I've done a lot of research on the Rabies vaccine recently, and found out it tends to have a higher than average instance of side effects. If you scroll down you will see a blog post that shows 65 potential negative side effects of the Rabies Vaccine!!! But unfortunately, this is THE vaccine that is likely to be required by law in your state!
There's a woman who commented on a facebook post, that she perfers to do titers, to see how strong your dog's antibodies are, for rabies. If they are strong enough, you may not need to vaccinate your dog in order to give him immunity. Keep in mind, that if you over-vaccinate your dog, you are actually harming their immunity, which can put them at a higher risk for any disease, including rabies!
She also mentioned that the one year rabies vaccine is the same thing as the 3 year vaccine (I did more research on this, further down the page).
I'm not telling anyone to NOT get the rabies vaccine, or any other vaccine. What I AM saying is, you owe it to your pet and yourself to do your due diligence on this topic, because your vet is unlikely to give you ALL the facts you need, to make an informed decision. While you may be assuming they'd let you know (in person, via a verbal conversation) if vaccine side effects were actually likely, sadly that is not usually the case. As with medication side effects in children, pet parents usually don't think they'll be the family that ends up coming down with that "rare side effect"... until they actually DO.
For anyone who is interested in a "vaccine alternative," I am copying and pasting this information below, from part of a post cited further down the page (65 ways Rabies vaccination can harm your dog):
What You Can Do
- Don’t give your dogs more rabies shots than he needs to comply with the law. Under current laws, that means every three years.
- Research your local laws on rabies vaccination. There are very few places that’ll accept rabies titers instead of vaccination. Let’s advocate for all states and provinces to accept titers in lieu of repetitive vaccinations.
- If you want to get a rabies titer, I encourage you to submit the blood through Hemopet, because they take the extra step of collecting the data before sending the titers out to rabies certified laboratories such as those at Kansas State University and Cornell University.
- Some states allow medical exemptions for health reasons (no unhealthy dog should EVER be vaccinated). Find out about your state medical exemptions and ask your vet to write you an exemption.
- Give your dog soil-based probiotics with ingredients that can help protect the gut from damage by helping to remove heavy metals and other contaminants in vaccines.
I saw one woman in a Shepherd group on Facebook, comment that she didn't care if it she was breaking the law by not getting her dog another rabies vaccine, she was dead set on protecting it's life. I can't comment on that, and I did just get all my foster shepherds re-vaccinated, but I didn't feel great about it. I really did it largely because it's the law in my county.
- Dana Scott
- Last Updated: December 15, 2021
You might have noticed that rabies vaccines are labeled for either one year or three years. What is the difference between the two vaccines? The answer is that there is no difference. It is the exact same vaccine.
Veterinary immunologist Dr. Ronald Schultz states: “There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness. However, if they are 1 year rabies vaccines, they must be legally given annually! Rabies vaccine is the only canine vaccine requiring a minimum duration of immunity study. However, revaccination annually does not necessarily improve immunity. However, annual vaccination does significantly increase the risk for an adverse reaction in the dog.”
Biological Drugs Vs. Pharmaceutical Drugs
“I tell practitioners that vaccines are drugs, albeit biological drugs. I remind them that they would not consider it good medicine to give an unnecessary pharmaceutical drug on a recurring basis. I think it is even worse to give a vaccine, or biological drug, that isn’t necessary. The possible adverse consequences of a vaccine generally far outweigh the adverse consequences of a pharmaceutical drug. A pharmaceutical drug is usually much more restricted in its action. However, each time we stimulate an immune response, we have to look at the effect on all body systems—not only on antibody responses or cell-mediated immunity, but also on interactions with the endocrine system and the nervous system.”
Lacking Long Term Studies
The annual revaccination recommendation on the vaccine label is just that: a recommendation without the backing of long term duration of immunity studies, and, surprisingly, it is not a legal requirement. Rabies vaccine is the only commonly used vaccine that requires that duration of immunity studies be carried out before licensing in the United States. Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.
All Of The Risk, No Benefit
In 2009, Alabama became the last state to allow dog owners to vaccinate their dogs every three years instead of annually. Dr. Dee Jones, Alabama Public Health Veterinarian states that veterinarians may use rabies vaccine “in accordance to its label” in a letter written to state vets. “The state is now recognizing and accepting the use of a three-year vaccine that is labeled for such,” he wrote. “However, it is worth belaboring that the state is not mandating the use of three-year vaccine. The decision to use a one-year or a three-year rabies vaccine lies entirely with the veterinarian and the animal owner.”
