I know it's the law, however...
 

I know it's the law, however, if your yorkie was never out of a fenced back yard w/a 6' fence, and the owner supervising, and never around wild animals, who might carry rabies, why would you need a rabies shot? I know you say if they bit someone, they'd have to be tested (or worse), but what if your yorkie was only around people you know? The lady who clips Apple is a good friend, and does this at her house...Thanks....
Maggie & Apple:aimeeyork

I agree, but I feel like it's just such a safety precaution. Because, if by chance, your dog bit someone and did not have the rabies shot... she would be here illegally. Animals can be put down and such for not having that shot. But I suppose if you KNOW for a fact she will never be outside of your house and backyard. I still just wouldn't take the chance.

Am I missing something here?

Is the rabies vaccination not also meant as a protection for your pet? How can one be certain that your pet will never come in contact with a animal carrying rabies?

I cannot imagine not providing every possible protection I can for our Yorkie.

Oh, yes, definitely. I guess I shouldn't have left that part out of my post. lol. That's what I meant by safety precaution. I would NEVER want Jackson to acquire rabies!

Yes, the shot is important for the protection of your pet...not just other people. If you pet breaks the skin on anyone, even your groomer, and it's reported there are only a couple of ways to tell if the dog has rabies and you wouldn't like either one of them. If your dog was quarantined for the time period they would still make you give the rabie shot afterwards and you'd probably have a citation and hefty lawsuit by that time too!

I keep my dogs inside and totally supervise them while they're outside too but I also know the squirrels, raccoons and who knows what else, cross our front deck and live in the huge oak trees that hang over the front of our house. I would never hesitate to get the required rabies shot for my dogs.

Rabid animals are unpredictable so even with constant supervision your dog could still come in contact with one.

Good post :thumbup: You're better w/ words than me!

Since wild animals can come into even a fenced backyard, your Yorkie is still at risk. In some places even if the dog bites or scratches a vet or vet tech, it will have to be reported. At the very least, if animal control comes around and your dog isn't vaccinated, you will be fined.

That said, it is a very potent vaccine that I consider close to dangerous. With Ellie's lifestyle, health issues and past reaction, I do not want her to get it anymore and wil be talking to the vet about it.

The only legal way around it (and this only works in some states) is to have your vet write a waiver and they can only do this if your dog has a medical issue. Quarantine and possible euthanasia still apply if someone is bitten though.

I'd say all dogs are at risk but it is highly unlikely that a dog who is always supervised outside would get rabies.

I think any shot that caues 10,000 reactions in 3 years with 5% of those being death, we need to be very cautious giving it.

I agree that you should definitely have the rabies vaccination. But one of my concerns is that even though your groomer does this in her home and I guess does not require you to show proof of rabies vaccination, I don't think that's very smart on her part. She's taking a very large risk allowing this. There's no way for her to know that your dog is not in contact with any possible infected animals.

Rabies vaccinations can be harsh and as another poster stated in some cases you can get a waiver, however even then I would reccomend titre tests, so that in the unlikely event your dog did bite someone you could prove they were not rabies positive.

Otherwise in many areas euthenasia is the only option for an unvaccinated dog that has bitten. This is because blood tests, etc are not an effective means to screen an animal for rabies after it has bitten. They must actually get a sample of brain tissue and I am sure you know what that means. Also because it is critical a human recieve human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) nearly immediately after the bite the law in most jurisdictions is to immediately euthanize a suspect animal. There is no treatment for rabies; once symptoms begin, the disease is always fatal and the law tends to error on the side of protecting human health rather than quarantining the animal.

All dogs should be vaccinated if possible. The risk is way to high if they are not. Allowing a dog to go unvaccinated exposes the dog to the risk of contracting the disease (even if it is remote in most cases), the risk of euthanasia in the event of a bite and it exposes pet owners to serious legal liabilities.

It's not the law in my area, but even if it was I still wouldn't get it done for Missy. I think it's very dangerous and unnecessary. No Lepto or Rabies for this teeny tiny girl. It's just way too risky. However, if for any reason her lifestyle changes, and she were to be outdoors alot or unattended outside, THEN I may consider getting it. At this point she uses her pee pads, and is only outside in my arms or on a leash walking the city streets. I feel the risk of myself getting bitten by a rabid bat (only a handful of rabid bats found in my province each year) are higher than Missy's are.

Excellent post!! :thumbup:

if my vet didn't require it, none of mine would have rabies vaccinations.

I don't think a 6 foot fence would protect your baby from a rabid bat. Last summer a bat flew into our house when my husband opened up the slider and left it opened for a few minutes. You should have seen us trying to chase that bat back outside. At the time all I could think of, I hope this is not a rabid bat.

Graphic post
 

I have never gotten over the shock of my environmentalist husband (then just a close friend) stopping by to say hello when he was in town on a job-related trip. He only stopped by for a minute because he had the head of a dog in the trunk transporting it for testing for rabies. He was in state water pollution then but since he was in my county that day, he was transporting it to the state lab for the health department. I'm not sure now but I know then the only way to test for rabies involved the brain. It is not a risk I would be willing to take for any dog I owned.

Okay, I haven't done alot of research on this but when I got Fancy, her breeder told me not to get her rabies shot because she is too little. Fancy still weighs 2lbs 12 ozs and she is 7 months old (on the 29th).

I don't know what to do, I want her to be safe but I don't want anything to happen where I should have gotten the shot. :confused::confused::confused::confused:

I opted not to get the kennel cough shot either because I had read on here she could *possibly* still get sick even after receiving the shot...? All of her other shots are current though.