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## Chica'sMom (Sep 5, 2012)

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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Chica'sMom said:


> Is your dog vaccinated for rabies? Any reaction to same? Chica is just over 10 months old. Not vaccinated yet. It is required by law here ... but I'm not sure I want her to have it. She is never out of my sight, off leash or in the woods. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks!


 I hadn't gotten Zoey one for a long time. I had moved to my sisters and It worried me their so I finally broke down and did it. I was just visiting her last week and the neighbor's dog had a really bad reaction to a rabies shot. The vet even had a name for it but I cant remember what. The dog had soars all over it body and couldn't control it bladder . They spent $1,700 just trying to keep it alive with antibiotics and steroids. The dog was her elderly mothers and was a Maltese she couldn't handle it anymore and fostered her out. Mine have done fine with the shots.I never worrie about the dog catcher and we don't have tags but that's just me.


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

Mine isn't because the vet told me it wasn't required by law here. I figure his risks of getting rabies are pretty minimal. However, if I ever want to take him to the US or something, I guess he'd have to get it. For now, I think he's fine. When we're outside he's always with me on leash.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

I do minimal vaccines and Rabies, in CA is the LAW.  Tillie hasn't had any vaccine reactions.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

For the first few years, Django always had a terrible reaction to the Rabies vac. Now, with Addisons, I have him tittered and he hasn't had any vacs. including Rabies in over 5 years. He never did well with any of the vaccinations even as a puppy.


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## mckennasedona (Feb 20, 2007)

My two have each had two rabies vaccines. Once as puppies and one booster. After McKenna had a reaction to the first one I didn't want to give her another but the nurse told me her reaction HAD to be from something else because they don't give rabies shots on the side where her hair fell out and she developed a dollar sized hard, red, area that eventually turned black. I knew better but let her give the shot anyway. Same reaction. My girls don't get any more rabies shots even though it is the law here.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

It never occurred to me my guys might have a reactions to vaccines. Fred just had swollen eyes and is very itchy. Suzi brought up the fact that maybe this was a reaction to his recent rabies vaccine. A few years back both my boys had hives all over them. I figured it was from the topical flea/ tick treatment, but now I'm wondering if they had vaccines near the time of their hive breakout.... I hate vaccines! They are evil


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

I agree. Django would always develop a fever, would become lethargic, it was rough for a couple of days. My breeder told me about tittering when Django was a puppy. His first vet would just agree not to give him all the other vaccinations but Rabies was always a must. But vaccinations no more. I never realized that our little guys get the same dose that a 150lb dog would receive.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

It has been a few months now, so I hope I am remembering this correctly. Our vet said that Finn, with his allergies, is more prone to a reaction to the immunizations. We get titers for all but the Rabies. The Rabies is law here as well. I had read where sometimes it is the thimerasol (mercury/preservative) in the vaccine that is often times the issue. I quizzed our vet and they use a thimerasol-free Rabies vaccine. She also instructed me to give Finn 12.5 mg of children's Benadryl one half hour before the vaccine. He had no reactions.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

My dog has a had two rounds of puppy shots. Should I do the third? I will probably have to do rabies at some point since I need to board. For those of you who dont do rabies, how do you get around that?


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

I personally think every dog should get a rabies vaccine unless there are extraordinary reasons why not (ie, the dog has had a previous anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine the year before, not the dog will have hives and thus be miserable for several days).

Many of the other vaccines we vaccinate pets against are not transmittable to people, so that vaccines for those should certainly be owner's choice. Rabies can go dog to person and can be deadly to a person if not treated within a crucial window. One country, India, has 1/3 of the entire world's rabies' deaths (20,000 people per year die from rabies there). They don't vaccinate their dogs and have a large stray dog population. Dog bites are the biggest transmitter of rabies there.

As another minor and much less convincing reason: To maintain herd immunity, (ie, non-vaccinated people can be protected from the disease because the disease is almost eradicated due to every one else's immunization status ) approximately 80% of the population needs to be vaccinated. When you think of all the strays, pets need to be vaccinated to maintain that 80% in America's dog population. 

All this is just my opinion, but just something to think about before skipping a vaccine that could put others at risk.

edited to say: if an owner of a sensitive dog wants to do rabies titers every 3 years instead of the vaccine, and can thus know the vaccine is still good, I think that's fine as well. The whole point of requiring a vaccine is to ensure person safety, not make a dog suffer.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Unfortunately the doses are the same for all sizes of dog, but I also agree that all dogs should be vaccinated against rabies or have titers done. The difference with rabies is that it can be a fatal disease to humans. It is the law in New Jersey. I turn people away from my salon because they have no proof of a current vaccine. Often, the person is offended and looks incredulously at me, saying their dog doesn't have rabies. Well, obviously the dog doesn't have rabies, if it did, it would be foaming at the mouth and acting crazy. The point is that because all dogs are required to be vaccinated, there is little chance that a different dog, infected with rabies, bites the owner's dog, or them or their child. It is a means of protecting everyone. When people stop vaccinating their dogs and children, those diseases creep in and expose others to illness. It actually happened somewhere in California, where children were mysteriously coming down with measles, I believe it was, and it was because it became trendy for parents not to vaccinate children and they put the population at risk, and that disease came back.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

I know here in Ohio if a dog bites another dog or person and that dog not had his rabies vaccination, they will put the dog down. When it came time for rabies vaccination, my vet recommended against it because he was concerned it could have detrimental side effects to my dog so we tittered and all is good.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

I am very fortunate to have an amazing vet, he actually gives weight appropriate vaccines to Tillie, NOT the 'out of the box" vaccine for ALL dogs.... maybe that's why she's never had a reaction?


