Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- Some vaccines are recommended for every dog regardless of lifestyle, while others are determined by your dog's individual risk and how much contact they have with other animals.
- Puppies need a more intensive vaccine schedule in their first months to build full protection, with most vaccines shifting to yearly or every-three-year boosters in adulthood.
- Your dog's complete vaccination record is stored in the Modern Animal app, making it easy to stay on schedule and share proof of vaccination when needed.
If you've just brought home a puppy or adopted a dog and aren't sure where to start with core vaccines for dogs, you're not alone. The schedule can feel overwhelming at first, but it follows a clear logic, and once you understand what each vaccine does and why timing matters, it's a lot easier to stay on top of.
"I know vaccines and vaccine protocols can feel really intimidating," said Dr. Storm, a veterinarian at Modern Animal. "But I feel the best way to keep our pets healthy is to prevent it in the first place."
Here's a full breakdown of the vaccines Modern Animal recommends for dogs, how our vets divide them into core and lifestyle, and when each one is given.
Which vaccines are core for every dog?
Three vaccines are recommended for every dog regardless of lifestyle: DA2PP, rabies, and leptospirosis. They protect against diseases serious enough that the risk of skipping them outweighs any other consideration.
What makes a vaccine core. A core vaccine covers a disease that is widespread, severe or fatal, and not avoidable by keeping a dog home. Distemper and parvovirus travel on shoes and hands. Rabies is fatal and required by law. Leptospirosis is in the environment wherever wildlife urinates, which includes suburban backyards. An indoor lifestyle lowers the odds but does not remove them, so every dog gets these three.
What makes a vaccine lifestyle. Lifestyle vaccines cover diseases that spread mainly through dog-to-dog contact in shared spaces. A dog that boards, goes to daycare, visits dog parks, or gets groomed has real exposure; a dog that does none of those has very little. Your vet weighs your dog's routine and recommends accordingly.
How the schedule fits together. Core vaccines start in the puppy series and are boostered for life. Lifestyle vaccines are added when your dog's routine calls for them, and dropped if it changes. The rest of this post takes each vaccine in turn, then looks at how the schedule shifts from puppyhood through the senior years.
DA2PP: distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and parvovirus
DA2PP is the foundation of your dog's vaccine schedule. It protects against distemper and parvovirus, two of the most serious and contagious diseases dogs can contract, along with adenovirus and parainfluenza.
What it covers. Distemper attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems and is often fatal. Parvovirus causes severe vomiting and bloody diarrhea and can kill a puppy within days. Adenovirus causes infectious hepatitis and respiratory disease, and parainfluenza is one of the viruses behind kennel cough. Neither distemper nor parvo has a cure, and both are tough enough to survive on surfaces for months, which is why this vaccine is not optional for any dog. Our DA2PP vaccine guide covers each disease in detail.
The schedule. Puppies receive DA2PP three to four times, spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart, starting around 6 to 8 weeks and finishing at 16 weeks or later. A booster is given at the one-year mark. After that, it becomes an every-three-year vaccine for adult dogs.
Rabies
Rabies vaccination is required by law in most areas and is one of the few vaccines that isn't a matter of individual choice. It protects against a disease that is fatal in both animals and people.
What it covers. Rabies is a virus that spreads through the saliva of an infected animal, usually by a bite, and attacks the nervous system. Bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons carry it, and once signs appear there is no treatment. Because it can pass from dogs to people, vaccination is a public health requirement, and a rabies certificate is what licensing offices, boarding facilities, and airlines ask to see. Our rabies vaccine guide covers the legal requirements and what to do after a possible exposure.
The schedule. Puppies get their first rabies dose at 12 to 16 weeks depending on local law, often at the last visit of the puppy series. That first dose is good for one year. Once a dog receives its one-year booster, most jurisdictions allow a three-year vaccine, and that is what our vets commonly use for dogs with an established history. Your vet will let you know which schedule applies to your dog.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease transmitted through the urine of infected wildlife or other dogs. It's a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be passed from dogs to people, which is why our vets recommend it for all dogs regardless of lifestyle.
