Would it harm a dog to get a rabies vaccination before the next one is scheduled?

Like if someone doesn't know for sure when the dog's last vaccination was, although there's a good chance it may have been within the past year or so, such as with a rescue.

usually, no. the only harm would be if the pet has had reactions to the vaccines, but giving them early is generally not a problem.add- if the current vaccine status of an animal is unknown, you can either titer that pet (blood test, measures antibody levels) or you can go ahead and vaccinate. if the titers are low, then you should vaccinate anyway to booster immunity and generally speaking a rabies titer regardless of level will not hold up in court if the pet bites someone. vaccinating a pet with an unknown status usually does not pose any problems unless the pet has health issues to begin with.

my dog got one in october when it wasn't due till dec. and the vet said it was ok.

Well no not really. If you have no way of knowing if it was a 1 year or 3 years shot than what can you do. It is better to give the vaccination than not to.

My vet always does. Their reasoning is that they are one of the few in the area that does the 3 year vaccination....so even if any dogs/cats have had one done, it was only a year vaccine. Two of my rescues (a cat, and the lab) were given a vaccine with no knowledge if they had already received one (they were both strays.) They would only be doubling up on it one time, so in my eyes, it is better to make sure they are vaccinated rather than worry about over vaccination on that one occassion. Also, once their vaccine is given (depending on your area) it might be submitted to the county office....so they now have records of when dogs received their vaccine.

It will not harm the dog to get vaccinated early. You could vaccinate the dog monthly without causing any problems, it just isn't necessary and would get pretty costly. If you are unsure of the dogs vaccination history then it is a good idea to get all his vaccinations done now so that there is no question that he is protected.

I don't think it would because my friend just rescued a dog, they didn't know if it was up to date on shots, and gave it a booster on everything. I know that vets can do blood tests to test for antibodies, as well, if you want to be sure that the dog is no longer protected for rabies.

1 Answer:#1- No, it wouldnt harm your dog, actuall y it could be a wise choice...not knowing if your dog is needing it or not...

No it will not.

Personally I hate to give dogs rabies before they need them since they are the shots most dogs are mostly likely to have bad reactions to. However, depending on where you live if you don't have proof of rabies and he bite someone he would have to be killed and tested for rabies. If you don't have proof of a rabies and they find out without him biting someone then you are just normally looking at a really big fine. So in the case of a dog without proof I would take him in for his shot.

If you don't have proof of the vaccination you'll need to give one. Its unlikely to cause harm unless the dog has allergy issues. The only other thing you could do is have a titer done... which is cost prohibitive.FWIW: I try to space out shots and never give rabies at the same time as any other vaccination- I'm concerned about the hit on the immune system.

It shouldn't cause any problems at all. The rescue program you got the dog from should have given it all the necessary shots before putting it up for adoption though. Call them & ask them to look up his / her records & give you a copy.

Its better to do it than not to and be wrong. Dogs that end up in shelters and rescues were usually neglected and not taken to the vets and shots schedules followed. If it is known it will not be done and should not be done within 30 days of its due date. If not known its better to be safe than sorry. My personnel dogs are only give distemper parvo every three years with their rabies. This is the schedule I follow with my vet and their last shot dates are recorded and acceptable by both the law and vets. With an unknown dog it is best to update and restart that schedule under your vets recommendationsJR

Each clinic has a slightly different schedule as to how they give vaccines. Where I am rabies is given 16 weeks old, one year old tehn once every year or every 3 years depending on what the clinic has for vaccines. Getting it out of schedule will not harm your dog. This is because when animals or humans are given vaccines tehy are given an inactive or modified form of the disease to build up an immune response to that disease for if you were to get it. For example vaccines that are given once a year the reason for this is b/c by the time the year is up to get the next shot the immune reaction has declined a bit and the vaccine will shoot your immune response back up even further than it was before making your immune response higher. I know its sounds a little confussing but I hope this helps you alitte to understand why vaccines are given and why it won't be harmful.

I don't vaccinate my dogs at all, and would avoid the rabies vaccine like the plague. There has been a study done to show that the rabies vaccine lasts for 5 - 7 years. It is one of the vaccines that causes very bad side-effects. As for AC...you will only be involved with them IF your dog bites. Just make sure it doesn't. As for BigD saying that you could vaccinate a dog every month, and the only pain would be in your pocket. You really ought to do some research on the side-effects of over-vaccinating dogs. Dogs are suffering from skin problems, allergies, arthritis at an early age, epilepsy, etc., etc., etc....and all because we are told that we *must* vaccinate. We don't vaccinate ourselves every year, so why are we doing it to our dogs?

no. So many people are worried about overvaccinating their dogs. with dogs that come out of the shelter, if we are told they have their shots, but don't have evidence they are given shots. The vet actually recommends this. (just to make sure they have them)

No, it will not hurt the dog (according to my vet). Better to vaccinate than to take a chance that your dog is not protected.

