A vaccine teaches the immune system to recognize a disease before the dog meets it. For the diseases on this page, that matters: parvo and distemper can kill puppies, and rabies is nearly always fatal once the signs appear. One thing is specific to Frenchies: in a study of 4.6 million vaccinated dogs (Moore 2023), French Bulldogs had among the highest rates of reactions after the shot, so this page also shows what to watch for.
I. Our Rule
Vaccinate your Frenchie, and keep his vaccines up to date.
Why: vaccines have prevented a great deal of disease. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) writes that experts agree that the wide use of vaccines in the last century “has prevented death and disease in millions of animals.”
Which vaccines and when: below, we repeat what the official guidelines say. Your vet adapts the plan to your dog and to the place where you live.
The official guidelines say the same. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) writes the global vaccination guidelines for dogs and cats. Its 2024 guidelines: “the VGG strongly recommends that ALL dogs and cats should receive the benefit of vaccination” (the VGG is its vaccination guidelines group), because it protects each animal and helps lower the risk of outbreaks. CDC, the U.S. public health agency: “CDC recommends all dogs be vaccinated against dog rabies.”
Our experience: when a big street dog attacked Spike and bit him, the vet cleaned the wound, and the first question was whether Spike was vaccinated. Spike’s vaccines are up to date, and we support vaccinating dogs. After any attack or fight, have a vet check your dog → Emergency: dog attack
II. What They Prevent
Unless there is a medical reason not to vaccinate, every dog should get the core vaccines. AVMA: core vaccines “are recommended for all dogs and cats, unless there’s a medical need not to vaccinate.” The WSAVA 2024 guidelines list them:
- Everywhere in the world: canine distemper virus, canine adenovirus (infectious canine hepatitis) and canine parvovirus. AVMA: they come in one combination vaccine, sometimes written DAPP or DA2PP.
- Rabies, in every country or region where the disease is present.
- Leptospirosis, new in 2024: where the disease occurs, the strains are known and suitable vaccines exist, WSAVA now highly recommends vaccinating all dogs, and calls the vaccine core in those places. In earlier versions of the guidelines it was not a core vaccine.
Other vaccines (“non-core”) depend on how and where your dog lives. AVMA’s examples: Lyme disease for dogs that live in or travel to areas with the ticks that carry it; Bordetella and canine influenza for dogs that go where other dogs gather, like boarding, daycare and training. Ask your vet.
Parvovirus (“parvo”)
What it is: a highly contagious virus that attacks the white blood cells and the gut; in puppies it can also damage the heart muscle. At greater risk: puppies between 6 and 20 weeks old, and dogs that are not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated (AVMA).
Early signs: tiredness, loss of appetite, vomiting, severe and often bloody diarrhea, belly pain and bloating, fever or a low body temperature, drooling.
What to do: if you see any of these signs, contact your vet immediately (AVMA). Vomiting and diarrhea that do not stop can quickly cause severe dehydration, and fast, intensive treatment improves the chance of survival. The virus survives heat, cold and drying for a long time, and even traces of feces from a sick dog can infect another dog.
Distemper
What it is: a contagious and serious virus that attacks the airways and lungs, the gut and the nervous system. At particular risk: puppies younger than four months and unvaccinated dogs. It spreads mostly through the air (sneezing, coughing, barking) and through shared food and water bowls, and wild animals such as foxes and raccoons can carry it (AVMA).
Early signs: discharge from the eyes and nose, fever, coughing, tiredness, eating less, vomiting, diarrhea. Later, when the virus reaches the nervous system: walking in circles, a tilted head, poor coordination, muscle twitches, seizures (some with chewing movements of the jaw and drooling), and partial or complete paralysis.
What to do: contact your vet immediately (AVMA). There is no cure, and about 1 in 2 dogs die from the infection; dogs that survive usually keep permanent damage to the nervous system. AVMA: “This is why vaccination is so important.”
Rabies
What it is: CDC: “a fatal but preventable viral disease.” It spreads to people and pets through the bites and scratches of an infected animal, and once the signs appear, it is nearly always fatal. Around the world, dogs cause more than 95% of the estimated 70,000 human rabies deaths each year (CDC).
Early signs in animals (CDC, for vets): a change in behavior, tiredness, fever, vomiting and not eating, wobbly walking, weakness, hurting himself, trouble swallowing, heavy drooling, aggression, seizures, paralysis.
What to do: if a wild animal or a dog you do not know bites or scratches your dog, call your vet right away, and have his rabies record at hand.
Why the vaccine matters here (United States): CDC’s guidance for vets. A dog with up-to-date rabies vaccines that is exposed to rabies gets an immediate booster and is watched for 45 days under the owner’s care. An unvaccinated dog that is exposed “should be euthanized”; if the owner declines, the dog needs immediate rabies vaccination and a strict 4-month quarantine in a secure facility. The rules in other countries can differ.
Leptospirosis
What it is: a disease caused by bacteria that live in soil and water. It spreads mostly through the urine of infected animals, especially wild rodents, and it can infect people too. AVMA: it is more common in warm climates with a lot of rain, but it can occur anywhere, “especially after heavy rainfall and flooding.” The risk goes up with slow-moving or stagnant water (ponds, rivers, lakes, streams), with wild animals and farm animals, and with contact with other dogs, also in cities and dog parks.
