How to Read Your Pet's Vaccination Records (What All Those Abbreviations Mean)

Your vet hands you a vaccination certificate. It says "DHPP 3yr" and "Bordetella IN" and "CIV H3N2/H3N8." You nod like you understand. You file it in the folder. Three months later, a boarding facility asks for your dog's vaccination records, and you're staring at the same abbreviations wondering which one is rabies.

Here's a plain-language decoder for the codes you'll see most often on dog and cat records. One note before we start: vaccine recommendations are a medical decision your vet makes based on your pet, your area, and current guidelines. This is a reading guide for the paperwork, not advice on what your pet should get. For that, ask your vet.

Dog vaccine abbreviations decoded

The cluster of letters that confuses people most is the combination distemper shot. It shows up as DAP, DHPP, DAPP, or DA2PP, and they all describe roughly the same core combination:

• D is canine distemper virus, a serious viral disease affecting the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems.
• H or A is adenovirus type 2, which protects against canine adenovirus and infectious hepatitis. The "H" in DHPP stands for hepatitis; the "A" or "A2" in DAP and DA2PP refers to the same adenovirus component.
• P is parvovirus, the highly contagious virus that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea, especially dangerous in puppies.
• The second P, when there is one (DHPP, DAPP, DA2PP), is parainfluenza, a respiratory virus. DAP leaves it out; the others include it.

This combination is core, meaning the American Animal Hospital Association recommends it for every dog. After the puppy series and a booster at one year, the distemper-parvo-adenovirus portion is typically boosted every three years.

Lepto, or L, is leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread through the urine of wildlife and contaminated water. You'll often see L4, which means the vaccine covers four serovars (strains). It's given as an annual booster. Worth knowing: AAHA updated its guidance in 2024 to recommend leptospirosis as a core vaccine for all dogs, so you'll see it more and more on records, sometimes folded into a combination shot labeled DHLPP.

Bordetella is the kennel cough vaccine, protecting against Bordetella bronchiseptica. It can be given intranasally (the "IN" you might see), orally, or by injection, and it's usually boosted every 6 to 12 months. It's non-core, but boarding, daycare, and grooming facilities commonly require it.

Lyme, sometimes written as Borrelia (for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium behind Lyme disease), is a non-core vaccine recommended for dogs in or traveling to tick-heavy regions. It's typically boosted annually.

CIV is canine influenza virus, the dog flu. The two strains are H3N8 and H3N2, and you'll often see them listed together as a bivalent vaccine. It's non-core, recommended based on risk and exposure, and boosted annually after the initial two-dose series.

Rabies is core and legally required in most places. The line you care about is whether the product was a 1-year or a 3-year vaccine. The antigen is similar; the difference is how long the label and your local law let it count as current. A record marked "3yr" stays valid for three years from the date given. That distinction is the one that trips people up at the boarding desk, so it's worth confirming on your own record.

Cat vaccine abbreviations decoded

FVRCP is the cat equivalent of the dog's combination shot, and it's core. The letters break down as:

• FVR is feline viral rhinotracheitis, caused by feline herpesvirus type 1, a common cause of upper respiratory infection.
• C is calicivirus, another upper respiratory virus that also causes mouth ulcers.
• P is panleukopenia, sometimes called feline distemper, a serious and highly contagious virus.

After the kitten series and a booster, FVRCP is generally boosted every three years for adult cats at low risk, though your vet may advise a different interval.

Rabies is core for cats too, with the same 1-year versus 3-year product distinction as dogs, and it's legally required in many areas.

FeLV is feline leukemia virus. Guidelines treat it as core for kittens and cats under a year, since young cats are most susceptible, and as non-core for adult cats, where the recommendation depends on whether the cat goes outdoors or lives with an infected cat.

FIV is feline immunodeficiency virus. You may still see it referenced on older records, but the FIV vaccine (sold as Fel-O-Vax FIV) was discontinued in the United States and Canada in 2015, so it isn't being given here anymore. It matters for a specific reason: cats that received it can test positive on standard FIV antibody tests for years afterward without actually being infected, because the test can't tell vaccine antibodies apart from infection antibodies. If your cat's record shows a past FIV vaccine, mention it to any vet who runs an FIV test.

Core vs. non-core: what's the difference

Core vaccines are the ones guidelines recommend for essentially every pet, regardless of where it lives or what it does. For dogs that's rabies, the distemper combination (DAP), and, as of the 2024 AAHA update, leptospirosis. For cats it's rabies and FVRCP, plus FeLV for kittens. Non-core vaccines are recommended based on risk: a dog's exposure to ticks, wildlife, or other dogs, or a cat's time outdoors. Bordetella, Lyme, and canine influenza are non-core for dogs; FeLV is non-core for low-risk adult cats.

In practice, boarding and daycare facilities usually want the core vaccines plus Bordetella, and some also ask for canine influenza. Knowing which is which tells you what a facility is likely to require before you call.

How to tell if a vaccination is still current

Here's the catch that causes most of the confusion: many records show the date a vaccine was given, not the date it expires. You have to do the math yourself. A vaccine marked "3yr" is current for three years from the date administered; an annual vaccine like Bordetella or Lyme is current for about 12 months. So a rabies shot given on March 1, 2024 with a 3-year product is good through March 1, 2027, while a Bordetella from the same day lapses around March 2025.

This is exactly what a boarding facility is checking when they review your records. If a vaccine has lapsed, they may turn you away at drop-off or require a booster first, sometimes with a waiting period before the pet can stay. Catching a lapse a week early is easy. Catching it in the lobby is not.

Skip the decoding and let the app read them

If you'd rather not keep a cheat sheet in your head, Wagabond Pets reads these abbreviations for you. Forward your vet's email and the app recognizes DHPP, FVRCP, Bordetella, rabies, and the rest, then sorts them into a plain-language vaccination timeline with the due dates calculated from each vaccine's interval. Color-coded countdowns show you what's current and what's coming up, so you're not doing date arithmetic in a parking lot. It's free to start on the App Store. The same records are also the ones you'll want ready if you ever have to evacuate.