Despite Dr. Schultz’s efforts at educating veterinarians, your veterinarian is allowed to inject your dog annually with what is essentially a three year vaccine. This means he gets all of the risk and none of the benefit. Before you give your vet the benefit of the doubt when he urges you to vaccinate annually, consider what Dr. Schultz has to say about how well most veterinarians understand immunity.
A Lack Of Understanding
Dr. Schultz states: “many practitioners really don’t understand the principles of vaccinal immunity. A significant number of practitioners believe the annual revaccination recommendation on the vaccine label is evidence the product provides immunity for (only) one year. This is simply not true.
Legal Requirement Claims
Many practitioners also believe that they are legally required to vaccinate annually and if they don’t they will not be covered by AVMA liability insurance if the animal develops a vaccine preventable disease – Not True. Furthermore, certain companies will not provide assistance if practitioners don’t vaccinate annually with core vaccines. Not True – In fact most of the companies have now demonstrated their core products provide at least 3 years of immunity.
Revaccination
There is also a belief that not revaccinating will cause the animal to become susceptible soon (days or a few weeks) after the one vear. – Not True. Or that if the animal is not revaccinated at or before one year the “whole vaccination program needs to be started again”. – Not True
Some vets have gone on to say that if they don’t continue to revaccinate annually, diseases like canine distemper, canine parvovirus and infectious canine hepatitis (CA V-I) will “reappear and cause widespread disease similar to what was seen prior to the development of vaccines for these diseases.” – Not True
If revaccination “doesn’t help, it won’t hurt.” – Not True
“Better” Immunity
Some vets have suggested that giving a vaccine annually that has a duration of immunity of 3 or more years provides much better immunity than if the product is given only once during the three years. – Not True. As well as regional/state rabies programs that suggest annual rabies vaccination programs provide better protection than revaccination once every three years regardless of whether a 1 year or 3 year rabies product is used. – Not True
“It’s much cheaper to revaccinate the pet annually than it is to treat the disease the animal will develop because it didn’t get revaccinated annually.” The “better safe than sorry” philosophy – If a vaccine is given that is not needed and it causes an adverse reaction that is unacceptable and very expensive.
Some have cited they need to revaccinate all new dogs/cats coming to their clinic irrespective of vaccination history even when vaccination records are available from another clinic. Presumably the “other clinic” used the wrong vaccine or didn’t know how to vaccinate. – Not True
“Dogs need to be revaccinated annually up to 5 to 7 years of age, then and only then would vaccination every three years be okay.” – Not True
Off Label Recommendations
There have been claims of parvovirus vaccines only providing six months of immunity, thus they must give them semi-annually and the CPV-2 vaccines need to be given with coronavirus vaccine to prevent enteritis. – Not True
“Surgical procedures, including anesthesia, are immunosuppressive thus dogs should be vaccinated prior to or shortly after surgery.” – Not True
“Because boarding kennels require annual or more often (kennel cough every 3 to 6 months) vaccination, practitioners must continue vaccinating annually with all vaccines.” – Not True. Help change the kennel rules through education and just use the vaccines that need to be given (eg Kennel Cough.)
Be An Active Participant
Clearly, your vet may or may not be up-do-date on vaccines and immunology. Never completely entrust your dog’s care to somebody else. Make certain that you educate yourself on the dangers of vaccination and share this information with your vet. Be an active participant in your dog’s health care decisions. Never feel pressured to rush into a vaccine decision: you can always leave your vet’s practice without vaccinating and, after some more research, decide at a later date whether you will vaccinate or not.
[News] Rabies Challenge Fund Results
- Julia Henriques
- Last Updated: December 9, 2021
Pet owners have been anxiously awaiting good news from The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust (RCF) since its founding in 2009.
And now the study has been peer-reviewed and published. At DNM we got our hands on a copy, and I’m going to tell you what it says.
First I want to give you a bit of background, in case you don’t know the history of the RCF.
Note: If you know about RCF and want to skip this part … start reading at Roadblocks, below.
How the Rabies Challenge Fund Got Started
In 2003 Kris Christine’s dog Meadow received a rabies booster. This was a 2-year booster required (at the time) by the state of Maine. There is no 2-year rabies vaccine licensed, so he got a 3-year vaccine.
Meadow developed a malignant mast cell tumor at his rabies vaccination site … and it metastasized. This tragic reaction made Kris decide to do something about the over-strict rabies vaccination laws … knowing so many dogs suffering serious damage from over-vaccination.