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

Wow, that is really good to know about the size option. Thanks! I will ask my vet.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

Your lucky!


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

Read Dr. Jean Dodds vaccine protocol. It tells about, not only rabies, but other vaccines.


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

No reactions in my two.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

SJ1998 said:


> My dog has a had two rounds of puppy shots. Should I do the third? I will probably have to do rabies at some point since I need to board. For those of you who dont do rabies, how do you get around that?


 its easy I just never bought city licences for my dogs. I have never had the police come up to me and ask me . My friend got caught and all he got was a $40 fine. I think its up to a $500 dollar fine for littering.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

TilliesMom said:


> I am very fortunate to have an amazing vet, he actually gives weight appropriate vaccines to Tillie, NOT the 'out of the box" vaccine for ALL dogs.... maybe that's why she's never had a reaction?


I wonder if this is something I can request! I hate the idea of my guys even getting vaccines, let alone too much!


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

you should be able too, ask your vet!!


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I will ask him when the next rabies are due. Thanks Tammy!


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Stupid me - I just figured they did give a weight appropriate dosage! They do for medications. I will ask that as well. I did ask about the Thimerasol-free Rabies vaccine, which our vet gives, although I do know some vets do not. Augie is a bit past due for his. The vet was not going to give it to him until he had recovered from his UTI. I keep hearing that they are working on extending the length of time between Rabies vaccines to five years. It is three years here. I think, in some areas, it is every year?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

motherslittlehelper said:


> Stupid me - I just figured they did give a weight appropriate dosage! They do for medications. I will ask that as well. I did ask about the Thimerasol-free Rabies vaccine, which our vet gives, although I do know some vets do not. Augie is a bit past due for his. The vet was not going to give it to him until he had recovered from his UTI. I keep hearing that they are working on extending the length of time between Rabies vaccines to five years. It is three years here. I think, in some areas, it is every year?


yeah Linda , hopefully, Dr. Schultz Rabies Challenge Fund study will have a big influence on a lot of jurisdiction's' decisions. see http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/ and another interesting link from that site is this one on EXEMPTIONS from AVMA http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/...r-recommendation-in-rabies-vaccination-policy


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## Caroline (Oct 9, 2012)

My dog Lily, who is part Havanese, had a mild reaction to the first shot and was premedicated with Benadryl for the second one. Despite that, she had a horrible reaction to her second rabies shot- we almost lost her. Since then, I have done a lot of reading on Dodds and Shultz's work, referenced in Dave's reply. Rabies is required by law here, but my vet will write a waiver, and we'll draw titers in a couple years when she is due according to the law. 

I think supporting Dodds and Schultz's research by asking vets to comply with their recommendations will do a lot to increase awareness of the fact that vaccines have the potential to do harm. We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and I think we still need to give some vaccines....but the discussions that are happening in these forums are the ones we need to have to help determine exactly which ones...and how often. This is a great place to get advice like that!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Nikita said:


> My dog Lily, who is part Havanese, had a mild reaction to the first shot and was premedicated with Benadryl for the second one. Despite that, she had a horrible reaction to her second rabies shot- we almost lost her. Since then, I have done a lot of reading on Dodds and Shultz's work, referenced in Dave's reply. Rabies is required by law here, but my vet will write a waiver, and we'll draw titers in a couple years when she is due according to the law.
> 
> I think supporting Dodds and Schultz's research by asking vets to comply with their recommendations will do a lot to increase awareness of the fact that vaccines have the potential to do harm. We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and I think we still need to give some vaccines....but the discussions that are happening in these forums are the ones we need to have to help determine exactly which ones...and how often. This is a great place to get advice like that!


Y
Well said. Thanks for that. Yeah it's not unusual to have a worse reaction the second time. Good for you for getting a waiver. I bet the titers will be positive for life. JMO


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Chica'sMom said:


> Is your dog vaccinated for rabies? Any reaction to same? Chica is just over 10 months old. Not vaccinated yet. It is required by law here ... but I'm not sure I want her to have it. She is never out of my sight, off leash or in the woods. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks!


Since I live in the same province as you I know the area. There was a confirmed feline rabies case here just a few months ago. My vet recommended every 3 years. She also recommended having benedryl on hand just in case of a vaccine reaction; make sure you get the appropriate dosage ahead of time (and the measuring syringe to give it) and dont' wait until you need it. I think you should vaccinate at least once, do titres after that if you are uncomfortable.

If your dog were to bite someone and it wasn't vaccinated there is a chance it could be quarantined and even put down.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/12/01/nb-cat-rabies.html


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## Caroline (Oct 9, 2012)

Dave- it will be interesting to see what her titers show as she ages. I used to give my dogs every vaccine because I thought I was doing the right thing. It pays to be informed, but I think most people are not aware of newer recommendations. I know I wasn't.... and many vets aren't volunteering that info.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Nikita said:


> Dave- it will be interesting to see what her titers show as she ages. I used to give my dogs every vaccine because I thought I was doing the right thing. It pays to be informed, but I think most people are not aware of newer recommendations. I know I wasn't.... and many vets aren't volunteering that info.


 The message is definitely getting out. Five years ago we weren't even talking about vacs. Do you want to make a side bet . On the side .? lol


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## Caroline (Oct 9, 2012)

Ha ha...might be pretty sure bet- and in this economy, any supplemental income is good. Buys a few more bully sticks!


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