As with us, your dog needs to receive vaccinations to protect their health. Your trusted vet will tell you about the vaccination programme that your dog must follow, but below you will find some general recommendations about how often you need to vaccinate your dog.

Of all the vaccinations that will be given to your dog over its lifetime, the most important ones are those that they will receive when they are a puppy, because they are essential to strengthen and protect their immune system during this period of their life.

On this basis, the first time that your puppy visits the vet, as well as being examined and de-wormed, your vet will vaccinate them. Your dog’s vaccinations are key in order to prevent very common diseases, such as parvovirus, distemper, canine hepatitis or rabies.

But, when should you vaccinate your dog?

Usually, puppies receive their vaccinations from their sixth week, and the first that is given to them is against parvovirus, although there is a kind of vaccination – called Puppy – that may be administered before this time and that is usually chosen for those breeds that are most susceptible to that virus and to distemper, such as the German shepherd, the Rottweiler, the Boxer and the Pitt bull.

Once your dog becomes an adult, it is advisable that you have them vaccinated every year with the following vaccinations: rabies, parvovirus and triple.

Generally speaking, when the puppy joins the family they are already around seven weeks old and, most probably, they will also have had vaccinations against parvovirus and distemper. In any event, and although you believe the word of the person who looked after them until then, it is very important that you ask for their health card.

In that it should state the type of vaccination administered and the date on which it was received. You should use it from now onwards, every time that your dog has a new vaccination.