What it covers. The bacteria live in water and soil contaminated by the urine of rats, raccoons, and other wildlife, and a dog picks it up by drinking from a puddle, walking through wet grass, or sniffing where an animal has been. It attacks the kidneys and liver and can cause organ failure. Because a suburban backyard is enough exposure, leptospirosis moved from lifestyle to core in our vets' recommendations. Our leptospirosis vaccine guide explains the disease and its signs.
The schedule. The leptospirosis vaccine requires two doses 3 to 4 weeks apart when given for the first time, usually during the puppy series, followed by yearly boosters. If a dog's booster lapses by more than a year or so, the two-dose series is repeated.
Lifestyle vaccines are recommended based on your dog's individual situation, specifically how much contact they have with other dogs and where they spend time. Your vet will help you decide which of these make sense for your dog.
"If your dog has risk factors like they're going to a boarding facility, a daycare, a puppy school, grooming facilities, indoor spaces with other dogs, or you're going to fly on an airplane, I would definitely recommend this," Dr. Storm said.
Bordetella. "The Bordetella vaccine is the kennel cough vaccine," Dr. Storm said. "A lot of things cause kennel cough. There's at least ten different viruses and bacteria that can cause the same sort of symptom that we just blanket call kennel cough." Bordetella is the main bacterial cause, and it is recommended for dogs that spend time around other dogs at parks, boarding facilities, grooming salons, daycare, or training classes. Many of those facilities require it. Unlike most vaccines, it is given by mouth. "This is the updated vaccine where it goes right in their mouth," Dr. Storm said. "We used to just have the injectable version or the stuff that went in the nose. Nobody liked either one of them. So thankfully, it's just a little oral liquid they need to take. It's not painful, it's very safe, and most of our patients tolerate it great." It's typically boostered once a year. Our Bordetella vaccine guide has more.
Canine influenza. Dog flu is a respiratory virus that spreads easily between dogs in shared spaces. "Influenza is something that thankfully is not endemic here, meaning we don't have it here all the time, but we have outbreaks of it," Dr. Storm said. "When other dogs come in infected with influenza, it can be really severe. They get pretty sick, they get high fever, they don't want to eat or drink, they get a bad cough, which can develop into a serious pneumonia." Because outbreaks arrive without warning and the illness is worse than kennel cough, our vets recommend the vaccine for the same dogs that need Bordetella. "When they get an influenza vaccine for the first time, they need a booster 3 to 4 weeks later," Dr. Storm said. "And then it's a once-a-year vaccination, and it's thankfully very safe and very well tolerated by my patients." Our canine influenza vaccine guide covers when it is worth adding.
Lyme disease. Lyme is transmitted through tick bites and is most prevalent in the northeast and northern Midwest. At Modern Animal, where most clinics are located in California, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado, it's less commonly recommended, but for dogs that travel to high-prevalence areas or spend significant time in wooded or grassy environments, it's worth discussing. The Lyme vaccine requires an initial two-dose series followed by yearly boosters, and year-round tick prevention is the other half of the strategy.
How does the schedule change as your dog ages?
Puppies get the most vaccines in the shortest time. Adult dogs settle into a predictable rhythm of yearly and every-three-year boosters. Senior dogs keep the same vaccines but get more chances to review them.
Puppies. Puppies need a more intensive schedule in their first months because antibodies from their mother's milk interfere with vaccines early in life. Those antibodies fade somewhere between 6 and 16 weeks, and the timing varies from puppy to puppy, so doses are repeated every 3 to 4 weeks to make sure at least one lands after the antibodies are gone. The final DA2PP dose at 16 weeks or later is the most important one. A typical series runs three or four visits between 8 and 16 weeks, covering DA2PP each time, leptospirosis twice, rabies once near the end, and Bordetella and influenza if the puppy is headed for daycare or classes. Your vet will map out the full puppy series at your first visit, and a series that was interrupted should be finished rather than started over.
Adult dogs. Once the initial series is complete, most vaccines settle into a yearly or every-three-year rhythm. DA2PP moves to every three years after the one-year booster. Rabies moves to every three years once the dog has an established history. Leptospirosis, Bordetella, canine influenza, and Lyme are boostered annually. Most of this happens at the annual wellness exam, where your vet flags what is due. An adult dog with an unknown history usually gets a dose of each core vaccine plus a booster 3 to 4 weeks later, then joins the adult schedule.
