What vaccinations are needed for dog training classes?

All the dogs should have a distemper and parvo vaccine. Also, they need to have Bordetella, which we commonly call kennel cough. Grooming, boarding, daycare, and obedience facilities will recommend the canine influenza vaccine as well. And then certainly when they're old enough - at 12 to 16 weeks - they need to have their rabies vaccine.

They should have all their core vaccinations. Your dog will need four vaccines to be safe around other dogs. The first is a rabies vaccine. Dogs can pick up rabies from wild animals or other dogs, so rabies is a must. They can pick up parvovirus. That's the most common infection that we vaccinate for. That's part of a combo vaccination called a five-way. So we would make sure they all have the five-way vaccine and rabies.

And then for dogs that are socializing, there are two respiratory vaccines—bordetella, otherwise known as kennel cough, and canine influenza. Just like social distancing for COVID, if the dog is not socially distant and they are socializing, then they need those vaccines.

We want to start training and socialization classes as early as possible. The primary thing that we recommend for young puppies that have just been purchased or adopted is to have their first core distemper-parvo vaccine and the kennel cough/Bordetella vaccine. If those two have been administered, we also like to check their feces for parasites to ensure they are treated and on parasite prevention because that's very common in puppies. We want to have the first round, which can be started between six to eight weeks, in order. Then we will go through the series of shots typically every four weeks until they're older than 16 weeks. But the training starts at the beginning of vaccine administration, not at the end.

I don't know specifically what is needed. Each training facility will probably have its own protocol, but what Lowell Animal Hospital recommends is rabies, the distemper vaccine, which has distemper, hepatitis parvo, and parainfluenza. If you add the leptospirosis vaccine, that's fine. Then there's the Bordetella vaccine, which is very important. That's what we recommend.

For dog training classes, your dog should have their core vaccines, such as distemper, parvo, and bordetella (kennel cough), puppies can start bordetella at 2 weeks or older. Rabies vaccination is also important but may not be required for puppies under 12 weeks of age attending puppy kindergarten classes.

The basic vaccines required for dog training classes usually include the Distemper-Parvo combination, Rabies vaccine, and most places also require a Bordetella or kennel cough vaccine.