Vaccination protects dogs against diseases that spread easily and are frequently fatal in puppies. The pattern below is the general one; the exact plan is set for each dog according to its age, health and how it lives.

The core vaccine

Recommended for every dog:

Distemper. A virus affecting the respiratory system, the gut and then the nervous system. Dogs that survive are often left with permanent neurological damage.

Infectious hepatitis, caused by canine adenovirus, affecting the liver.

Parvovirus. Causes severe vomiting and profuse bloody diarrhoea in puppies, with rapid dehydration and collapse. It is often fatal without intensive treatment. The virus survives in the environment for months and resists most household disinfectants, so a puppy does not need to meet another dog to catch it.

Parainfluenza, one of the agents of kennel cough.

Rabies

Rabies vaccination is a legal requirement for owned dogs in Türkiye, repeated at set intervals and recorded with the dog’s registration details. It is also required for travel abroad.

Rabies is fatal once signs appear and transmits to people, so this is a public health measure as much as a veterinary one.

Non-core vaccines

Leptospirosis. A bacterial infection spread in the urine of rats and other animals, contracted from standing water, mud and rivers. It damages the kidneys and liver, and it transmits to people. Recommended for dogs with outdoor access.

Kennel cough, given intranasally or by injection. Worth having for dogs that board, attend daycare, go to training classes or mix regularly with other dogs. Many boarding kennels require it.

The puppy schedule

Puppies are protected by antibodies from their mother’s first milk. These fade over the first weeks, and a vaccine can only work once they have faded enough to stop blocking it. Because the timing varies from puppy to puppy, the course is repeated rather than given once.

First core vaccine at around 6 to 8 weeks
Repeated every 3 to 4 weeks until at least 16 weeks of age
Rabies generally from 12 weeks
Non-core vaccines added according to circumstances

A puppy is not protected until the course is complete. Until then, keep it away from unvaccinated dogs and from public ground where unknown dogs have been.

Socialisation and the vaccination gap

There is a real tension here. The window in which puppies learn what is normal closes at around 12 to 14 weeks, before the vaccination course is finished. A puppy kept in complete isolation until fully vaccinated is protected from parvovirus and left with lifelong fearfulness, which is itself a serious welfare problem.

The practical answer is to socialise safely rather than not at all: carry the puppy outside to see and hear the world, invite healthy vaccinated dogs to your home, use clean private gardens, and attend puppy classes that require vaccination. Talk to us about the balance for your puppy.

Adults

Boosters follow the schedule set for your dog. Rabies follows its legal interval.

An examination is done before every vaccination. We do not vaccinate a dog with a fever, diarrhoea, lethargy or a heavy parasite burden, because the immune system cannot respond properly and no protection is produced.

Keep the record

Every vaccination is entered with its date. It is asked for at boarding, at daycare, at training classes, for travel abroad, and at any other clinic.