The first thing Kris did was to get Maine’s rabies law changed … so that cats and dogs can be vaccinated with any licensed vaccine. She also obtained a medical exemption clause.
And then she formed the Rabies Challenge Fund.
Veterinarian W Jean Dodds DVM came in as Co-Trustee. Veterinary immunology expert Ronald P Schultz DVM PhD joined as Principal Investigator to lead the studies. Dr Laurie Larson got involved upon Dr Schultz’s retirement. Both Dr Schultz and Dr Larson were from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
They set an important goal for the RCF studies.
That goal was to extend state-mandated rabies vaccine frequency from the current 3 years, to 5 years, and then 7 years.
Rabies Duration Of Immunity
Dr Schultz spent decades researching vaccine immunity at University of Wisconsin. His work showed that duration of immunity (DOI) for core vaccines was at least 7 years. And in many cases, protection lasted for the life of the pet.
Dr Schultz’s serological* studies of rabies vaccines showed that vaccinated animals were protected for 7 years.
In 1992, French researcher Michel Aubert demonstrated that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge** 5 years after vaccination.
When RCF began, Dr Jean Dodds said:
“From challenge trials, we know the DOI for regular vaccines is seven to nine years, if not longer. So why would the rabies vaccines, being so potent, not have an even longer DOI? We decided the thing to do would be to design a study to federal government standards that would determine if the DOI is longer than three years.”
Reduce Adverse Effects of the Rabies Vaccine
Rabies vaccines cause a multitude of adverse effects. These range from immediate reactions to long term, chronic illness … and even death.
Documented reactions include:
- Behavior changes (aggression, separation anxiety)
- Obsessive behavior, self-mutilation, tail chewing
- Pica – eating wood, stones, earth, stool
- Destructive behavior, shredding bedding
- Seizures, epilepsy
- Fibrosarcomas at injection site
- Autoimmune diseases of bone marrow and blood cells, joints, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel or central nervous system
- Muscular weakness and or atrophy
- Chronic digestive problems
Countless animals suffer from these chronic issues. So, extending the legally required vaccine intervals would help reduce adverse rabies vaccine reactions. But it would still protect pets (and thus people) from rabies infection.
RCF designed live rabies virus challenge studies to measure the long-term duration of immunity. They expected to show that duration of immunity of rabies vaccines is much longer than 3 years.
Successful challenge studies (done according to USDA licensing code Title 9), could help convince State governments to allow longer intervals between rabies shots. RCF hoped to prove first 5 years immunity, and then 7 years.
RCF also believed their studies might prompt vaccine manufacturers to come up with rabies vaccines licensed for 5 and 7 years.
Funding
Before the studies could start, RCF had to raise money. University of Wisconsin agreed to cover nearly half of the overhead for the study. But RCF still needed $177,000 for just the first year, and $150,000 each year after that.
RCF was a true grassroots supported organization. Funding for the study came from many different sources … perhaps even from you!
Everyone wanted the research to help change outdated and sometimes draconian rabies laws.
Many individual pet owners generously gave what they could afford to help fund the studies. Breed clubs, rescue groups, trainers, breeders, and kennel owners also donated to RCF.
Roadblocks
The team ran into some unlucky obstacles along the way.
First, finding a challenge facility to do the studies wasn’t easy. Typically, only vaccine manufacturers have large scale challenge facilities that are USDA approved. Dr Schultz found a facility for the challenges. But then the company was sold and RCF was left without a lab to do the challenges.
Eventually they found a replacement facility. Dr Zhen Fang Fu of the Department of Pathology at the University of Georgia (UG) vet school agreed to run the challenge studies. But the lab could only accommodate 15 dogs at a time.
So it took longer than planned to do the trials.
Then … the USDA wouldn’t send the virus to any lab under biosafety level 3. UG’s lab was level 2. Luckily they were really keen to do the trials, so they upgraded the lab.
But it caused another delay.
Virus Failure
The third and biggest problem was that the live rabies virus used for the first challenge trial had lost its virulence. Only the USDA can supply the virus, so the researchers had to get a different virus for the remaining challenges.
You’ll read in the description of Challenge Trial 1 how this major problem impacted the success of the studies.
The Research
The study protocol followed the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Title 9 CFR standards for licensing rabies vaccines.
RCF ran two concurrent studies, for 5 and 7 years.
They started with 100 female Beagle puppies. Ultimately there were 65 Beagles in the studies. 35 dogs were spayed and adopted out at the end of the studies.
There were 3 challenge groups.
- At 12 and 15 weeks old, 3 groups of dogs got either a commercial rabies vaccine, or saline.
