rabies shot next week, but afraid puppy is too small

[fadeddenim]

my kingston is due for his rabies shots next week. he's 4 1/2 months old and weighs about 2.4 lbs.

i'm afraid he's too small to get his rabies shots. do you all think i should wait till he gets a little bigger?

[Mysweetbabies]

I have a small one too. She is 4mths. old and weighs 1.8lbs. The vet is going to hold off on the rabies shot til she gets at least 2lbs even then I think she is still small, but it is required to have shot.

[mypreciouspups]

keep your baby safe and do rabies at an older age... simple as that.. you are the parent.. just tell you vet how you feel and stick with it... I have one that is over 4 pounds and have not gotten rabies yet.. doing so soon now.. anne

[Sweet Apple]

I agree with mypreciouspups....Apple will be 6 months old in 4 days, and the vet wanted to do the rabies shot a couple of months ago, and I said NO...it's my dog, and I make the decisions...I am gong to get the rabies shot, but probably not 'till she's 7 or 8 months old...Apple weighs between 3 1/2 and 4 lbs....(not sure, as I haven't had her weighed in about a month...I'd like her to weigh at least 4 1/2 lbs, but not sure if she'll make it...I really believe you could hold off, until she weighs a little bit more...
Maggie & Apple
p.s. I also don't think you should mix shots, heartworm meds, etc...on the same day...

[Britster]

I would wait!

Just to be safe. You know you dog better than anyone else.

Jackson is 6 months old and even though he is a bigger boy, weighing in at 13 pounds... I put off his rabies shot a bit. He had a reaction to the Lepto vaccine and just doesn't do well with shots. So, in 2 weeks I will be bringing him into the vet for his rabies shot but I requested they pre-medicate him first! They totally agreed and were cool with my decision. Even though, by law, in Maryland, 4 months is the required age. I'm not too worried about it - he will be getting the shot in a little under 2 weeks so he should be fine!

[fadeddenim]

so y puppy also need his bordatella shot as well. the vet was going to give him bordatella and rabies on the same day. crazy right?

do you think it's wise that i just have him get his bordatella shot next week and then hold off on the rabies.

sorry, this is my first time learning about vaccines. when i got my first dog, i just went with what the vet told me. i hadn't discovered yorkietalk then. now i just want to be extra careful.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by fadeddenim

so y puppy also need his bordatella shot as well. the vet was going to give him bordatella and rabies on the same day. crazy right?

do you think it's wise that i just have him get his bordatella shot next week and then hold off on the rabies.

sorry, this is my first time learning about vaccines. when i got my first dog, i just went with what the vet told me. i hadn't discovered yorkietalk then. now i just want to be extra careful.

Bordatella is not necessarily required. That's the vaccine that protects against kennel cough. It usually is required for bringing him into groomers, boarding facilities, doggie daycare, etc, but other than that, not entirely necessary.

The core vaccines are distemper, parvovirius, and hepatitis.

Here's a good link that helped me
Vaccination Schedule Recommendations For Dogs

[AprilLove]

Originally Posted by fadeddenim

so y puppy also need his bordatella shot as well. the vet was going to give him bordatella and rabies on the same day. crazy right?

do you think it's wise that i just have him get his bordatella shot next week and then hold off on the rabies.

sorry, this is my first time learning about vaccines. when i got my first dog, i just went with what the vet told me. i hadn't discovered yorkietalk then. now i just want to be extra careful.

I always have my vet give the shots individually. Rabies always by itself. And we plan to do titers when they are due again for vaccines in a few years.

[fadeddenim]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

I always have my vet give the shots individually. Rabies always by itself. And we plan to do titers when they are due again for vaccines in a few years.

what are titers? my older pup will be one year next month and i got a card from my vet saying he's due for his vaccines.

[ms_mato]

Don't due it. Wait!

[Kaytee1006]

Mandie was 5 months old and about 3lbs when the vet gave her the rabies shot. He also gave her a shot for pain, b/c when she got her shots when I first got her she came home and just laid around for like 2 days b/c she didn't feel good. She was fine after the rabies shot, kinda surprised me...

[TLC]

Rabies is a very harsh vaccine, and I would do it as a stand only vaccine.

Titers tests are blood tests to see if the vaccines are still prevalent. Roxy and TJ are both 4.5 y/o - They had their last vaccines in 07 and we are doing the titers on Saturday. I feel there is no need to over vaccinate them any longer.

Rabies is the ONLY one required by law here in NYS and it is a 3 yr vaccine. I will do the Rabies again in June and hope that in 3 yrs the laws will change and it will no longer be needed.