Senior dogs. Vaccine needs don't go away as dogs age. Older dogs have weaker immune systems, which makes protection more important, not less. The conversation may shift slightly: senior dogs seeing the vet every six months have more frequent opportunities to review their vaccination status, and your vet may drop a lifestyle vaccine if a dog no longer boards or goes to the park. Book an appointment if you are not sure where your dog stands.
Keeping track. Your dog's complete vaccination record is stored in the Modern Animal app. You can check what they're current on, get notified when something is coming due, and download and share their record with boarding facilities, groomers, or dog parks that require proof of vaccination. If a question about the schedule comes up between visits, Modern Animal All Access and Essential members can reach our team anytime through 24/7 Virtual Care.
What does a dog's vaccine schedule cost?
A puppy's series is spread across three or four visits, each with an exam and the vaccines due that day. An adult dog's annual visit typically includes the exam plus whichever boosters are due, which varies by year since DA2PP and rabies come up only every third year. Lifestyle vaccines add to the visit only if your dog needs them. Any additional diagnostics are priced separately.
For All Access members, routine wellness exams are included at no additional charge, making it easier to stay consistent with annual vaccine visits. For a full breakdown of what's included at each membership tier and individual vaccine pricing, visit modernanimal.com/pricing.
The bottom line. No two dogs have exactly the same vaccine needs, but every dog needs the three core vaccines, and most dogs that spend time around other dogs benefit from Bordetella and influenza as well. The puppy series is the hard part. After that, it is a yearly visit with a predictable set of boosters, and the app keeps track of what is due.
Your vet will take your dog's age, lifestyle, and health history into account and build a schedule that makes sense for them specifically. If your dog is due for a visit or you want to review where they stand on vaccines, book an appointment through the Modern Animal app. For more on preventive care, visit the Modern Animal blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
At Modern Animal, the three core vaccines are DA2PP, which covers distemper, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and parvovirus; rabies, which is required by law in most areas; and leptospirosis, a bacterial disease spread through wildlife urine that can pass to people. Our vets recommend all three for every dog regardless of lifestyle, because the diseases they cover are widespread, severe, and not avoidable by keeping a dog at home. Lifestyle vaccines like Bordetella and canine influenza are added based on your dog's routine.
Core vaccines cover diseases that any dog can catch, including from a backyard or a pair of shoes, and that are fatal or legally required. Lifestyle vaccines cover diseases that spread mainly through dog-to-dog contact in shared spaces. Dr. Storm recommends the lifestyle vaccines for dogs with risk factors such as boarding, daycare, puppy school, grooming facilities, indoor spaces with other dogs, or air travel. A dog with none of those exposures may not need them, and your vet will help you decide.
A typical puppy series runs three or four visits between about 8 and 16 weeks, spaced 3 to 4 weeks apart. DA2PP is given at every visit, leptospirosis twice, and rabies once near the end, with Bordetella and canine influenza added if the puppy is headed for daycare or classes. The doses are repeated because maternal antibodies block the vaccine until they fade, and the final DA2PP dose at 16 weeks or later is the most important. Your vet maps out the full series at the first visit.
After the one-year booster, DA2PP moves to every three years, and rabies moves to every three years once a dog has an established history. Leptospirosis is boostered yearly. Bordetella is boostered yearly, and Dr. Storm notes that canine influenza needs a booster 3 to 4 weeks after the first dose and then becomes a once-a-year vaccine. In practice, most adult dogs get an exam and one or two boosters each year, with DA2PP and rabies coming up every third year.
If your dog boards, goes to daycare, visits dog parks, gets groomed, or attends training classes, yes. Dr. Storm explains that Bordetella is the kennel cough vaccine, and that at least ten different viruses and bacteria can cause the cough we lump under that name, with Bordetella the main bacterial one. The current version is an oral liquid rather than an injection or nasal spray, which she describes as painless, very safe, and well tolerated. Many facilities require it, and it is boostered yearly.
Yes. Vaccine needs don't go away with age, and older dogs have weaker immune systems, which makes protection more important. The core vaccines continue on the same schedule: DA2PP and rabies every three years, leptospirosis yearly. What may change is the lifestyle list, since a senior dog that no longer boards or goes to the park may not need Bordetella or influenza anymore. Senior dogs seeing the vet every six months have more frequent chances to review the schedule and adjust it to their current health.