Separation Anxiety in Dogs

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Blog the Change for Animals

How Often Should You Vaccinate Your Dog?

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doodlesI recently phoned one of my old vets to get them to forward me Manchego’s vet records. When I told the receptionist (possibly vet tech?) that my new vet wanted to review his vaccination history she told me that I didn’t need to worry about getting the records, he should be vaccinated every year so I could just go ahead and vaccinate him again. I almost fell over when she said this. First of all, We haven’t been to that vet in 6.5 years, she has NO IDEA what we have been doing for that time and when he was last vaccinated not to mention the fact that he has an auto-immune disorder. And more importantly I was shocked at the lack of education that the people at this clinic seem to have regarding updated vaccination protocols. After speaking to many friends their veterinarians seem to hold the same outdated belief that pets should be vaccinated yearly!

I would like to make people aware that there is a lot of current research out there and the AVMA recommends most vaccinations every 3 years now (including Rabies). Be sure to check the regulations in your area and as always research, research, research to make sure your pet needs the vaccinations your vet is recommending!

Dr. Ron Shultz, an immunologist from the University of Wisconsin had this to say:

“With the exception of rabies, the vaccines for CDV, CPV-2 and CAV trigger an immunological memory of at least seven years,” he explains. (Studies testing the duration of immunity for rabies shots show it lasts about three years.)

For these reasons, Schultz suggests that dogs receive rabies shots every three years (as is required by law in most states) and the other core vaccines no more frequently than every three years.

Source: Schultz: Dog vaccines may not be necessary

But vaccines are perfectly safe, why not give them yearly?

Because vaccinations are not harmless. They can cause a whole host of problems and chronic conditions in our dogs:

But, as many veterinarians are realizing, over-vaccination can actually jeopardize a dog’s health and even life. Side effects can cause skin problems, allergic reactions and autoimmune disease.

Source: Schultz: Dog vaccines may not be necessary

So please, learn the laws and regulations in your area and be sure to research which vaccines your pets actually needs! Also be aware that sick animals should not get vaccines as stated on the vaccination labels. Some states have exemptions for animals who are sick so check your local laws.

For more information on vaccinations and duration of immunity visit:

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Separation Anxiety in Dogs & the Rabies Vaccine

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separation anxiety in dogs and rabies vaccine

Do you take your dog in every year to get his or her rabies vaccine? Did you know that this could be the cause of separation anxiety in your dog?

Rabies vaccines have been given to dogs every year or every two years according to local laws in most place since the development of the vaccine in the 50’s. This protocol was set up and has recently come into question by many veterinarians including Dr. Jean Dodds, Kris Christine and Dr. Ron Schultz of the Rabies Challenge Fund.

Some averse reactions to the rabies vaccine that have been reported include:

  • Aggression and separation anxiety in dogs
  • Obsessive behavior such as self-mutilation
  • Seizures and epilepsy
  • Fibrosarcomas at the injection site
  • Autoimmune diseases

Here are a few things you should know about when and how often to give the rabies vaccine:

  1. NEVER give a rabies vaccine (or any other vaccine) to a sick animal. Yes, that means if your dog has a chronic disease like allergies, goopy eyes, diarhea or an autoimmune disease like Addison’s or Cushing’s Disease or any other illness then you shouldn’t be administering a vaccine to this animal. It states this right on the vaccine label yet some vets will still give the vaccine to your pet.
  2. If you do decide to vaccinate your pets never give your pet more than one vaccine at a time. Avoid the combo vaccines if possible.
  3. Do your research and assess your situation. There are some parts of the country that have a very low occurrence of rabies even in the wild. If you think you pet is at low risk, like a cat that never leaves the house, then you may not want to vaccinate.
  4. If you can try to wait as long as possible to re-administer vaccines. Studies have shown that immunity can last much longer than one year and by re-administering vaccines you raise the risk of averse effects including separation anxiety in dogs!
  5. Do not vaccinate very old or very young dogs! Check with your veterinarian but a general rule is that puppies should not be vaccinated before 8-10 weeks of age.

Here area few quotes from professionals regarding Vaccines:
“From our studies it is apparent, at least to me, that the duration of immunity for the four most important canine vaccines (core vaccines) that the duration of immunity is considerably longer than one year. Furthermore, we have found that annual revaccination, with the vaccines that provide long term immunity, provides no demonstrable benefit and may increase the risk for adverse reactions.”

– Ronald D. Schultz, Professor and Chair
Department of Patho-biological Sciences
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“There is gross underreporting of vaccine associated adverse events which impedes knowledge of the ongoing safety of these products.”

2007 World Small Animal Veterinary Association Vaccine Guidelines https://www.wsava.org/SAC.htm

“When an annual booster vaccination with a modified live virus vaccine is given to a previously vaccinated adult animal, no added protection is provided. Modified live virus vaccines depend on the replication of the virus for a response. Antibodies from previous vaccines do not allow the new virus to replicate. Antibody titres are not boosted significantly, memory cell populations are not expanded. No additional protection is provided.

There is no scientific data to support label directions for re-administration of MLV vaccines annually.

Vaccines are not harmless. Unnecessary side effects and adverse events can be minimized by avoiding unnecessary vaccines.”

American Veterinary Medical Association, July 2000

For More Information on the Safety of the Rabies Vaccine

Be sure to visit and support the Rabies Challenge Fund Website. They are doing very important work that may save a lot of animals from unnecessary pain and suffering of the chronic diseases caused by the rabies vaccines such as dog separation anxiety or worse!

Blog the Change This post is part of Blog the Change for Animals. Please be sure to visit their site and check out more posts from other participants!