Your new puppy needs to see the veterinarian multiple times in its young life not only to be examined for any developmental or genetic issues, but also to be given protective vaccines. When a puppy is born, it acquires antibodies from its mother’s milk against many diseases. Overtime, these antibodies fade and without vaccines, your puppy would be left defenseless from diseases such as parvovirus and rabies.

Vaccines are usually started around your puppy’s 7th or 8th week of life. Any given before then are useless as there is surely interference with maternal antibodies. Booster vaccines are administered every 3-4 weeks after the initial round until the 15th or 16th week of life. The reason multiple rounds of vaccines are needed is due to the fact that there is no specified time after the first two months when maternal antibodies fade away and when the puppy’s own immune systems forms its new antibodies. All older puppies older than 16 weeks of age need at least two vaccines for parvovirus and distemper virus given 3-4 weeks apart.I always recommend vaccines be administered by a trained professional. Veterinarians are confident in the manufacturers they purchase from and know how to properly store vaccines. Most also follow the risk based protocol for vaccinations, meaning that your pet’s lifestyle is analyzed and vaccines are recommended based on exposure risk to diseases.