Rabies Injection for Dogs

All puppies receive rabies shots as part of their inoculations.

The word "rabies" strikes fear into the heart of anyone who saw the Disney movie "Old Yeller" as a child. This highly infectious disease is fatal to any animal and is most likely to strike pets that are regularly exposed to wildlife like raccoons, squirrels and gophers. Rabies vaccinations are very important to any dog's safety.

Causes

According to 2ndChance, rabies is one of the oldest diseases known to man. The rabies virus enters an animal's body through a bite, travels through its tissues to the central nervous system and goes from there into the brain. The virus attacks the tissues of a dog's brain, destroys brain cells and causes serious swelling.

Effects

The swelling of a dog's brain results in several obvious symptoms of rabies. Symptoms start as anxiety and nervousness and move on to an agitated and furious phase when a dog becomes aggressive and vicious. Dogs may move on to seizures or aimless wandering. Eventually they enter a dumb phase where they lose the ability to swallow and become catatonic or unresponsive. Rabies always results in death.

Rabies Injections

All puppies receive rabies vaccines in their first shots. This vaccine consists of dead rabies virus bodies, which go into a puppy's bloodstream to teach the immune system about rabies. The immune system creates antibodies for the virus and uses those antibodies to fight off any potential rabies infections.

Injection Schedule

A dog's first rabies injection is done during its standard puppy shots. Because the shot can cause some side effects, like lethargy and general malaise, it's usually given last, when a puppy is slightly older. Rabies injections are updated yearly or every three years, depending on the type of vaccine. These updates occur in the dog's yearly checkup and vaccinations.

Treatment

The rabies vaccine can also be used to treat dogs that may have rabies but have not yet started showing symptoms. If a dog has been bitten, and you think it might have rabies, take it to the vet for an immediate inoculation to kill the virus before it can kill the dog. Once a dog begins to show symptoms, it's too late to treat it.

References

• Pet Education: Rabies in Dogs
• PetMD: Rabies in Dogs
• 2ndChance: Rabies in Your Cat or Dog