What I never knew about Rabies, is that if a dog bites someone and the dog is not current with its Rabies shot, the dog can be taken for quarantine, and possibly have to be tested for Rabies. And for those that do not know, the dog must be PTS in order to test the dog for the Rabies Virus....

For me, my TJ *could* and *has* nipped/bit for real...so I can't take the chance of someone turning on me and TJ and insisting about the Rabies shot. - So *if* you have a bitter, it is best to continue with the Rabies shot, all others can be titered after they have rec'd their core and boosters.

[manolos mom]

Originally Posted by TLC

Rabies is a very harsh vaccine, and I would do it as a stand only vaccine.

Titers tests are blood tests to see if the vaccines are still prevalent. Roxy and TJ are both 4.5 y/o - They had their last vaccines in 07 and we are doing the titers on Saturday. I feel there is no need to over vaccinate them any longer.

Rabies is the ONLY one required by law here in NYS and it is a 3 yr vaccine. I will do the Rabies again in June and hope that in 3 yrs the laws will change and it will no longer be needed.

What I never knew about Rabies, is that if a dog bites someone and the dog is not current with its Rabies shot, the dog can be taken for quarantine, and possibly have to be tested for Rabies. And for those that do not know, the dog must be PTS in order to test the dog for the Rabies Virus....

For me, my TJ *could* and *has* nipped/bit for real...so I can't take the chance of someone turning on me and TJ and insisting about the Rabies shot. - So *if* you have a bitter, it is best to continue with the Rabies shot, all others can be titered after they have rec'd their core and boosters.

[fadeddenim]

Originally Posted by TLC

Rabies is a very harsh vaccine, and I would do it as a stand only vaccine.

Titers tests are blood tests to see if the vaccines are still prevalent. Roxy and TJ are both 4.5 y/o - They had their last vaccines in 07 and we are doing the titers on Saturday. I feel there is no need to over vaccinate them any longer.

Rabies is the ONLY one required by law here in NYS and it is a 3 yr vaccine. I will do the Rabies again in June and hope that in 3 yrs the laws will change and it will no longer be needed.

What I never knew about Rabies, is that if a dog bites someone and the dog is not current with its Rabies shot, the dog can be taken for quarantine, and possibly have to be tested for Rabies. And for those that do not know, the dog must be PTS in order to test the dog for the Rabies Virus....

For me, my TJ *could* and *has* nipped/bit for real...so I can't take the chance of someone turning on me and TJ and insisting about the Rabies shot. - So *if* you have a bitter, it is best to continue with the Rabies shot, all others can be titered after they have rec'd their core and boosters.

Wow, this is all good info. So this is my plan, can you let me know if this sounds good?

I'm going to wait till my younger pup is a little older and bigger before I get his rabies shots. I'm thinking by the time he's 6 months old he should weigh a little more.

As for my older pup, he's turning 1 year old on May 17th. I'm going to have him get his annual boosters for distemper, parvo and rabies. I'm going to have them do all these separately of course (3-4 weeks apart from one another). Then 3 years later, i'll do the titer test to see if he needs any vaccines.

Did I get that right?

[TLC]

Originally Posted by fadeddenim

Wow, this is all good info. So this is my plan, can you let me know if this sounds good?

I'm going to wait till my younger pup is a little older and bigger before I get his rabies shots. I'm thinking by the time he's 6 months old he should weigh a little more.

As for my older pup, he's turning 1 year old on May 17th. I'm going to have him get his annual boosters for distemper, parvo and rabies. I'm going to have them do all these separately of course (3-4 weeks apart from one another). Then 3 years later, i'll do the titer test to see if he needs any vaccines.

Did I get that right?

Well sorta...You can do the booster shots, which is either a 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 or even a 5 in 1 - all depends on what you choose to do. Alot of Vets require annual boosters (not required by law) - BUT - they can require it to allow your pet into their hospital. BUT if you do the Titers instead and they show the pet is still covered by the vaccine, then you should have no problems. My Vets said every 3 yrs we can titer.

Now, the Rabies. You can titer for Rabies as well (later down the road) - BUT - the state (at least NYS) will NOT except of Titer for Rabies. By NYS law Rabies is required every 3 yrs (for now).

So, you need to check into your states laws about the rabies. You also need to discuss the boosters / titer tests with your Vet - as some Vet will NOT do or except the titers - Got it?

And YES - I would wait until your pup is a little older for the first Rabies shot - a lot of small dogs (young and adults) have reactions to the Rabies shots - So it is best to have the pup at an ideal weight and age