- Challenge groups 1 and 2 had 15 dogs. Each group had 10 vaccinated dogs and 5 non-vaccinated control dogs.
- Group 3 had 12 vaccinated dogs and 3 non-vaccinated control dogs.
The two rabies vaccines were:
- Continuum Rabies (“Vaccine A”), by Intervet (Merck)
- IMRAB- TF (“Vaccine B”), a thimerosal-free vaccine by Merck.
A third rabies vaccine was used for the Revaccination Trial. I’ll explain that later.
The Rabies Challenge Trials
Before we talk about the results, here’s how the researchers did the challenge trials.
“Challenge” means they injected live rabies virus into the dogs, under anesthesia.
Then, every 8 hours for 28 days, they observed the dogs for signs of rabies, including:
- Hyper excitability
- Behavior changes
- Dilated pupils
- Photophobia (light sensitivity)
- Reduced appetite
- Inability to drink
- Vomiting
- Incoordination
If dogs showed any of these early signs of rabies, they immediately and humanely euthanized them. The dogs were never allowed to develop full-blown rabies.
After the initial 28-day observation period, the researchers monitored survivors daily for the rest of the 90-day period.
The goal was to meet the USDA Code Of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 9 … which require an 88% or higher survival rate.
Challenge Trial # 1
The first challenge included 15 dogs:
- 5 unvaccinated control dogs
- 5 dogs vaccinated with Vaccine A, challenged 6 years 10 months after vaccination
- 5 dogs vaccinated with Vaccine B, challenged 5 years 5 months after vaccination
This challenge was “confounded” (unfortunately this means it failed!) … because of “insufficient virulence” of the challenge virus used. The virus came from the USDA … that’s the only way for researchers to obtain it.
- None of the vaccinated dogs got rabies
- Only 2 of 5 unvaccinated dogs showed signs of rabies.
The researchers are confident that if they’d had a sufficiently virulent virus, the trial would have met the USDA’s 88% survival requirement for rabies vaccination.
But of course we don’t know that for sure.
The researchers obtained a different rabies challenge virus from the USDA for the remaining challenges.
Challenge Trial # 2
Challenge 2 was also done with 15 dogs.
- 5 unvaccinated control dogs.
- 5 dogs vaccinated with Vaccine A, challenged 8 years after.
- 5 dogs vaccinated with Vaccine B, challenged 6 years 7 months after.
In trial 2, all of the 5 unvaccinated dogs showed signs of rabies within 13 to 21 days of challenge.
This meant the rabies virus was sufficiently virulent this time. (They used the same one for Trial 3.)
- Only 1 of 5 of the Vaccine A dogs showed protection against rabies (8 years after vaccination).
- 4 of 5 Vaccine B dogs showed protection against rabies, 6 years 7 months after vaccination.
- So … half of the 10 vaccinated dogs were protected. None of these 5 protected dogs developed clinical signs of rabies during the 90-day observation period.
Challenge Trial # 3
For humane reasons the researchers reduced the number of unvaccinated dogs in this trial:
- 3 unvaccinated control dogs
- 12 dogs vaccinated with Vaccine B, challenged 7 years 1 month after vaccination.
To spare lives … only Vaccine B dogs were in Trial 3. That was because in Trial 2, the survival rate of Vaccine A dogs was only 20%.
- Again, all unvaccinated dogs showed signs of rabies 14 to 21 days after the challenge.
- 6 of 12 vaccinated dogs survived the 90-day observation period with no signs of rabies.
Final Rabies Challenge Study Results
Again, Trial 1 failed because the challenge virus wasn’t sufficiently virulent,
So … I’m just summarizing Trials 2 and 3 …
- 80% (of vaccinated dogs) showed protection after 6 years 7 months
- 50% showed protection after 7 years 1 month
- 20% (1 dog) showed protection after 8 years
This means:
- The research did demonstrate that rabies duration of immunity is greater than 3 years. (Remember, they used vaccines licensed for 3-year use.)
- The research did not achieve its goal of 88% survival rates, 5 years or 7 years after vaccination.
- The trial 2 results showing 80% of dogs were protected by Vaccine B were encouraging … but not enough to meet the USDA Title 9 standard.
So those are the final results of the challenge trials.
It’s disappointing that the 5-year challenge (Trial 1) was unsuccessful because of the non-virulent virus. It’s highly likely they would have demonstrated immunity 5 years after vaccination otherwise.
As well as the challenge trials, the studies included some important immune response testing. So … read on for more detail!
