Rabies
 

Does the rabies vaccine last for one year or three years? I have seen different things about this. Does anyone know or know a site that I can research it on that provides accurate information? Vets in my area recommend it yearly.

My vet does a 1 year for the first rabies shot...after that you can get a 1 year or 3 year shot. We are on a 3 year schedule here with all of the vaccinations mine get.

I would never give it yearly, unless it was required by law. I'd guess you'd have to check with your county to find out the specific law near you. I know here it is every 3 years.... they do rabies as a pup (preferably, after 16 weeks) and then do a rabies booster when the dog is 1 year. But then after that it's every 3yrs. But it's the same vaccine. I don't even like doing rabies every 3yrs but unfortunately, it's the law. I don't think it's worth the risk of NOT getting it for legal reasons.

State and local laws govern how often to give rabies vaccines. You might want to check your local laws to see if they are required yearly. If not, then I would speak with your vet and ask why he recommends yearly vaccines.

Here is a link that has information:


Vaccinating Your Dog

They do recommend yearly here. I guess I want to argue the case that she is never left out without me there. I just don't think Rosie will be exposed? Am I crazy!? :confused: I am reading some about the risks involved. I am outside of city limits so I am wondering how to get out of doing it. Lol.

Ladyjane am I reading this correctly? The other vaccines should only be given once every three years? They recommend those yearly too?

I would call your local county health unit. That is where I finally got the answer to whether or not my county accepted the 3 year. The state of TN has said the law is at least every 3 years, but municipalities can change to require the vaccine every year. My vet was told that it was every year, because animal control thought it was every year. But this was NOT written in my city law. Their ordinance on the rabies vaccine only said it had to be up to date. Knowing the state law was 3 years, and the local ordinance did not specify, I felt that one year was probably not correct. I called the county health department and they confirmed that it was, in fact, 3 years. Kind of disturbing that everyone else I spoke to, including animal control and our local shelter workers did not know that the state law had changed several years ago and that the county was following the state law of 3 years I hate that most of the dogs around here are probably getting subjected to an unnecessary vaccine if the common belief is that it should be every year. I did talk to one of the directors at the local shelter/animal control and he said he was going to look into it.

Recommendations for DHPP is every three years. It is on that site! :)

https://secure.aahanet.org/eweb/dyna...cineGuidelines

I live in TN too and my vet said he would give my dog the 3 year vaccine, and I would have to come back every year to get an updated license tag. So I've never been quite sure whether the law said every 3 years or if my vet was just letting me do that and giving me the tags without a shot every time.

I've researched it and it seems to me that the scientific studies support the idea that most vaccines are lifelong and only need to be given to puppies. Just like most human vaccines. I'm convinced the reason we have yearly vaccinations in dogs is because it makes the vaccine companies more money!

Puppies should get 2 Rabies vaccines within one year, depending on state law the first is anywhere from 2 months to 6 months, and the 2nd at 12 months of age. Medically, this is to establish immunity in the pup.

Boosters have been given given yearly, until more recently because it has been medically proven that yearly boosters do not increase the immunity in dogs and cats, and may cause more harm than good.

Still, the area in which ones lives determines the frequency of the Rabies booster requirements, and that is determined by the number of Rabies cases reported for any given area, usually in the prior year. This is why each county may have different requirements than the state.

Medically, the actual Rabies vaccine is the same. If one acquires an older dog with either a questionable or unknown vaccine history, it is recommended the dog get two Rabies vaccines within the first year of ownership to establish the dog's immunity, then go on to either 1 or 3 year boosters, determined by the law.

Medically, the Rabies vaccine may provide immunity in pets 5-15 years or longer, but because Rabies is a zoonotic disease (threat to humans), the laws dictate the frequency of revaccination, not the medical community.

In some states, a waiver may be obtained to decline the vaccine for health reasons of the pet, or a titer may be required to prove immunity of the individual pet.

You may want to call around to different vets in your specific area to see if all of them are doing yearly or every 3 year Rabies boosters... or the state dog licensing bureau would know bc licenses would not be issued to pets not UTD on their Rabies vaccs.

Most states recommend every 3 years....unless, in an outbreak of rabies has occurred. Then the city/county will "recommend" that vaccine be given annually.

