Programs supporting regular vaccination of dogs have contributed both to the health of dogs and to the public health. In countries where routine rabies vaccination of dogs is practiced, rabies in humans is reduced to a very rare event.

Currently, there are geographically defined core vaccines and individually chosen non-core vaccine recommendations for dogs.

Most vaccination protocols recommend a series of vaccines for puppies, with vaccine boosters given at one year of age. Frequency of vaccination thereafter varies with the disease and vaccine type.

Most vaccines are given by subcutaneous (under the skin) or intramuscular (into the muscle) injection. Respiratory tract disease vaccination may be given intra-nasally (in the nose) in some cases.

Vaccine immunogens may consist of killed or inactivated pathogens, bio-engineered pathogen proteins or polypeptides, or, increasingly rarely, modified-live virus. 

Most vaccines contain adjuvants designed to boost the immune response to the vaccines. Many adverse reactions are associated with reactions to these adjuvants. Sec Red