And I’ve provided some additional thoughts in the Conclusion below.
Testing For Immune Response
As part of the challenge trials, the researchers also collected regular serum and lymph node mononuclear cell samples to test immune memory responses in the dogs. They analyzed:
- Serum samples using the RFFIT rabies titer test.
- Memory cell response by flow cytometry.
- Brain tissue for the presence of rabies virus using immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
The purpose of this immune response testing was to establish a rabies antibody titer standard for protection against the disease. This standard doesn’t currently exist … although there is a standard for humans, under the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
This would allow vets to confirm immune response by titer so they could be confident of rabies protection when writing exemptions for unhealthy dogs.
This is especially important for seriously ill or immune-compromised dogs. Immune-compromised dogs are unlikely to mount an immune response, even if vaccinated.
Test Results
- The study found that antibody responses (measured by titers) 12 days after the challenges correlated strongly with survival.
- Vaccinated dogs had significantly higher memory B-cells 4 days after challenge, compared to the unvaccinated dogs.
- All unvaccinated control dogs had virus in their brain tissues
- All vaccinated dogs who developed rabies had virus in their brain tissues.
- Vaccinated dogs who survived the 90-day post-challenge period had no rabies virus in their brain tissues.
Unfortunately, the study did not prove a protective rabies titer standard.
This was disappointing … but didn’t really surprise the researchers. Dr Schultz had been taking titer data annually … so they’d seen how titers waned.
It did show that B-cell immunity lasts even after titers drop below a titer level of 0.1 IU/ml.
But the risk of rabies increases if titers fall below 0.5 IUI/ml.
So, rabies boosters may still be “the prudent, safe decision,” according to prior studies.
And unfortunately, for now, the law says those boosters have to be every 3 years.
The researchers also did a revaccination trial.
Revaccination Trial
10 dogs were revaccinated with Vaccine A, 6 years 1 month after their first vaccines.
Another 10 previously unvaccinated dogs got either Vaccine A, or Vaccine C, PureVax Rabies by Merial. That’s the third vaccine I mentioned earlier.
Vaccine C is a recombinant, non-adjuvanted feline rabies vaccine.
- Recombinant means 2 viruses are spliced together.
- PureVax contains rabies recombinant canarypox virus, intended to stimulate a better immune response.)
The researchers chose Vaccination C (off-label for dogs) for the Revaccination Trial because none of the dogs had had it previously. This would allow them to differentiate dogs with immune memory more easily than with Vaccine A.
The other thing that’s significant about Vaccine C is that it has no adjuvants. This means it’s less likely to cause adverse reactions.
There is no non-adjuvanted vaccine for dogs.
Revaccination Results
- 90% of the previously vaccinated dogs had titers over 0.5 IU/ml …
- … Compared to only 30% of the previously unvaccinated (naïve) dogs
- The recombinant, non-adjuvanted vaccine (C), had much higher responses than the killed virus vaccine in the previously vaccinated dogs.
- Vaccine C did not produce titers over 0.5 IU/ml in the naïve dogs.
The Revaccination Trial showed antibody response 6 years 1 month after initial vaccination was much higher than in the previously unvaccinated dogs.
In Conclusion …
The Rabies Challenge Fund has finished its work. The website states:
“We are no longer taking donations. Thank you for your support.”
The research paper concludes:
- Rabies vaccine may induce a duration of immunity well beyond 3 years in dogs
- Antibody is the most important protective factor against rabies virus
- Anamnestic responses to virulent challenge can be seen even without protective titers in previously vaccinated dogs
- Protection persists without annual or triennial re-vaccination
- Antibody testing of individual pets can be an excellent indicator of protection or lack thereof … although further studies are needed to determine a protective antibody threshold for vaccinated dogs.
But the trials did provide some hope for change in the future.
The RCF believes their research serves as a foundation for further studies (possibly by vaccine manufacturers) with the goal of:
- Licensing a rabies vaccine for 5 to 6 years. This would enable States to extend the legally required booster intervals.
- Developing and licensing a recombinant, non-adjuvanted rabies booster vaccine for dogs
- Establishing a protective serum rabies titer standard for dogs.
The RCF believes their research serves as a foundation for further studies (possibly by vaccine manufacturers) with the goal of:
- Licensing a rabies vaccine for 5 to 6 years. This would enable States to extend the legally required booster intervals.
- Developing and licensing a recombinant, non-adjuvanted rabies booster vaccine for dogs
- Establishing a protective serum rabies titer standard for dogs.
Clearly the results were not what we’d all hoped. The rabies vaccination laws won’t be changing anytime soon.
