Rabies Vaccination - 1 Yr Vs 3 Yr

[MyCutie]

It's time to update Rocket's rabies vaccination and registration. The vet offers a one year and a 3 year vaccination. Last year we went with the one year since I wasn't sure if greyhounds might be adversely affected somehow by a (presumably) stronger 3 year. Are there any standard recommendations for greys? Thanks!

[Guest Scouts_mom]

I get the 3-year one with mine and both my vet and I are extremely paranoid/cautious with vacinations. If it wasn't required by law, I wouldn't get it at all. Once your grey has had a couple, you might want to check if it is realy required where you are or if you could get titers to show it is still active.

[Guest Energy11]

My vet/employer in Florida only offered the one year.

 

Last year, we got the three year here, and NO adverse reactions at ALL! :-)

 

That is the only vaccine we give.

 

Good Luck!

[Hubcitypam]

Most of the time vets give the same shot for 1 year and 3 year, at least here. The difference in "coverage" is that in a lot of states for the rabies to be valid for 3 years it has to be the second recorded shot without lapse. I let Poodle's lapse by two weeks last year and he was only one year. If I'd been in the previous month the same shot would have been 3 years.

 

When Texas went to 3 year (about 8 years ago) I exchanged e-mails with the state and was told that one year and 3 year rabies vaccines do exist, but almost all vets just buy the 3 year and label its length according to administration.

[kudzu]

We have only done 3-year here for the last decade. Vet says it is the same vaccine just labeled differently. The pup got a 1 year vacc. & will get her 3 yr next time. All the adult dogs get 3 yr with no problems at all. Neither of our two Greys have had a problem & one was 10 yo when he got it.

[Guest mountain4greys]

The one year and the 3 year are the same shot. The thing is, if the shot is labeled one year, they require it every year. Better just to get the 3 year.

[Wonder]

The 1 yr is the same as a 3 yr here

 

I was very annoyed with the vet that Lucky had to use. We didn't get any paperwork from the previous owner therefore no shot records. The vet gave him the rabies but the paperwork said it's only for 1 yr. When I complained I was told because he didn't have proof that he had already had rabies, they will only issue the certificate for 1 yr. W T F - that makes no sense

So now I have to get him another rabies which will be his 3rd shot in 3 yrs (he got rabies at the track while he raced)

Very annoying

[KF_in_Georgia]

My guys get the three-year with no problems.

 

But I don't do any other shots at the same time. Their other vaccinations are given about two weeks before (or after) the rabies shot. If someone's going to have a reaction to a shot, I want to know which shot it is.

 

In Georgia, the rabies vaccine is supposed to be administered by the vet. Other shots can be given by the vet tech. At my vet, I can save the price of an office visit (for two dogs) if I get the tech to give DHPP; then my guys see the vet for their wellness exam and heartworm test and get their rabies shot on another visit.

[Guest EmilyandSioux]

In Texas we have to give a 3 year vaccine. The catch is they have to be vaccinated within the last year to receive their first three year and then they cannot ne late for the 3 year vaccine or it is back to the one year and then they can start over. I know this is all too confusing even for some vets. I only get the guys done every 3 years. When they turn 10 I don't worry about it anymore.

[MyCutie]

And I thought people medicine was a ripoff! Glad I asked. Thanks!

[RobinM]

4 out of 5 of ours get rabies every 3 years, distemper too. That's it.

 

Beau gets nothing, not even rabies due to his immune system.

Edited April 9, 2010 by RobinM

[Guest Swifthounds]

Time for a little rabies protocol education. A dog gets its first rabies vaccine around 12 weeks old, protocol dictates that for full protection this vaccine must be boostered in one year. After that you can go every 3 years. Same goes for animals with no vaccination history - give the first shot and booster in one year, then you can go to every 3

 

Although it can be given as early as 12 weeks, giving the vaccine that early risks lowering the efficacy because maternal antibodies, which impair the immunological response to the vaccine, dissipate somewhere around 14 weeks. As a result, most vets give it no earlier than 4 months or age, but preferably 5 or 6.

 

The first vaccine is only legally valid for one year. Second and subsequent vaccines are legally valid for one, two, or three years depending on the state. Many states have a three year standard, some have 2 years. The federally established maximum is every 3 years.

 

This explains why your dog with no rabies record is required to be boostered in a year. I assume you want full protection so I assure you this is in your best interest, not to mention it is state mandated (depending on where you live, required here in VA).

 

It's not vaccine protocol or efficacy as much as it is that rabies is mandated by law not less frequently than every 3 years.