There is no difference between an annual or 3 year vaccine....just the way the certificate is filled out.

i remember few years ago the vaccines in ontario only lasted 1 year then they switched to 3 years one.

coco got one in korea yesterday and the vet said she needs to get one next year. but hopefully ill be back in canada byt hen and she'll get the 3 years ond. watching her get one broke my heart.

so one vaccine will give 3 years of protection? i think here we have to do it every year, but i'm not sure as the vet did offer 1 or 3yr. i declined because i thought it would have to be a more potent vaccine, and didn't want to subject her to anything more than necessary.

This is what I always thought . However when contacting the vet , they tell me that the first rabies vaccine was only good for one year.... I don't understand why the vet won't tell me the truth about the rabies being the same as the three yr vaccine. Me me mad that they say that when it is not correct.

Thanks all!! I am going to do some research and see what I can find out about our laws. The city says every year, however, I don't live in city limits. So, I will look to see what the state says.

If I understand you correctly, the vaccine for one year is the exact same as the three year. So, I am beginning to see it as a money making event. :mad:

Again, thanks for all the information!!!

I keep seeing this money making trend of thinking.

The drug manufacturers don't write the laws so it clearly is not done as a money maker for them.

The cities and states who pass the laws don't get a kick back from the drug manufacturers.

It is just that rabies is governed by state and local laws. Those laws are passed out of a concern for public health. Period. No conspiracy.

i use to work at a vet office and they would give the first shot as a 1yr shot then after it would switch to every three years

You can bet your bottom dollar the vaccine manufacturers have hired lobbyists to persuade politicians who write these laws. That is how all the human drug companies work, pretty much every major industry actually.

Guess they are not doing such a great job since so many go with the 3 year vaccines. :)

Thanks for clearing that up. It was starting to look that way. It is nice to know that it is not. I have given the vaccine in the past. Just don't want to if it is not necessary. Thanks!!

ack got the 3 yr rabbies this year.

Are you in Davidson Co.? Here is a post by Kris Christine, from the Rabies Challenge Fund. You can probably look up the law that she cites:
MCL 8.04.040

The vac is a 3 year vac, but local laws often require it yearly-seem completely illogical to me, I don't think over vaccinating can be healthy at all especially in small dogs.

We debated it due to a rabies epidemic here a couple years ago and went though thinking of changing the city (county) regulations/laws. Local vets stood up and presented the facts on it so we stuck at 3 years since the vac lasts that long-check if "titers" are allowed in your area also.

All pups have to get it once under one and then again after then go to three years per vets recommendations.

In Texas, puppies are supposed to get the 1st vaccine at 4 months and a booster 12 months later. Once both of these vaccines are given, either a 1 year or 3 year booster can be given. My daughter told me that the vet she works for (as a registered vet tech) only offers the 1 year option as a way to ensure that owners bring their dogs in every year. Otherwise, they might wait 3 years between vet visits.

Also, from what I understand, individual counties in TX can make exceptions to the state law based on the history of rabies outbreaks.

Vets who do that are the ones that make people think that money is more important to the vets than the welfare of the animals they see.

If a vet told me that he would take a risk of over vaccinating my pups just so that I would come in each year, I would walk out and never return.

I am sure he is thinking/saying that this is a way to encourage people to have their pets examined by him each year; but I believe that education will bring them back. There are other things that are needed yearly such as Heartworm testing. A responsible pet owner is going to come back if they are armed with knowledge, including the risks of over vaccinating!

He is going against the AAHA recommendations and to me that is a huge concern.

I agree completely that this is the way it comes across. It sure didn't make my daughter happy either as she is fully aware that a rabies vaccine every 3 years is arguably the better option.

Does he do the DHPP yearly as well?

I'm not sure. And I should have stated she works in CO now. The laws there are a bit vague. We had a conversation about the rabies vaccine specifically because the vet she works for chewed her out for offering a client the option of the 3 year vaccination, which then caused the vet to implement a policy in the clinic offering only the 1 year vaccine. It is a new clinic and the policy was certainly a business decision. Actually, this disagreement with the vet has prompted my daughter to change clinics.

The vet I see recommends all the vaccines yearly. I am going to question him on this at Rosie's yearly. I researched Arkansas law. It appears the 3 year option has been brought up. However, I do not believe it has changed from the yearly rabies shot at this point. So, at this point, it looks like the yearly is the law. If it last for the 3 years, I don't agree with the yearly at all then. I don't know if I can debate it if it is the law. :( But I am going to start asking more questions.