But there are a couple of important details.
- Many of us have believed that one rabies vaccination is enough to protect a dog for many years, possibly even for life. But the RCF studies did not prove that.
- The vaccinated dogs in the RCF studies all had two rabies vaccines (at 12 and 15 weeks of age). So the researchers weren’t trying to prove a “one and done” theory.
- Rabies vaccines, which used killed virus, don’t create as long a DOI as modified live vaccines (like parvovirus or distemper) do.
The study did show that fully vaccinated dogs who’ve had their first two initial rabies vaccinations should have solid protection for far longer than 3 years.
So, for your own peace of mind … if you choose not to vaccinate your dog for rabies, you might want to get titers done. Then you won’t have to worry if your dog tangles with the local wildlife.
2. The studies were done to meet USDA standards for vaccine licensing,
- This means the dogs were injected directly with the rabies virus.
- That kind of challenge is quite different from your dog meeting a rabid raccoon in your backyard.
- It’s unlikely that any dog outside of a research facility would ever encounter the level of potent rabies challenge that the trial dogs did.
The Revaccination Trial showed that, even if your dog’s rabies vaccine has expired … a booster should restore his protection. In fact, a few years ago, Kansas State University found the same thing in a rabies titer study they did.
So the recommendations for veterinarians in the 2016 Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control were updated. Since then, the guidelines say that if a dog exposed to rabies is overdue for his rabies vaccination, he can have a booster shot, followed by an observation period at home, instead of being euthanized or quarantined.
Does Your Dog Still Need A Rabies Vaccine?
For now (if you want to obey the law) … you’ll still need to vaccinate your dog for rabies every 3 years in the US and most Canadian provinces.
Unless you can get a vet to write you an exemption.
Vaccine exemptions are allowed in 18 US states (with a 19th coming in May).
You’ll need to find a vet who’s willing to give the exemption. Many conventional vets aren’t comfortable with exemptions. So, try to find a holistic vet who’ll be more likely to support your request.
Even though most state legislation doesn’t allow rabies titers in lieu of vaccination … it’s a good idea to get a titer if you’re asking your vet for an exemption.
States With Exemptions
18 (soon to be 19) US States allow medical exemptions in lieu of rabies vaccination.
Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin.
Each state’s law is different, but in most cases, it means your vet can write an exemption for a pet who isn’t healthy enough to be vaccinated.
In January 2020, Delaware passed a new bill authorizing exemptions. Delaware is unique in that the law specifically provides for rabies titers for pets considered unhealthy. The bill should be signed into law in May 2020.
If your state doesn’t already allow exemptions … think about whether you’d like to get involved and help make changes.
Comments From the Rabies Challenge Fund (RCF)
RCF Co-Trustee and founder, Kris Christine was kind enough to share her thoughts with me on the trial results.
“We’ve collected data that has the potential to make the US a safer place for our canines. I’m really happy we were able to do what we did … despite the hurdles.
“I want to thank every single person who donated. Especially those individuals who gave whatever they could afford … even $5 a month … because they believed so strongly in our work.
“I feel this was my way of giving back to these incredible animals who bring us so much. Whatever sanity I have is because of dogs! In these difficult times with COVID, things would be so much worse without dogs They keep us grounded and somewhat sane.
“I hope this data will help ease the draconian approach to enforcing regulations. We need more reasonable regulations and protocols, based on science and not just fear!”
5 minutes a day. Healthier Dog.
65 Ways Rabies Vaccination Can Harm Your Dog
- Patricia Jordan, DVM
- Last Updated: May 15, 2023
There are countless ways rabies vaccination can harm your dog – often permanently. I’m going to tell you about just 65 of those ways below.
As a holistic veterinarian, our outdated rabies vaccination laws are one of the things that upset me the most. All over the US and in most of Canada, the law requires you to vaccinate your dog against rabies every three years. In most US states your dog’s first rabies vaccine must be a one year shot, with revaccination every three years after that.
None of these laws take into account the real duration of immunity of rabies vaccines, Studies by Ronald Schultz PhD show that rabies vaccines protects for a minimum of 7 years – and probably for the life of the animal.
And neither do the thousands of veterinarians in the US who are still vaccinating annually for rabies. They do this despite the fact that annual vaccination is neither required by law nor recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Guidelines.
Every Vaccination Increases The Risk
Dog owners often accept the one-year rabies vaccine because it’s cheaper, and because they don’t know two important things:
- The one year rabies vaccine is identical to the three year rabies vaccine, just labeled differently.
