AnimaPulse

Dog vaccination schedule

The usual protocols in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa, vaccine by vaccine — with the ages of the primary course and the booster rhythm. For guidance only.

United Kingdom protocolIndicativeReviewed on 28 August 2026

These schedules are indicative. A dog's protocol depends on its age, lifestyle, region and health: your vet always has the final say.

United Kingdom

8 wks1st injection
11 wks2nd · protection acquired
VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
DHPthe core dog combo: distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus — first booster at 1 year, then every 3 years8 weeks, 11 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years
Leptospirosisbacteria spread by rodent urine and standing water — yearly booster8 weeks, 12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Kennel coughinfectious cough (Bordetella) for sociable dogs: kennels, daycare, shows — yearly booster12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Rabiesnot routine in the UK — travel only12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years

Ireland

VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
DHPthe dog's core shot: distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), parvovirus — first booster at 1 year, then every 3 years8 weeks, 12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years
Leptospirosisleptospirosis — ENDEMIC in Ireland, yearly booster: immunity is shorter than the DHP core8 weeks, 12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Kennel coughkennel cough — not routine, but required by most Irish boarding kennels12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Rabiesrabies — for travel only: Ireland is rabies-free, no requirement for a resident animal12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years

United States

VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
DAPPthe core dog combo: distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza and parvovirus — booster at 1 year, then every 3 years8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years
Rabiesrequired by your state's law — age and schedule vary by state, ask your vet12 weekslegal requirement, varies by local ruleslegal requirement, varies by local rules
Leptospirosisbacteria spread by animal urine and standing water — yearly booster8 weeks, 12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Bordetellakennel cough, for social dogs: boarding, daycare — yearly booster12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Lymetick-borne bacteria, in endemic areas (Northeast, upper Midwest) — yearly booster12 weeks, 15 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year

Canada

VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
DAPPthe core dog combo: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and parainfluenza — booster at 1 year, then every 3 years8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years
Rabiesrequired by law in several provinces — ask your vet12 weekslegal requirement, varies by local ruleslegal requirement, varies by local rules
Leptospirosisbacteria spread by rodent urine and standing water — depends on region and lifestyle; yearly booster12 weeks, 15 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Bordetellakennel cough for sociable dogs: boarding, daycare, shows — yearly booster12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Lymetick-borne disease, established in Ontario and the Maritimes — yearly booster12 weeks, 15 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year

Australia

VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
C3the core dog combo (C3): distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus — booster at 1 year, then every 3 years6 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years
Kennel coughkennel cough (the “C5”), required by most boarding kennels — yearly booster12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Leptospirosisbacteria spread by rodent urine — regional risk, mainly in Queensland; yearly booster12 weeks, 15 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Rabiesnot routine in Australia — export only12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery 3 years

South Africa

VaccinePrimary courseFirst boosterThen
DHPPi-L (5-in-1)the core combined dog shot (“5-in-1”): distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospirosis — yearly booster8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year
Rabiesrequired by national law: first shot at 3 months, booster within 12 months, then at least every 3 years — yearly in endemic areas12 weekslegal requirement, varies by local ruleslegal requirement, varies by local rules
Kennel coughkennel cough, for social dogs: boarding, daycare — yearly booster12 weeks1 year after the primary courseevery year

Why they differ

The gaps are not matters of opinion — they come from geography and law.

Rabies splits these countries in two. Britain and Ireland are rabies-free islands — Ireland has not seen an indigenous case since 1903 — and Australia is free of it too: the vaccine is not given routinely there, only for travel or export. Elsewhere it is the law, and the law takes different shapes: state by state in the United States, by provincial or municipal rule in Canada — and nationwide in South Africa, where the whole country has been declared rabies-endemic since 1999: first shot at three months, a booster within twelve months, then at most every three years, annually in endemic hotspots such as KwaZulu-Natal. That is why those tables show no suggested date: AnimaPulse flags the obligation without inventing a deadline it cannot know.

Leptospirosis. American guidance places it in the core group, and it is endemic in Ireland — the Veterinary Ireland Journal says so plainly, and a UCD study found pathogenic leptospires in healthy dogs. British and Irish practice give it every year, while the main combination moves to three-yearly: the appointment is annual, its contents are not. In Canada and Australia the risk is regional — Queensland especially — so it stays a lifestyle choice rather than a default. Either way, it is the one that lapses fastest — see below.

Names change, the vaccines do not. Australia counts its combinations: C3 is the core trio, C5 adds kennel cough. Britain and Ireland say DHP, North America says DAPP, South Africa says 5-in-1. The same diseases, one vocabulary per country — AnimaPulse keeps the name your own record uses.

Kennel cough (Bordetella, often with parainfluenza) is common in the UK for dogs that board, meet other dogs or go to daycare. In the US it sits alongside Lyme and other lifestyle vaccines chosen by risk.

What the letters mean

DHP stands for Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus — the core combination. You will also meet DHPP, DAPP, DA2PP and DHPPi/L4: the same valences under different commercial names. The extra letters are parainfluenza and leptospirosis. AnimaPulse recognises these variants when you scan a label.

The puppy: why several injections

A puppy is protected for its first weeks by its mother's antibodies. Those same antibodies also neutralise the vaccine. Since nobody knows the exact date they fade — it varies from puppy to puppy — the injection is repeated so that at least one of them "takes".

Skipping the last one is not a saving. It is a bet on a date nobody knows.

Leptospirosis: the one people forget

A bacterial disease spread through rodent urine, usually via standing water, and transmissible to humans. Protection is short, so the booster is annual even when the rest of the combination moves to a slower rhythm. For a dog that swims, works or walks near water, it is the one not to let slip.

Remembering the dates

That is precisely what AnimaPulse does for you: enter (or scan) the vaccine, and the app works out the next due date and warns you seven days ahead, then again the day before.

Sources — United Kingdom

  • WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2024
  • PDSA — Dog/Cat vaccines (public-facing schedules)
  • BSAVA/NOAH practice: triennial DHP after the first booster, annual leptospirosis

Sources — United States

  • AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines 2022, updated 2024 (leptospirosis moved to core)
  • AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines 2020
  • USDA-CVB: conditional licence for the RHDV2 vaccine (Medgene)

Sources — Canada

  • AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines 2022, updated 2024
  • AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccination Guidelines 2020
  • Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) — position on vaccination
  • Ontario’s rabies immunisation of dogs and cats regulation (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 567)

Sources — Australia

  • WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2024 (core/non-core backbone)
  • Australian Veterinary Association — Vaccination of dogs and cats (policy)
  • Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry — Australia’s rabies-free status
  • RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase — rabbit vaccination (calicivirus; no myxomatosis vaccine available)

Sources — South Africa

  • Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984 (DALRRD): compulsory rabies for dogs and cats — 3 months, booster within 12 months, then at most every 3 years; yearly in endemic areas (country declared endemic in 1999)
  • WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2024 — canine/feline core
  • Western Cape Dept of Agriculture RHD FAQ (Elsenburg, 2023): 2022-23 RHDV2 outbreak, Eravac imported (single dose from 30 days)
  • Nobivac Rabies label (MSD South Africa): dogs, cats, ferrets — ferret from 3 months, yearly booster

These tables come from the same data as the app's vaccination assistant: a page that contradicted the app would be worse than no page.

The three dates, set once

AnimaPulse pre-fills the puppy schedule and reminds you of every due date at D-7 and D-1.

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Page updated on 28 August 2026.