Health
A stamp with no date on the record card, a seven-week-old puppy, a rescue dog with no paperwork. The schedule is simple once you know what was done and when.
Caution. A swollen muzzle or eyelids, blisters on the skin, vomiting, laboured breathing or collapse in the hours after a vaccine: ring straight away. A puppy who hasn't finished his course and is vomiting, has diarrhoea or won't eat sees a vet the same day.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
You've brought home a seven-week-old puppy and all the record card says is "vaccinated", with a stamp and no date. Or you've adopted an adult dog with no paperwork whatsoever and no idea whether he has ever had a jab. Or your five-year-old had his booster this year, has slept all day ever since, and you're wondering whether that's normal. This page covers which vaccines there are, what the usual schedule looks like for puppies and adults, which reactions are nothing to worry about and which mean picking up the phone straight away. The exact schedule is your own vet's call, because it depends on your dog's age, the life he leads and the product the practice uses.
People usually land on this page for one of two reasons: a reaction after a vaccine, or an unvaccinated or half-vaccinated puppy who has fallen ill.
Ring immediately, or go straight back to the practice, if in the first minutes or hours you see:
Serious allergic reactions to vaccines are rare, but when they happen they usually happen fast. That's why many vets ask you to wait a quarter of an hour in the waiting room after the injection. Do wait.
Ring the same day if you see any of these signs:
That is exactly what parvovirus and distemper look like, and in a puppy both move fast. Say on the phone that the puppy hasn't completed his vaccinations. Many practices will bring you in through a different door so you don't infect the other puppies in the waiting room.
Vaccination is routine, but the routine only works if the paperwork is in order and you know what has been done.
Start with the record card or passport. Every vaccine should have the product sticker attached, with the date, the vet's signature and the practice stamp. A handwritten "vaccinated" tells you nothing: not which disease it covers, not when it runs out. If your puppy comes from a breeder, ask for the card with the stickers on the day you collect him.
Next, what each vaccine covers. Vets split vaccines into two groups. Core vaccines are for every dog, wherever he lives: distemper, parvovirus and infectious canine hepatitis, usually in one combined injection. Rabies counts as core wherever the law requires it, which includes Romania and many other countries, and it is needed for travel within the EU. The rest depend on lifestyle: leptospirosis for dogs who drink from puddles, swim, hunt or live outdoors, kennel cough for dogs who go to boarding kennels, classes or shows, and sometimes Lyme disease or leishmaniosis where the risk exists.
Put the date of the next vaccine in your phone calendar while you're still at the practice. Most schedules fall apart at the second or third booster, when the puppy already looks big and healthy and nobody remembers the date.
In the days after a vaccine, keep an eye on how he is. Note his temperature (if you know how to take it), his appetite, how much he sleeps and whether there's a lump where he had the injection. It's normal for a dog to be a bit flat for a day, eat less and have a small, painless lump where the needle went in. It isn't normal for the lump to be growing after three weeks, or for him to be listless for three days.
| Situation | What is usually done | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy, 6–8 weeks | First core vaccine (combined) | Antibodies from the mother start to drop |
| Puppy, every 2–4 weeks | Boosters until at least 16 weeks | Nobody knows exactly when the mother's antibodies disappear, and they can "cancel out" the vaccine |
| Puppy, from 12 weeks | Rabies vaccine | Required by law in many countries; needed for a pet passport |
| At 6 months or 1 year | Booster of the core vaccines | Catches puppies whose last dose didn't take |
| Adult | Core vaccines no more than every 3 years, lifestyle vaccines yearly | Immunity to distemper, parvovirus and hepatitis lasts years; to leptospirosis, only about a year |
| Adult with no history | Start as for a puppy, usually with two doses | You don't know what he had before |
The table follows the international vets' guidelines (WSAVA). Your vet may have reasons to do things differently, such as the product they stock or what a boarding kennel asks for.
So the first vaccine is given at around 6–8 weeks, and a puppy collected at 8 weeks should come with it done. He is protected only one to two weeks after the last dose of the course. The first dose on its own doesn't cover him.
A vaccination appointment is also a check-up, and it should be. It usually goes something like this:
If your puppy reacted to a vaccine, tell the vet next time, even if it was only a day of feeling sorry for himself. They may switch products or split the vaccines over separate visits.
Distemper and parvovirus still turn up in puppies, especially in summer, in pups bought online without a record card. Both are hard to treat, with days in hospital, and many cases end badly. Rabies passes to people and is fatal once signs appear. All three can be prevented with a few practice visits in the first months and one every few years after that.
Any decent group class will ask for the record card at the first session. Dogs from all over town meet there, and one sick puppy can make a whole class ill.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Usually at 6–8 weeks, when the antibodies he got from his mother start to drop. Boosters follow every 2–4 weeks until he is at least 16 weeks old. He is protected only one to two weeks after the last dose of the course. A puppy collected from a breeder at 8 weeks should come with his first vaccine done and recorded on his card.
In Romania and many other countries, rabies is required by law, and it is needed for travel within the EU. Medically, the core vaccines guidelines recommend for every dog are distemper, parvovirus and infectious hepatitis, usually in one injection. Leptospirosis, kennel cough or leishmaniosis are added depending on the dog's lifestyle. Boarding kennels and group classes usually ask for an up-to-date card too.
Not against everything. WSAVA guidelines say that after the puppy course and the one-year booster, core vaccines are repeated no more than every three years. Leptospirosis and kennel cough last about a year, so they are given yearly if needed. Rabies is repeated at the interval set by the law and the product.
A day of sleeping more, eating less and a small, painless lump at the injection site is a common reaction and passes by itself. If he's still listless after more than a day, runs a temperature, the lump grows, or you see facial swelling, blisters or vomiting, ring your own vet.
On his own four feet, in places lots of unknown dogs pass through, only one to two weeks after the last dose. Until then, don't keep him shut in: carry him about, take him to vaccinated dogs you know and to a puppy class that asks for the first vaccine. The window when puppies get used to the world easily closes at around 12–14 weeks.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
A flat puppy who turns down his food and vomits. With parvovirus the hours matter: treatment started early saves most puppies.
Gummy eyes, a thick runny nose, a cough and a fever in a puppy with no vaccination card. Distemper looks like a cold at first, but it will not clear up on its own.
A fox that will not run, a strange dog that bites you, a record with a lapsed vaccine. With rabies you never wait and see: prevent it, and after a bite act that same day.
Nine weeks old, vaccinations not finished and a whole world to meet. What he needs is a few good meetings you choose for him, not a crowd all at once.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.