 

A 3 year vaccine isn't "stronger" than a 1 year vaccine, the data has shown consistently that the 1 year vaccines actually provided up to and sometimes over 3 years of full protection as determined by a titer. Your dog is no more likely to react to a 3 year than a 1 year since there's no difference in the amount of immunological stimulation.

 

It also has the same amount of adjuvant, which is what causes adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine, including immunological damage and autoimmune disease. The actual vaccine is identical, but if the label says 1 year, that vaccine can only be legally valid for 1 year. If the vaccine is labeled as a three year vaccine, it is valid for one year if it's a first rabies vaccine for the dog, or if the dog has an unknown history. If neither of those scenarios is the case, the vaccine is valid for the time period prescribed by state law, up to the federal maximum of 3 years.

 

What makes you think your vet is ripping you off? Typically, if your vet requires it every year it's because that's what the state mandates and their hands are tied. Vaccines are not a profit center for veterinarians (especially with crappy cheap vaccine clinics popping up that do mass vaccinations without even doing a proper physical exam, very scary what some people will do to save a buck).

 

Well, not exactly unprofitable. Rabies vaccines cost vets from $1.00 to $1.50 each - that's about twice the cost of manufacture. The vet then charges the client anywhere from $12 to $25 for that vaccine, plus an exam fee. If anyone is making a great profit off of vaccines, it's the vet. These are the same vets that, by and large are recommending annual distemper vaccines, despite the fact that vet schools have moved to a 3 year protocol (schools near me have made the 3 year recommendation since around 1996). they do it, and will admit, that they administer them annually so that people will bring their dogs in for an annual exam. Some will tell you there's no danger in giving annual distemper vaccine - that's just not true.

 

Some vets buy the one year labeled vaccine and some buy the three year. Some buy both. If they run out of the 3 year and only have a 1 year in stock, they can then only give that vaccine with a certificate for one year, even if the dog qualifies for a 3 year labeled vaccine. Most vets stock enough that this isn't an issue, but with the increase in folks getting their rabies vaccine low or no cost from local free clinics, it can be an issue.

 

Vaccines are state mandated for a reason - the disease is 100% fatal (VERY few diseases are that deadly) and if your unvaccinated dog, for example, bites me and isn't vaccinated then animal control is fully within their rights to destroy the dog and send it's brain for testing. If your dog is vaccinated you're lucky and the quarrantine period is much shorter. Some very lucky unvaccinated dogs with some sort of extraneous circumstance (like only 1 month passed vaccine due date) and only have to endure a 6 month quarrantine. Still bad but better than dying. Of course all of what I'm saying is based on VA law though it is similar in most states.

 

 

Sometimes, sometimes not. The protocol for handling vaccinated/unvaccinated dogs involved in bites, encounters with wildlife, etc. vary from state to state. In almost every jurisdiction an owned dog with no vaccine history is still eligible for the 6 month quarantine. Where dogs are destroyed after a dog bite, it usually is related to the biting incident, not the rabies vaccine or lack thereof.

[Hubcitypam]

Time for a little rabies protocol education. A dog gets its first rabies vaccine around 12 weeks old, protocol dictates that for full protection this vaccine must be boostered in one year. After that you can go every 3 years. Same goes for animals with no vaccination history - give the first shot and booster in one year, then you can go to every 3.

That is assuming that you do not let the 3 year window lapse by even one day, depending on state laws. State and local rabies laws laws vary widely so that "protocol education" is a bit flawed. As of last year Wichita Kansas required annual vaccinations as does one suburb in Dallas.

 

Vaccines are not a profit center for veterinarians

 

. REALLY? There are vets here that charge well over $100 for annual shots. When I worked at the day care I saw the reciepts for clients dogs. It was insane. They were paying 5 times what I pay at the vet I go to for shots -- she runs a shot clinic 3 days a week but it is such a madhouse we pay $10 extra and go on off hours. It used to be $28 for 4 or 5 way plus rabies ($10 tech fee), but now that poodle is 11 it's just rabies for $18 ($10 tech fee). We are at the other vet more than once a year for something so I have no shame in using a shot clinic.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Hubcitypam

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

There is no way I would do a one year shot.

[Tracey]

Yep, my vet also told me they're the same shot. So if your state allows you to go three years between shots, do that.

[Guest Swifthounds]

There is no way I would do a one year shot.

 

Me either.

