We all want our pets to live long, healthy lives. Vaccine boosters for dogs and cats play a crucial role in making that possible. While initial vaccinations provide essential protection, they aren’t enough on their own—booster shots are necessary to maintain your pet’s immunity over time.

Beyond protecting your pet from serious illness, boosters also help stop the spread of disease to other animals (and even to people). They allow pets to safely attend training classes, stay at boarding facilities, visit daycare, and socialize with others. In many cases, staying up to date on boosters can also help you avoid the high cost of treating preventable diseases.

Let’s take a closer look at what vaccine boosters are and why they’re an essential part of your pet’s ongoing healthcare.

What Are Vaccine Boosters?

In addition to the first vaccination, dogs and cats also get boosters. These are vaccines given after the initial vaccine or vaccine series to help maintain your pet’s immunity against disease.

The first dose of vaccine is the priming dose. The second dose (the vaccine booster) and each subsequent booster throughout their life help stimulate a high and long-lasting degree of immunity.

Vaccine boosters are essential to ensure your pet’s body continues to produce antibodies against specific diseases, such as rabies or distemper. Some vaccines are boosted yearly, while others are boosted every three years such as rabies. Your veterinarian will provide a schedule for your pet based on their lifestyle, risk level, and vaccine type.

What Do My Pet’s Vaccine Boosters Protect Against?

Over the centuries, vaccines have saved millions of pets from disease and death, but they only work if our pets stay updated on their boosters.¹

Annual booster vaccines strengthen your pet’s immune response and maintain protection from common infectious diseases that can easily spread, such as leptospirosis and Bordetella.

Lepto is now a core vaccine recommended for all dogs. Lepto is very common in peri-urban wildlife, from cities to rural environments, with rodents being the most common carrier worldwide. All dogs are at risk, even if they only get walks on the sidewalk. Lepto can also be transmitted from dogs to humans.

Bordetella is a highly contagious respiratory disease. While the Bordetella booster doesn’t guarantee complete immunity, it drastically decreases the severity of the disease and likelihood of transmission to other dogs. That’s why reputable training services, boarding facilities, and daycares require this vaccine.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease for both pets and people. The good news is, it’s easily prevented by vaccination and boosters. The rabies vaccine is required by law in most states and requires boosters yearly to every three years.

That’s not all vaccine boosters can protect against. Below is a complete list of vaccine booster shots for dogs and cats.

Those labeled “core” are recommended regardless of your pet’s lifestyle. Others listed may be considered core for certain pets and optional for others. Your veterinarian can provide recommendations.

Booster Shots for Dogs

• Distemper (core), sometimes called DAPP, DHPP, or DA2PP, protects against several diseases, including distemper, adenovirus 1 and 2, parainfluenza, and parvovirus.
• Leptospirosis (core)
• Rabies (core)
• Bordetella
• Lyme
• Canine influenza

Booster Shots for Cats

• FVRCP (core) protects against several serious diseases, including feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR), feline calicivirus (FCV), and feline panleukopenia (FPL)
• Rabies (core)
• Felv (core for all kittens; non-core for adult cats) protects against feline leukemia virus, which can cause a variety of serious medical issues for cats
• Bordetella

Are Vaccine Boosters Worth the Cost?

In addition to the lifesaving protection vaccines provide to pets and people, they’re also a cost-effective way to care for your dog or cat. The cost of treatment if your pet were to get infected is considerably higher than the cost of the vaccine and boosters.

For example, the DAPP vaccine for dogs, which protects against distemper and other diseases, averages around $20 to $50 per shot (depending on location, age, and other factors).² The cost to treat canine distemper can range from $500 to $2,000 or more.³

Despite treatment, many pets may not survive serious bacterial or viral infection. The financial and emotional burden of the disease is far greater than that of the vaccine and boosters.

Now you can see why that first vaccine and subsequent booster shots are so important. They’re vital to ensure your pet lives the healthiest life possible.