Sadha, my new doberman puppy is 93 days old today. India is rife with Rabies and I have to protect him.

1)When is the best age to give his first shot of Anit Rabies Vaccine?

2) Will giving ARV at 90 days have nurotropic effects?

3) Will his body have the ability to produce antibodies at such an young age?

4) When should the booster shots be given?

5) Some people say not to give ARV before 120 days and they say that a small 90 da old pup will not have the full ability to produce the antibodies and the booster shot given after 21 days will be their first useful shot. So better to give shot at 120 days and booster at 141 days.

6) I have had very bad experience following Vet's advice and lost my boy kaiser. That is why I am seeking our opinion. Even though I have a new vet now, I am too afraid to blindly trust my vet.Sorry to be blunt.


Only after I give the ARV and booster I will be able to take Sadha out for socialization and engagement. It would be nice if I can give it to him sooner as I can start with his training schedule. However, I will wait if giving it to him later will help him better.


Thank you

Ram

In the USA rabies vaccines are routinely given at 12 wks and boosted at l yr. Pups of this age do form protective titer according to the companies who produce the product. When not given with other vaccines simultaneously rabies vaccine generally has no negative effects in most dogs.

In a setting w/o active rabies in wildlife/street life (suburban America) I prefer to give
rabies vaccine at >16 wks, I pick the time that the adult canine teeth appear, a little different for each pup. At this age I am certain maternal antibody has waned, the dogs immune system is fully mature, and his body can "concentrate fully" on the most important of all vaccines, rabies.

But here in the US 99.9% of dogs immune systems never encounter any "wild type street virus", and we have the luxury of waiting.

Thank you Betty. I do not think his canine have started coming out. His lower baby canines are pretty worn out due to constant chewing on toys and twigs. I will take a picture and post it.

But I want to give him the best start I can and I would rather wait for 10 or 15 more days before giving him ARV.

How many days will it take for him to develop the antibodies after ARV injection?

I don't know the answer to the question regarding how long it takes for immunity to rabies specifically.
For most things, we think 2-3 wks are required.
What is the source of rabies where you live?

bats, dogs, cats and bandicoots

Betty, of course I am not Ram. But I have been reading a lot about rabies in conjunction with our recent threads here on the topic, and have discovered that many to most pet dogs in India do not receive rabies vax.

More importantly, 75% or more of dogs in India are "neighborhood" or community dogs, fed by various people but unrestricted, and feral dogs.

Dogs are by far the biggest rabies source in India.

A third of the world's rabies deaths are in India.

Right now (this month), a program involving Aussie vets and assistants working with Indians in beginning: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-06-22/news/32369179_1_rabies-deaths-anti-rabies-animal-rabies-cases

Not trying to get too far off-topic, but this outlines the good that a centralized effort can and will do, and the fact that street dogs can indeed be caught, sterilized, and vaccinated. http://jaagruti.org/2010/08/30/rabies-and-street-dog-population-control-in-india-in-2010-problems-and-solutions/

"I don't know the answer to the question regarding how long it takes for immunity to rabies specifically. "



From http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=2142

Unfortunately, their "two weeks" or so also does not specify rabies.

Yesterday I gave my Sadha his first shot yesterday. I used pfizer brand.