Shots....?????????
 

My baby is due for his last set of shots in a couple of weeks, I was reading another post and it was about the rabies shot. The lady at my vets office said they would give him his last set of shots and his rabies next time, Is this not a good idea? Brusier will be 13 weeks old right now he weighs 2 lbs. Can you please give me some advice since he is my first yorkie.

Kona's vet suggested we do the last round of booster shots one week and then the rabies shot the following week. I'm very happy that we did it that way.

We've always waited till they were older (6 months) to give their rabies shots, but then again, they aren't around animals that would expose them to it. Discuss it with your vet or call a different vet (doesn't cost to ask questions) and see what their take is on it. To me, 13 weeks seems WAY too young for a rabies shot.

Thanks for the info.

Wait
 

I would wait on the rabies shot until 6 months. I also did not let my pup get more than one shot at a visit.

yes i would wait my vet said we could wait till 6 months to.

I never give any vaccine with the rabies vaccine and I want at least 2 weeks, preferably 3 weeks in between to allow their immune system to recover from the first one. I always wait until they are 6 months to give the rabies, but also keep them in my home and in my yard.

On another note, 13 weeks sounds too young to be stopping shots. Most vets want for the last combo vaccine (insist on NO LEPTO) to be given no earlier than 16 weeks, some even say 20 weeks. At 13 weeks, about 25% of the pups are still not able to form the immunity so they won't even be protected when stopped at 13 weeks. I prefer to wait until 8 weeks and repeat at 12 and 16 weeks.

From peteducation.com - This explains why 13 weeks is too young to stop vaccinations. It says only roughly 50% will have immunity at that age.

Maternal antibody

The primary cause of vaccine failure is an interfering level of maternal antibody.
Newborn puppies and kittens receive disease protection from their mother through the transfer of antibodies. These antibodies are transferred from the mother through the placenta and through colostrum, the first milk the newborns receive. Antibodies are small disease-fighting proteins produced by certain types of cells called 'B cells.' The proteins are made in response to 'foreign' particles such as bacteria or viruses. These antibodies bind with certain proteins (antigens) on foreign particles like bacteria, to help inactivate them.

The age at which puppies and kittens can effectively be immunized is proportional to the amount of antibody protection the young animals received from their mother. High levels of maternal antibodies present in a puppy's or kitten's bloodstream will block the effectiveness of a vaccine. When the maternal antibodies drop to a low enough level in the puppy or kitten, immunity (protection from disease) can be produced through vaccination.

The antibodies from the mother generally circulate in the newborn's blood for a number of weeks. There is a period of time from several days to several weeks in which the maternal antibodies are too low to provide protection against the disease, but too high to allow a vaccine to work. This period is called the window of susceptibility. This is the time when despite being vaccinated, a puppy or kitten can still contract the disease. This window of susceptibility can vary widely. The length and timing of the window of susceptibility is different in every litter and between animals in the same litter. Let us take canine parvovirus as an example.

A study of a cross section of different puppies showed that the age at which they were able to respond to a vaccine and develop protection (become immunized) covered a wide period of time. At six weeks of age, 25% of the puppies could be immunized. At 9 weeks, 40% of the puppies were able to respond to the vaccine and were protected. The number increased to 60% by 16 weeks, and by 18 weeks, 95% of the puppies could be immunized.

My breeder told me not to get the rabies until around 6 months so that is when I did the first one.

I waited and did the rabies a couple of weeks later. A few weeks after that we started the lyme series. My vets kindly didn't charge any office vists for the vaccination visits so that $$ were not a consideration when spacing out the vaccinations correctly.

mine got them at 12 weeks

Piper got her rabies shot before the breeder shipped her at 13 weeks. My Vet said that was way to young. Misha's old vet gave her rabies shot at 16 weeks. All vets give them at different times, I just wish what they learn in college was in stone for all of them. We got rid of our last vet because I just think she was money hungry. She told us Misha needed to be fixed ASAP, so we had her done at 4 months. Just seemed every time we turrned around we were in there.

Never give rabies with the regular puppy shots. I never recommend rabies until 6 months of age.
He has been started a bit young for Vacc's. Most protocols for vacc's for Yorkies start at 10 weeks, 14 weeks with the last one at 20 weeks as this is such a small breed. Any puppies that I have that I am selling for pet don't go anywhere until at minimum 4 months so have their first two vacc's done.

Please do not get more than one shot at a time. It is far better to err on the side of caution with these little guys. He is too young yet for rabies. If your vet dissagrees, maybe a new vet is in order.