- The rabies vaccine can harm your dog in many different ways. Every vaccination increases the risk of an adverse vaccine reaction happening to your dog.
And that’s what I want to tell you about.
In my years of practice I’ve witnessed all of the rabies vaccine reactions I’ve listed below.
Damage Can Be Immediate Or Months Later
Most conventional vets don’t recognize rabies vaccine damage unless your dog has an instant reaction while he’s still in the clinic.
But the fact is, one little vaccine can cause not only immediate illness, but long term, dangerous, chronic disease that can change your dog’s life forever.
Vaccine reactions are more likely to happen when your dog gets multiple vaccines at once; and small dogs are more likely to suffer from ill effects, because they receive the same dose as big dogs.
Rabies Vaccination Is Not Safe
I’ve listed 65 ways the rabies vaccine can harm your dog. It’s not an exhaustive list … but I’ve tried to give you a picture of the risks you take when you vaccinate your dog for rabies.
Most conventional vets will tell you that rabies vaccination is very safe and unlikely to cause any side effects. Holistic vets, myself included, will tell you a very different story. We’ve learned to recognize the shocking damage that rabies vaccination causes in so many pets.
I’ve divided common rabies vaccine reactions into three different categories.
Acute Problems
Acute reactions can happen immediately after the rabies vaccine or within a few days. Conventional vets are more likely to recognize acute (vs chronic) reactions as being linked to the rabies vaccine.
These acute reactions aren’t necessarily limited to the rabies vaccine but can happen with any shots.
- Vomiting
- Facial swelling
- Injection site swelling or lump
- Lethargy
- Urticaria (hives)
- Circulatory shock
- Injection site pain
- Pruritus (itching)
- Injection site alopecia (hair loss)
- Death
- Loss of consciousness
- Diarrhea
- Hypersensitivity
- Fever
- Anaphylaxis (which can kill your dog in minutes)
- Ataxia (loss of balance/coordination)
- Lameness
- General signs of pain
- Hyperactivity
- Injection site scab or crust
- Muscle tremor
- Seizures (these can be immediate upon vaccination but can also occur in 7 to 9 days which is when the rabies antibodies develop)
- Tumor at the injection site (this can happen within as little as 72 hours)
- Sudden behavior changes such as aggression, fear or anxiety can also happen acutely, within hours or days of rabies vaccination
- Immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA). This disease can also become chronic
Chronic Problems
Many chronic diseases in dogs can be triggered by the rabies vaccine’s damaging effect on your dog’s immune system and neurological system. The rabies virus itself is a carcinogen. The toxic ingredients in vaccines such as aluminum and mercury can also contribute to cancer and other chronic disease. Many of the chronic diseases I’ve listed here can be caused by any vaccine, not just rabies.
- Fibrocarcinomas at the injection site. A lot of people know about this problem in cats (that’s why vets often vaccinate cats in the tail, so it can easily be amputated) but it’s just as common in dogs. Fibrocarcinomas can appear in places other than the injection site because the aluminum in the vaccine is carried away by macrophages (immune system cells that detect, eat and destroy damaged cells and other foreign substances).
- Other cancers, such as spindle cell cancers, mast cell cancers, hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, lymphoma. Even benign tumors like lipomas, warts and other growths can grow larger or become malignant after rabies vaccination, especially if your dog is taking steroid drugs.
- Chronic digestive issues such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, colitis or chronic diarrhea. Inflammation anywhere in the body, including in the digestive tract, is aggravated by the rabies vaccine.
- Seizures, epilepsy and granulomatuous meningioencephalitis (GME).
- Food, environmental and inhalant allergies. These are extremely common chronic problems in dogs. Allergies are improper immune responses and vaccination can damage your dog’s immune system. The aluminum in vaccines also causes an up-regulation of IgE, which is the allergy immunoglobulin.
- Skin issues. There are many different types of skin issues, including dermatitis, yeast, alopecia (hair loss), hives, rashes, itchy wrists and ankles (where a lot of dogs chew themselves), abscesses, ear and eye infections and anal gland problems. Skin conditions are never “just skin issues” but are a manifestation of deeper underlying disease. Vaccination can cause allergic reactions because cells in the body called Langerhan cells are constantly scouting for antigen (which the rabies virus is full of). When Langerhan cells detect these foreign invaders (like bacteria or viruses), the body then sends out inflammatory cells to fight off the attacker by creating an allergic reaction.
- Muscle weakness or atrophy, including wasting diseases like degenerative myelopathy and Guillain Barré The rabies vaccine causes a neuro-inflammatory reaction, resulting in degeneration of the tissues.
