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When can a 5-week-old puppy get shots, a bath, and flea medicine?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 2 months and 3 days old | 4 lbs

Our new puppy is 5 weeks old. When should we shower her, and get her shots? She does have some fleas and is currently wearing a collard for it. as a new puppy owner we need as much advise as possible to make sure she is well taken care of. Thank you

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 4th, 2020

Cocoa is not old enough for her first vaccines until she is at least six weeks of age. She should not be showered until she is at least three months of age unless she is very dirty. You can use Frontline Spray on her for the fleas, it's safe to use on dogs as young as two days of age.

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How old do the puppies have to be to be able to be given flea meds and be dewormed? And when can I take them to the vet to get their shots?
Typically vaccinations are started at 6 weeks old. Pups can be dewormed with some medications starting at 2-3 weeks of age. If you plan to take them to your vet for vaccinations, I would call and ask what deworming protocol they recommend. Most flea medications are labeled for pups starting at 6-8 weeks or later if they are too small. The best thing for fleas is to treat Mom with frontline or advantage and manually remove fleas with a flea comb for now. Also keeping environment clean of fleas will help. Hope this helps.
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Is it safe to shower a 5 week old puppy, and if so are flea shampoos OK?
Hello, yes it is ok to bathe your puppy however, please use warm water and make sure she is thoroughly dry after her bath. Some flea shampoos may be ok for puppies this young, you should find the recommended age for the shampoo you are trying to use on the bottle itself. Most often, if you puppy has fleas, it is most safe to bathe with plain water and shampoo. Most of the time, you won't need flea shampoo. Hope this helps and best of luck.
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Is 6 weeks too early to start taking outside to potty? And what age can you start using flea meds/flea bath
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Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I heard you should only bathe a puppy at least 8 weeks old, problem is i have a puppy that is 2 to 3 weeks old , he has fleas, is it safe to use dawn dish soap or any dog shampoo at this age?
Under no circumstances would I bathe such a young pup, it can make them ill and effect their smell causing maternal rejection. If the puppy has fleas shampoo wont treat them anyway, I would recommend getting frontline spray to treat the puppy. Personally i would not bathe a dog until 6 months unless absoloutely necessary.
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Can i bath my 38 days puppy..? . He smells bad.. He always plays outside.... Also When should i give him the first vaccination?
Yes you can bathe your pets using a puppy shampoo only. They can regulate their body temperature by week 2. And you should start vaccinating them when they are 6-8 weeks of age, but typically we start at 8 weeks. Thanks for visiting Boop by Petco and best wishes with your new puppies! Take care.
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I rescued a 4 week old puppy from Facebook. Her mother had milk fever. There were 5 puppies in the litter. They are Husky-Shitz Zu-Schnauzer. I have a female puppy. Wen I got her se had fleas. I bathed her in Neem shampoo and shes flea free. Anytime
No, five weeks is too young for vaccines. She has to be at least six weeks of age before getting her first vaccine, and even then, it still won't be safe for her to go outside and run around unless she is in a confined yard where no other dogs have access to it.
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Hi, we adopted a 2/3 month old abandoned female puppy and would like to know when to deworm and to do vaccinations etc?
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My standard poodle pup is 13 weeks old, she had her first two vaccine shots already. When can I take her in for her first grooming or puppy bath if I prefer not doing it myself at home. Is she safe to go there without having her last vaccine in 3 wee
Thanks for visting Boop by Petco. Coco is considered to be fully vaccinated 7 days after her 3rd round of vaccines, which is between 14-16 weeks of age. She currently isn't fully vaccinated, so it is best to wait a bit if possible. I would recommend doing puppy wipes or waterless shampoo until then, if you are not too keen on doing a full on bath right now. This can at least get some of the puppy dirt off until she is ideal age for a grooming appt. Another alternative is to have a mobile groomer do her bath or discuss with the grooming facility to see if they take any extra precautions for puppies that aren't fully vaccinated. Some facilities can help accomodate for these types of situations, so it never hurts to ask. I hope that this was helpful. Best wishes with your pet Coco moving forward. Take care!
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I found a flea in my 8 week old puppy, pitbull! He is 14 pounds. Just got his first 2 shots, DHPP 1 & Deworming. He only goes to our backyard to pee&poop. I read he can't have a bath until 12 weeks old. What to do?
You can treat him with a monthly flea prevention, like NexGard or Frontline which are both labeled for use on puppies over 8 weeks of age. Ask your vet for the best flea prevention for your puppy. Continue to give him the flea medication on a monthly basis.
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My 9 weeks old puppy has not got any vaccine yet and has fleas in her hair, should I bathe her and use flea comb ?
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