Early signs: loss of appetite, vomiting, tiredness, belly pain, diarrhea, yellow skin or gums (jaundice), drinking or peeing more than usual, weight loss, stiffness or muscle pain. It can progress to kidney or liver failure.
What to do: call your vet. AVMA warns that even with treatment there is a risk of permanent kidney or liver damage, and that early treatment matters: “When leptospirosis is treated early, the chance of recovery is good.” About the vaccine, AVMA writes that experts recommend vaccinating all dogs, and that leptospirosis vaccines are no more likely to cause side effects than other common vaccines.
If you live somewhere warm and rainy, or where floods happen, ask your vet about the leptospirosis vaccine at the next visit.
Infectious canine hepatitis (adenovirus)
Part of the same combination shot as distemper and parvo. WSAVA lists this vaccine among the three that every dog in the world should get.
III. The Puppy Schedule
This is the schedule as the official guidelines give it (WSAVA 2024 and AVMA). It is not our schedule. Your vet adapts it to your puppy and to the place where you live: WSAVA writes that vets and veterinary associations can use its guidelines “to develop their own vaccination schedules suitable to their own local conditions.”
- 6–8 weeksFirst shot of the core vaccines: distemper, adenovirus, parvo (WSAVA, AVMA).
- Every 2–4 weeksThe next shots (WSAVA).
- 16 weeks or olderThe last shot of the puppy series (WSAVA, AVMA).
- 26 weeks or later (about 6 months)A booster. WSAVA advises it at this age rather than waiting until 12–16 months; AVMA: within one year after the last puppy shot.
- Adult dogDistemper, adenovirus and parvo: no more often than every 3 years, for life (WSAVA, for modified-live vaccines); AVMA: boosters “generally are recommended every three years.” How often for your dog: ask your vet, and check the law where you live.
- LeptospirosisTwo shots 4 weeks apart, starting at 12 weeks or later, then a booster every year (AVMA). WSAVA: yearly revaccination is needed.
- RabiesBy the local law and the vaccine’s leaflet (WSAVA). In some countries the law requires it every year, for example in Mexico and Argentina (see section V). In the United States, CDC says most dogs should not get it before 12 weeks (3 months) of age, and a dog counts as immunized 28 days after the first rabies shot.
Why so many puppy shots? A puppy gets antibodies from his mother. They protect him for a while, but they also block the vaccine, and the level differs between litters and even between puppies of the same litter (WSAVA). In a small share of puppies they still block the shot given at 16 weeks; that is why WSAVA advises the booster at 26 weeks or later. Repeating the shot every 2–4 weeks until 16 weeks or older narrows the gap, but AVMA writes that “even vaccinated puppies can occasionally become infected.”
Until the series is done: AVMA advises caution with places where dogs gather, such as pet shops, parks, puppy and obedience classes, daycares, kennels and groomers, and keeping him away from other dogs’ feces. WSAVA adds that careful socialization can begin before the series is complete → Socialization
Adult dog never vaccinated, or late? AVMA: “it’s not too late.” Ask your vet. Older dogs too: WSAVA writes that it is not appropriate to stop vaccinating a dog because he has reached an advanced age.
Antibody tests (titers): blood tests that measure antibodies. AVMA: they “do not replace vaccination programs.” WSAVA: in adult dogs, they can help the vet decide when to repeat some core vaccines (distemper, adenovirus, parvo). Ask your vet.
IV. After the Shot
Frenchies react more often. One study followed 4,654,187 dogs vaccinated in about 16 million visits over 5 years, at 1,119 hospitals of one veterinary company (Moore 2023). A reaction was recorded within 3 days after 0.19% of the visits, about 19 in 10,000. The highest rates were in French Bulldogs and Dachshunds: more than 4 times the odds of mixed-breed dogs. Reactions were also more common in small dogs (the most at 5 kg (11 lb) or less), when more vaccines were given in the same visit (from 1 up to 4), and, among single vaccines, after the rabies vaccine. The WSAVA 2024 guidelines also name French Bulldogs among the breeds at the highest risk.
Common, usually starting within hours (AVMA)
- Tenderness and swelling where the shot went in
- Tiredness
- Mild fever
- Less appetite
AVMA: these usually go away on their own within 24 hours. Contact your vet if they last more than a day or two, or if he seems very uncomfortable.
A small, firm lump under the skin can appear where the shot went in. Contact your vet if it lasts more than three weeks, seems painful, or keeps growing.
Emergency: go to the vet immediately (AVMA)
An allergic reaction can start within minutes to hours after the shot. It is rare, but it can be life-threatening. Signs:
- Fainting or collapse
- Vomiting or diarrhea that does not stop
- Severe coughing that does not stop
- Difficulty breathing
- Red, itchy bumps all over the body (hives)
- Swelling or puffiness of the face, nose, eyes or neck
Always tell your vet if your dog ever had a reaction to a vaccine or a medicine (AVMA).