 

When considering moving or taking a different job, local and state dog laws are the first thing to research. Other important things include whether the state permits rabies waivers for immune compromised or very ill dogs. You have to check not just state laws, but also the regulations in a municipality. There are some municipalities that require distemper as well. States can be more stringent than the 3 year federal DOI, but not more lenient, except for allowing waivers (which you must be careful with because it exempts from the reqs to get the rabies vax, but not other laws so if an issue arises the dog is treated as unvaccinated). Municipalities can be more stringent than federal or state, but not more lenient.

[Guest kydie]

3 yrs here

[Jiffer]

Our vet alternates between the rabies and the combo shot, so basically we get rabies done every two years. Except Atlas, ours are blood donors so we have to follow their protocol in order to stay in the system.

 

Last time Atlas had his annual, I asked why it is that we follow this protocol even into their senior years. My vet explained that he would love to just stop giving them since he too doesn't like to over medicate or over vaccinate, but he would prefer to err on the side of caution until some concrete research is published regarding titers and protection. Not to mention, up-to-date Rabies is required by law.

 

I should also mention that while we pay for the wellness exam, I do not get charged for neither the rabies nor the combo shots.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Jiffer

[Guest MZH]

Our vet flat-out says the rabies shot is good for 3 years but they want to do them every year b/c rabies is a problem here. I won't do it annually though, so I go to a mobile vet who doesn't do exams but gives a certificate that it's good for three years. Our dogs get plenty of exams for other issues so I don't care. I tell the regular vet they got the shots there and they don't bat an eyelash. One of ours is a blood donor so it will be interesting to see what happens when shots time comes.

 

Edited because I remembered that another good vet practice in town has the exact opposite philosophy -- as few shots as possible. If it becomes an issue with our current vet I'll switch to the other practice.

Edited April 9, 2010 by MZH

[jetcitywoman]

Time for a little rabies protocol education. A dog gets its first rabies vaccine around 12 weeks old, protocol dictates that for full protection this vaccine must be boostered in one year. After that you can go every 3 years. Same goes for animals with no vaccination history - give the first shot and booster in one year, then you can go to every 3

 

This explains why your dog with no rabies record is required to be boostered in a year. I assume you want full protection so I assure you this is in your best interest, not to mention it is state mandated (depending on where you live, required here in VA).

 

A 3 year vaccine isn't "stronger" than a 1 year vaccine, the data has shown consistently that the 1 year vaccines actually provided up to and sometimes over 3 years of full protection as determined by a titer.

 

Okay, no offense, but this seems illogical to me. If the 1-year shot is exactly the same as the 3 year shot, why the need for the booster after one year?

[Guest MZH]

Swifthounds explained it nicely in post #13. It's a puppy thing.

[Guest Ola]

Around here the rabies shot is valid "according to manufacturers instructions". So if the vaccine you get has a 1-year label, you have to redo it each year but if you get the 3 year one then you're good for 3. It blows my mind how many vets don't use them though, it's one of the things we looked for when searching for a new vet. And even more ridiculous, some vets use the 3-year vaccine but do it every 2 years "just in case". Umm, ok, whatever you say.

[Guest MZH]

Around here the rabies shot is valid "according to manufacturers instructions". So if the vaccine you get has a 1-year label, you have to redo it each year but if you get the 3 year one then you're good for 3. It blows my mind how many vets don't use them though, it's one of the things we looked for when searching for a new vet. And even more ridiculous, some vets use the 3-year vaccine but do it every 2 years "just in case". Umm, ok, whatever you say.

 

They hear "ca-ching" more than than hear us begging for the three year shot!

[rschultz]

dear rocket my lub

All I know is uze better be up on all your shots cause i won'ts be in a reelationshoops with a shotless hound . Makes sures the vets give u extra biskies for the pain.

your up to date shot girlfriend lexie

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

There is no way I would do a one year shot.

 

Me either.

 

When considering moving or taking a different job, local and state dog laws are the first thing to research. Other important things include whether the state permits rabies waivers for immune compromised or very ill dogs. You have to check not just state laws, but also the regulations in a municipality. There are some municipalities that require distemper as well. States can be more stringent than the 3 year federal DOI, but not more lenient, except for allowing waivers (which you must be careful with because it exempts from the reqs to get the rabies vax, but not other laws so if an issue arises the dog is treated as unvaccinated). Municipalities can be more stringent than federal or state, but not more lenient.

 

 

OK you and I are way too alike... because when my husband makes his list of places to go to for the USCG, I tell him that he better not write down ANY place with 1) ANY dog limits or restrictions, period 2) annual rabies required