- Demyelination (common in German Shepherds) – an autoimmune disease.
- Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, autoimmune thyroiditis.
- Metabolic diseases like diabetes, Cushing’s disease, Addison’s disease or pancreatitis.
Chronic Rabies-Specific Problems
Often, rabies vaccination can cause the body to mimic the disease it was intended to prevent. Homeopaths call this rabies miasm. Rabies miasm is deep-rooted disease often caused by rabies vaccination but it can also be passed down through generations and cause illness even in unvaccinated dogs.
Rabies miasm symptoms are very common in dogs. But most veterinarians and dog owners don’t recognize the connection between rabies vaccination and some of these symptoms. You may think it’s cute or funny when your dog chases flies around the house or chases water from the hose. But it’s not really … it’s a common symptom of rabies vaccine damage.
Many of these problems are behavioral because the rabies virus travels to the amygdala of the brain, and so does the virus in the vaccines, causing neurological damage.
- Hypersensitivity of all senses – sensitivity to sound, movement, touch
- Rage, agitation, violence, ferocity, sudden attacks, unprovoked attacks, desire to kill … behaviors you might expect to see in a dog infected with rabies
- Irrational fears, timidity, separation anxiety, suspicious behavior
- Inappropriate responses to water – either extreme fear or great desire. This is known as hydrophobia, which is another term for rabies
- Obsessive/compulsive behaviors – tail chasing, fly biting, chasing balls, chasing light reflected off a window or mirror
- Excessive focal licking or licking of genitalia
- Excessive sexual drive. Some people interpret chronic humping as being a dominance behavior, but it’s more likely a rabies vaccination response
- Constant or unwarranted erections, even in neutered males
- Frequent or spasmodic sneezing, spasms in the jaws, choking, gagging, or coughing when swallowing liquids, reverse sneezing and laryngeal spasms
- Involuntary urination
- Sensation of flea bites, violent itching with no obvious causation
- Convulsions, especially from the sight of running water or shiny objects
- Aimless wandering and vocalization
- Restlessness, uneasiness, apprehensiveness and developing aggressive behavior, especially toward strangers
- Your normally affectionate dog may hide away and shun company
- Your normally independent dog may become unusually attentive and affectionate
- Desire to roam and travel away from home for long distances
- Resistance to being restrained, chewing viciously on leashes, metal chains or anything that confines him (even breaking through glass windows or bending the bars of a crate or kennel)
- Self biting … inflicting severe bite wounds on himself
- Strange cries and hoarse howls (due to partial paralysis of the vocal cords)
- No interest in food or ravenous hunger
- Unable to swallow because of paralysis of swallowing muscles
- Eyes staring with dilated pupils
- Unable to close the eyes; cornea becomes dry and dull
- Hanging down of the lower jaw
- Pica – eating inappropriate objects such as wood, stones or his own feces
- Destruction of blankets, towels, clothing
- Convulsive seizures, tied to lunar patterns
- Muscular incoordination
- Inflammation of the heart muscle: disturbed heart function, irregular rhythm, heart rate too slow or too fast, heart failure
Again, this is not a complete list. But you can see from my experience and observations that rabies vaccination is not safe for your dog and you should minimize the number of shots your dog gets.
What You Can Do
- Don’t give your dogs more rabies shots than he needs to comply with the law. Under current laws, that means every three years.
- Research your local laws on rabies vaccination. There are very few places that’ll accept rabies titers instead of vaccination. Let’s advocate for all states and provinces to accept titers in lieu of repetitive vaccinations.
- If you want to get a rabies titer, I encourage you to submit the blood through Hemopet, because they take the extra step of collecting the data before sending the titers out to rabies certified laboratories such as those at Kansas State University and Cornell University.
- Some states allow medical exemptions for health reasons (no unhealthy dog should EVER be vaccinated). Find out about your state medical exemptions and ask your vet to write you an exemption.
- Give your dog soil-based probiotics with ingredients that can help protect the gut from damage by helping to remove heavy metals and other contaminants in vaccines.
Final Thoughts
When I became a veterinarian I took a Veterinarian’s Oath to “use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering […] and the advancement of medical knowledge.”
I find the outdated rabies laws to be a breach of the Oath I took and not in keeping with protection of animal health or promotion of public health. I personally see these outdated, unscientific rabies laws as a clear defiance of scientific knowledge and skills. They endanger society by causing derangement of the immune systems of the animals we share our lives with.
Photo credit: Patricia Jordan DVM
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