With a Frenchie, we would ask the vet two things:
1. To let us wait at the clinic for 30–60 minutes after each shot. AVMA advises this wait when you are worried about an allergic reaction, or when your dog gets a vaccine for the first time.
2. Whether the vaccines can be spread over more than one visit, since the reaction rate rose with the number of vaccines given in the same visit.
V. Vaccines and the Law
The laws in these examples are about rabies. The rules depend on the country, and in some countries on the state or region. Examples from official sources:
- United States: rabies vaccination is set by state and local law. CDC tells vets to vaccinate dogs for rabies “according to local laws,” and AVMA writes that many local and state laws require certain vaccinations, “even for indoor-only pets.”
- Mexico: the official standard NOM-011-SSA2-2011 sets free rabies vaccination at public vaccination posts for dogs and cats from the first month of life, again at three months, and then every year for life.
- Spain: by the count of the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), with the situation on 1 May 2023, rabies vaccination of dogs was mandatory in 15 autonomous communities and in Ceuta and Melilla; the booster was yearly in 8 of those communities and in Ceuta and Melilla, every two years in one, and on the vaccine maker’s schedule in six.
- Argentina: rabies vaccination is mandatory for dogs and cats, with the first shot at 3 months and then a shot every year (national rabies guide of the Ministry of Health; Law 22.953).
- Serbia: vaccinating dogs and cats against rabies is a mandatory measure; dogs older than three months are vaccinated following the vaccine maker’s instructions (official animal health program for 2026, Veterinary Directorate).
- Dominican Republic: the General Health Law 42-01 (Article 77) makes rabies vaccination mandatory, as the Ministry of Public Health sets it; the Ministry holds a national rabies vaccination campaign for dogs and cats every year.
If your country is not on this list, ask your vet or your local health or veterinary authority.
Crossing a border
- Into the United States: the rules depend on where the dog was vaccinated and on the countries he was in during the 6 months before arriving (CDC). A dog that is not vaccinated against rabies and was in a high-risk country in the past 6 months “will NOT be allowed to enter.” The Dominican Republic is on CDC’s list of high-risk countries for dog rabies.
- Into Great Britain or the EU from some non-EU countries: a rabies blood test is also needed. For Great Britain (GOV.UK): the blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccine, and a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml. Then, unless the dog was vaccinated, blood-tested and given a pet passport or a Great Britain health certificate in the EU before the trip to that country, 3 months of waiting from the day of the blood sample before the trip. The European Commission publishes the list of countries whose pets do not need the test.
Plan months ahead, and check the official page of your destination before the trip → Traveling with a Frenchie
VI. What We Did Not Find
- A separate vaccine schedule for French Bulldogs: none in the official guidelines we read (WSAVA 2024, AVMA). The schedule depends on age, place and lifestyle; what the breed adds is the reason to watch him after the shot.
- Why Frenchies react more often: the study does not show the cause. Its authors (Moore 2023, 4,654,187 dogs) write that breed differences “may indicate genetics as the primary risk factor.”
- How often the Dominican law requires the rabies vaccine: the law leaves it to the Ministry of Public Health, and we did not find an official page that sets the interval. Ask your vet.
References
- Squires RA, Crawford C, Marcondes M, Whitley N. 2024 guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats, compiled by the Vaccination Guidelines Group (VGG) of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). J Small Anim Pract, 2024. wsava.org
- Moore GE, Morrison J, Saito EK, Spofford N, Yang M. Breed, smaller weight, and multiple injections are associated with increased adverse event reports within three days following canine vaccine administration. JAVMA, 2023. doi.org
- American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Vaccinating your pet. avma.org
- AVMA. Canine parvovirus. avma.org
- AVMA. Canine distemper. avma.org
- AVMA. Leptospirosis in dogs. avma.org
- CDC. About Rabies. cdc.gov
- CDC. Rabies Prevention and Control. cdc.gov
- CDC. Rabies: Information for Veterinarians. cdc.gov
- CDC. Bringing a Dog into the U.S. cdc.gov
- CDC. High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies. cdc.gov
- Secretaría de Salud (Mexico). NOM-011-SSA2-2011, Para la prevención y control de la rabia humana y en los perros y gatos. salud.gob.mx
- Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (Spain). Nota en relación con las diferencias entre las frecuencias de revacunación antirrábica. mapa.gob.es
- Ministerio de Salud (Argentina). Guía para la prevención, vigilancia y control de la rabia en Argentina (Res. 1144). infoleg.gob.ar
- Uprava za veterinu (Serbia). Pravilnik o utvrđivanju Programa mera zdravstvene zaštite životinja za 2026. godinu. vet.minpolj.gov.rs
- Ministerio de Salud Pública (Dominican Republic). Jornada Nacional de Vacunación contra la rabia. msp.gob.do
- Ley General de Salud No. 42-01 (Dominican Republic), Article 77. dida.gob.do
- GOV.UK. Bringing your pet to Great Britain: rabies blood tests. gov.uk
- European Commission. Dogs, cats and ferrets: pet travel. europa.eu
