Small Vaccine Question

[Roo]

Hello! I have a little question concerning vaccines. Eli came home in May. The papers sent with him from his racing days said that they gave him all his vaccines in March, and then says that they expire next March. However, underneath that (or between different listing things) it says that his rabies expires 11/12. I'm assuming that means it expires in November 2012, but then why does the other part of the same paper say that his vaccines expire in March? If his rabies does expire, I'd like to take him to get the shot. But I don't want to take him to get the shot if it's not actually expired. Also, this might be a stupid question (hah!) but Greyhound rabies shots are identical to other rabies shots, yes? I ask because I want to bring him to the local shelter to get the shot (I volunteer there and want to show him off - haha) and most of the staff aren't Greyhound-savvy. They're all super nice, but still - if there's anything different, I'll need to tell them. Thanks!

[vjgrey]

There's no difference between "greyhound" rabies shots and other rabies shots, but I did find that the city (for licensing) and our groomer wouldn't accept the vaccination paperwork from the kennel. Poor Cash had to get the rabies vaccine again, even though he was current, because it's the only way we could get the vet certificate.

[Roo]

Okay, good! I didn't think there was, but wanted to be absolutely sure. So if I do go ahead and get it and the paper is wrong and he's not actually due, it won't hurt him, right?

[RedHead]

I do rabies every 3 years. I wouldn't worry about the shot "expiring" if he got one in March. Personally, if he was vaccinated then, I wouldn't get another one in November.

[Guest Fasave]

I got confused reading my pups vaccination records as there were two dates. One was the date the vaccine shot itself is expires (like a use by date). The other is the date for re-vaccination. Maybe that is the issue?

[Roo]

I got confused reading my pups vaccination records as there were two dates. One was the date the vaccine shot itself is expires (like a use by date). The other is the date for re-vaccination. Maybe that is the issue?

 

Ahh, that's probably it. I'll take another look and see if I can decipher it. Maybe that is what expires in November...

 

I do rabies every 3 years. I wouldn't worry about the shot "expiring" if he got one in March. Personally, if he was vaccinated then, I wouldn't get another one in November.

 

I'm not worried about it in that way. I was having trouble figuring out which vaccine "due date" (so to speak) was the one I needed to look at, as there are a couple different dates on the paper. If I knew for sure that he had his rabies in March, I definitely wouldn't get him one in November! But he does need it when he's due, as we have a coyote/raccoon/fox population in this area.

[KF_in_Georgia]

It's possible Eli had a three-year rabies shot in November 2009. He wouldn't need another rabies shot until November of 2012, even if he needed his other shots earlier and on a different schedule.

[GeorgeofNE]

My vet would not accept the track paperwork, and gave George all his shots and he was just fine, and I didn't have to wonder and worry.

[Saharasmom]

I would go ahead and get it. With all the wildlife rabies cases in our county, I wouldn't want to risk exposure and an extended quarantine. He should be fine, even if he isn't due for a booster until March.

[Hubcitypam]

I'm just wondering why some vets/kennels/groomers/cities mentioned won't accept rabies shots from the track vets. Buck and Harley both came with rabies certificates signed by DVMs.

 

Can't see why those would be in dispute, along with any other shots given by a vet. Can certainly see them not accepting kennel administered DHLPP and such, but most states require a DVM to at least be present and sign off on rabies.

[macoduck]

Some rabies shots are for one year only. If the paperwork isn't clear I'd rather have him get the shot to be safe.

[greytpups]

Some rabies shots are for one year only. If the paperwork isn't clear I'd rather have him get the shot to be safe.

 

I heard that the rabies shot for one year and three years is the same thing, it's just that some places require the vaccination yearly, while other cities?? regions?? (not sure which) are ok with the 3 year vaccine. Hopefully one of our vets on here can chime in.

[JJNg]

The vaccine itself is usually the same for 1-yr and 3-yr rabies. The difference is just in the certificate that is issued, and because rabies vaccines are legally required, what is recognized depends on current state laws.

 

Many states also have a requirement for both a rabies certificate and tag to be issued whenever a rabies vaccine is administered. I don't think track vets typically issue rabies tags, which is probably one reason why many groups don't recognize track vaccines.

[kudzu]

You would go by the expiration date on the dogs rabies certificate. Almost all the dogs coming into our group get a 1 year rabies vaccine when they arrive. A year later when the next vaccine is due the owner can choose between a 1 year or 3 year vaccine depending on local laws. The state of Georgia recognizes 3 year rabies certificates though not all vets volunteer that info.

 

The catch is that the dog must have a 1 year vaccine first before starting on the 3 year plan. And if you let the vaccine expire you have to start over by going back to a 1 year vaccine again. So when a couple of foster dogs came to me with expired vaccinations I had to start with 1 year vaccines. The former owner claimed the dogs had had 3 year vaccinations that were not expired but their paperwork said differently. It turns out 2.5 years before she had tried to get 3 year vaccines but since their prior vaccinations had expired so the vet could legally only issue a 1 year certificate. Since the former owner did not take the dogs back again the next year their rabies vaccinations were out of date again so once again we had to do 1 year vaccinations.

[Burpdog]

Do you have the rabies vaccine certificate?

[OwnedBySummer]

You can also look up your rabies vaccine by the name of it and learn more about it.

 

And wow, never had anyone up here have any problem with Summer's old medical records. Her shots (DHLPP & rabies) were on a certifcate issued by Alabama State Department of Public Health and a bordetella certificate from the race track. Before any of these came due, I had taken her back and forth across the border numerous times. Wonder what could have happened if anyone had questioned these documents? Yikes!

[Hubcitypam]

The catch is that the dog must have a 1 year vaccine first before starting on the 3 year plan. And if you let the vaccine expire you have to start over by going back to a 1 year vaccine again.

Here the dog has to have a shot (which is usually a 3 year that expires in one year - not worth it to carry both types for most vets) then it is on to every 3 years.

 

Have you double checked it with the State Zoonosis board about the expire thing? Several vets here say if the rabies is expired by one day you are back to square one. but that isnt true according to my vet.