs over 26 weeks of age. In high-risk situations, such as outbreaks, a second dose 2 to 4 weeks later would be prudent.
• Rabies: in endemic areas the rabies vaccine should also be given, and WSAVA notes that a single dose can immunise.
• Last core vaccine more than 3 years ago: WSAVA says restarting the series should not be necessary and a single dose should be sufficient, even though many product leaflets advise restarting with two doses.

When should you see a vet?

See a vet the same day if a puppy or unvaccinated dog is dull, off its food, vomiting, or has bloody diarrhoea; these are the early signs Merck lists for parvovirus, and Merck says abdominal pain may mean a blocked intestine, which requires emergency treatment. Fever with eye or nose discharge, thickened footpads, twitching or seizures matches Merck’s description of distemper. WSAVA says puppies under 4 weeks are in general not vaccinated, because most still have maternal antibodies that can block the vaccine and because injected live vaccines may cause harm at that age. For a puppy under 6 weeks, ask your vet when to start.

Frequently asked questions

How many vaccines does a puppy need?

WSAVA says the number of puppy doses depends on the age at which the series starts and the gap between doses. The fixed point is that the last dose in the series should be given at 16 weeks of age or older, followed by either a blood test or an extra dose at or shortly after 26 weeks.

Is the rabies vaccine given every year?

WSAVA says the interval is set by local law and the vaccine’s licensed duration, which is 1 year or 3 years depending on the product. The 2015 Asia report said many Asian countries legally required annual rabies vaccination of dogs.

Do adult dogs need core vaccines every year?

WSAVA says the distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus vaccines should be given no more often than every 3 years. The Asia report found in 2015 that most practitioners there still gave annual revaccination, so ask your vet which vaccine is used and why a dose is due.

Sources

• WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group (2024). 2024 WSAVA guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats. J Small Anim Pract 65(5):277-316. https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/WSAVA-Vaccination-guidelines-2024.pdf
• Day MJ, Karkare U, Schultz RD, Squires R, Tsujimoto H (2015). Recommendations on vaccination for Asian small animal practitioners. J Small Anim Pract 56(2):77-95. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7166337/
• Merck Veterinary Manual, dog owners: disorders of the stomach and intestines in dogs (canine parvovirus). https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/digestive-disorders-of-dogs/disorders-of-the-stomach-and-intestines-in-dogs
• Merck Veterinary Manual, dog owners: canine distemper. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/disorders-affecting-multiple-body-systems-of-dogs/canine-distemper-hardpad-disease
• Merck Veterinary Manual, dog owners: infectious canine hepatitis. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/dog-owners/disorders-affecting-multiple-body-systems-of-dogs/infectious-canine-hepatitis
• World Health Organization. Rabies: fact sheet. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies
• Kerala Panchayat Law Manual, page 648. https://panchayatwiki.lsgkerala.gov.in/Panchayat:Repo18/Law_Manual_Page0648