My vet in Hawai'i told me the rabies vax is about the "safest" there is, fewest reactions, etc. I had to give my dog an "unnecessary" rabies vax as I had misplaced her CA paperwork and we were due to fly out of HNL the following day. This was a year and a half after she had had her first vax at the shelter and second one 90 days after the shelter (for entry requirements into Hawai'i)Have you considered a titer? If it hadn't been mandatory for me to provide proof of her rabies vax in order for me to fly her to the mainland, I would have gotten another titer done instead.

Based on what I've read recently, there's no such thing as a dog being 'due' for any vaccines beyond puppy immunizations and a possible second round later in life. I read an argument saying that even annual vaccinations have a detrimental effect on otherwise healthy dogs. However, I'm not a vet so I won't vouch for either claim. Check with the vet- while it may not necessarily be good for the dog, it should be possible, since dogs that are taken in for emergency care are vaccinated on the spot unless documentation is provided.

Overvaccination is a serious problem that is gaining more recognition, and the rabies vaccine is one that is more likely to cause problems. Despite what many people believe, there is no real difference between the one year and the three year vaccines other than the label on the bottle. When the drug companies were testing the vaccine, they would do two studies on the exact same vaccine. The first showed it would protect for a year and then using the EXACT same vaccine, they did a study for three years and it also protected against the disease.. There have also been a few studies that prove the vaccine lasts for AT LEAST 5-7 years, if not longer. In fact, there is a study that is just now getting under way to definitively prove this. Here's a blurb about the study that is underway:CANINE RABIES CHALLENGE STUDIES BEGIN !One of the most important vaccine research studies inveterinary medicine is underway at the University of WisconsinSchool of Veterinary Medicine in Madison. Dr. Ronald Schultz, aleading authority on veterinary vaccines and Chair of theDepartment of Pathobiological Sciences, has begun concurrent 5 and7 year challenge studies to determine the long-term duration ofimmunity of the canine rabies vaccine, with the goal of extendingthe state-mandated interval for boosters. These will be the firstlong-term challenge studies on the canine rabies vaccine to bepublished in the United States.Dr. Schultz comments that: "We are all very excited to start thisstudy that will hopefully demonstrate that rabies vaccines canprovide a minimum of 7 years of immunity."This research is being financed by The Rabies ChallengeFund, a charitable trust founded by pet vaccine disclosure advocateKris L. Christine of Maine, who serves as Co-Trustee with world-renowned veterinary research scientist and practicing clinician,Dr. W. Jean Dodds of Hemopet in California. The Rabies ChallengeFund recently met its goal of $177,000 to fund the studies' firstyear budget with contributions from dog owners, canine groups,trainers, veterinarians, and small businesses. Annual budget goalsof $150,000 for the studies must be met in the future.Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM states: "This is the first time in> my 43 years of involvement in veterinary issues that what startedas a grass-roots effort to change an outmoded regulation affectinganimals will be addressed scientifically by an acknowledged expertto benefit all canines in the future."Scientific data published in 1992 by Michel Aubert and his researchteam demonstrated that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge 5years after vaccination, while Dr. Schultz's serological studiesdocumented antibody titer counts at levels known to confer immunityto rabies 7 years post-vaccination. This data strongly suggeststhat state laws requiring annual or triennial rabies boosters fordogs are redundant. Because the rabies vaccine is the most potentof the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adversereactions, itshould not be given more often than is necessary tomaintain immunity. Adverse reactions such autoimmune diseasesaffecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver,bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression;seizures; epilepsy; and fibrosarcomas at injection sites are linkedto rabies vaccinations.Study co-trustee Kris Christine adds: "Because the USDA does notrequire vaccine manufacturers to provide long-term duration ofimmunity studies documenting maximum effectiveness when licensingtheir products, concerned dog owners have contributed the money tofund this research themselves. We want to ensure that rabiesimmunization laws are based upon independent, long-term scientificdata."More information and regular updates on The RabiesChallenge Fund and the concurrent 5 and 7 year challenge studies itis financing can be found at the fund's website designed byvolunteer Andrea Brin at: www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.