Rabies Vaccination - 1 Yr Vs 3 Yr

[duncan41]

Hopefully the Rabies Challenge will result in a more logical approach to vaccinations in general. FWIW: My vet uses the same serum for 1 year and 3 year shots. You have to specify the 3 year so it appears on the certificate as such. The biggest gripe Vets have with the extended vaccine timetable is that their clients will be less likely to adhere to the annual checkup recommendation.

[Guest IHeartDogs]

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

 

I'm confused, how do you legally get out of giving Beau his rabies, I thought it is required no matter what? I would like to know how to avoid getting one for my girl with IBD.

[Guest Swifthounds]

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

 

I'm confused, how do you legally get out of giving Beau his rabies, I thought it is required no matter what? I would like to know how to avoid getting one for my girl with IBD.

 

I'm not Robin, but ..

 

NJ has a rabies waiver. You have to have it renewed annually and recertified by the vet, but you can get the waiver for serious illnesses like epilepsy, anything involving immune suppression, etc. Should there be a bite, an alleged bite, or alleged contact with wildlife, the dog must be treated as an unvaccinated dog, but the waiver grants the exemption from the requirement to give the rabies vaccine.

 

Check your state laws (not local laws - folks in CA were getting waivers from municipalities in contradiction of CA state law and it caused lots of issues for the dog owners) to see if your state has a waiver option.

[Hubcitypam]

... 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

 

After my first grey Little Girl died a horrible death from what my vet deemed vaccine induced Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia (what it was called then) I did a lot of digging. It seems the culprit for IMHA is widely belived to be the four or five way "cocktail" (DHPP or DHLPP) not the rabies shot itself.

 

Maybe you have more statistics that one year rabies is a major contributor to IMHA? If so could you share? I'm not a fan of one or two year rabies but it seems a very very random thing to feel so strongly about that you would plan your future around it.

[GreyAcresMom]

Can I just again say how much I love my vet!!

 

At her full approval we do the 3 year rabies and the booster at the same time. She does not feel the need to over vaccinate, and unlike many Dr or Vets, she takes the time to really talk about things and "hears" me.!!

 

AND!! We never pay for the office visit. It is always just the services and will give me samples or anything she can to help with the cost of having all these animals!

 

 

ETA: just did a quick google about the autoimmune disorder and found nothing that said anything about the vaccines.

 

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2101&aid=399

Edited April 12, 2010 by GreyAcresMom

[Hubcitypam]

http://www.veterinar...S=1&SourceID=42

"...There is some thinking that vaccination can trigger IMHA. Insect bites have also been implicated. Both have been temporally associated with the development of AIHA. The relationship between recent vaccination and IMHA development is one of the factors that has led most veterinary schools to go to an every 3-year schedule for the standard DHLPP vaccine for dogs rather than the traditional annual schedule."

 

All I know is that Girls cause of death was given to me as vaccine induced autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Then I went digging. I did find that if a middle aged bitch gets IMHA it is an almost certain death sentence and she was 4.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2010 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Swifthounds]

At her full approval we do the 3 year rabies and the booster at the same time. She does not feel the need to over vaccinate, and unlike many Dr or Vets, she takes the time to really talk about things and "hears" me.!!

By "at the same time" I hope you mean "every three years" and not "on the same day every three years." For several reasons, you want to give a dog as few vaccines at once as possible. If you give the rabies and other vaccines at the same time and the dog has a reaction, you won't know which vaccine caused the reaction. If it's something in the distemper, which is usually not required by law, you can skip it or use a different formulation or do them individually. If it's rabies you may be eligible for a waiver. You can't do either of those if you can't pinpoint the culprit. The other issue is that giving multiple vaccines increases the load on the immune system , which can trigger reactions or other illness. Thirdly, if you give them at once, they are less effective than if spaced 3-4 weeks apart. The distemper "combo" shot is actually modified from the individual components to not have this problem when combined, but that doesn't extend to other things at the same time.

 

I'd also not ever give a combo with the lepto. First, it's often the culprit for dogs who have reactions after distemper combos. Second, the lepto component in the combo shot is less compete than the separate - fewer and less common strains. Lepto has many, many strains (like, say the flu) only they don't change the strains covered by the lepto component of the combo shot - too costly and too little return. If you live where lepto is a big concern, pick a good lepto vac and give it several weeks after other vaccines.

 

ETA: just did a quick google about the autoimmune disorder and found nothing that said anything about the vaccines.

 

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2101&aid=399

 

Severe, debilitating autoimmune disease is linked to both distemper and rabies. This isn't well documented because often a full diagnosis will run you into the tens of thousands, which most owners won't spend. Also, if you can document why and get a definitive diagnosis, and you notify the company (a lot of people do not), they will offer a settlement (usually over $10k), but if you cash the check, you're agreeing to non-disclosure.