The Rabies Vaccine Can Be Hazardous to Your Pet's Health
Emergency: What to Do If Your Dog is Having a Reaction to the Rabies Vaccine
If your dog develops any health problem after the shot, read the list of common reactions below. It may be an adverse reaction to the rabies shot. Your vet may not recognize it as a reaction and may not want to believe he/she brought on this problem. It's up to you to bring up the subject and investigate.
Note that your vet will likely treat the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause. Homeopathy is your best bet. Call an expert.
Important: Make sure your vet records the reaction in detail in your dog's file and get a copy of the file. Put it in a safe place. When the rabies shot is due again, ask your vet to apply for an exemption. Read our page on vaccinating before you give another shot of any kind.
Inside this Module
- Emergency: What to Do If Your Dog is Having a Reaction to the Rabies Vaccine
- Watch Our Informative (and Entertaining) Video
- Does Your Dog or Cat Really Need a Rabies Shot?
- When Do You Have to Vaccinate?
- When Should You NOT Vaccinate?
- What Adverse Reactions are Commonly Reported?
- Tell Us About the Rabies Vaccine and Your Dog
- What Can You Do to Protect Your Pet?
- Are There Special Considerations When Traveling?
- Do Cats Have Special Needs?
- Important Links
- Help Change Dangerous and Antiquated Rabies Vaccination Laws
- Tell Me About Your Experiences with the Rabies Vaccine -- And Read Others' Stories
Watch Our Informative (and Entertaining) Video
WATCH IT FULL-SIZE by clicking the "Comments" link below the player.
Does Your Dog or Cat Really Need a Rabies Shot?

- The rabies vaccine is the ONLY shot required by law for dogs and cats in the United States. This is primarily to protect humans from getting rabies from their pets.
- The Center for Disease Control declared in 2007 that canine rabies no longer exists in the United States. Your dog will not contract rabies from another dog, but only from wild animals such as bats, coyotes, skunks, raccoons and foxes. Click here to read the CDC press release.
- In most areas, only young puppies, and dogs with written exemptions from their local Animal Control, are exempt from getting this shot. (More on this later.)
- Consequences for not vaccinating against rabies depend on the Animal Control laws in your area. At the very least, you won't be able to board your pet, participate in training classes or shows, or use a professional groomer. Many vets will insist on vaccination before boarding or treating your pet. And if your dog or cat bites or scratches anyone, or is picked up by Animal Control, there will surely be a stiff fine and your pet will be impounded and vaccinated (or worse).
Sign this Petition to Eliminate Unnecessary Vaccination
Please read and sign the Safer Vaccines for Companion Animals petition to the U.S. Government, US Governmental Agencies and American Veterinary Medical Association. Help dogs and cats get only the vaccines they absolutely need. When Do You Have to Vaccinate?
- Most localities require vaccination every three years even though studies in France and blood antibody tests in this country show that the rabies vaccine's immunity lasts for seven years. Worse yet, whether because of habit, ignorance or greed, some localities require annual vaccination--although the "three year" shot is guaranteed by manufacturers to give immunity for three years.
- The one-year shot is NOT safer than the three-year shot, and has to be given more often, making it potentially more dangerous.
- Puppies are generally required to get their first shot around four months, then again one year later and thereafter as required by local law. Check with your vet or Animal Control for details.
Read my new blog post on ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY SHOTS.
When Should You NOT Vaccinate?
- Puppies younger than 4 months
- A pet that has reacted adversely to vaccination in the past
- A sick pet, especially a dog with cancer or an autoimmune disease (read this important article on the dangers of vaccinating unhealthy pets)
- Before, during or after surgery, chemotherapy or other major medical procedure
- Within 3-4 weeks of other shots
Important: When getting a new dog or cat, get shot records, too. Pets from shelters, pet stores and most rescue groups will have been recently vaccinated, as may have animals from individuals. Don't vaccinate unnecessarily. Find out exactly which shots your pet got, and when. Get documentation from the vet in question if your pet had a rabies shot.
You have options to vaccinating (discussed below) which you should discuss with your veterinarian.
Disclaimer: Jan Rasmusen is not a veterinarian. The information above is provided for information purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a qualified health practitioner.
What Adverse Reactions are Commonly Reported?

After rabies vaccination, your dog may experience fever, malaise or even life-threatening anaphylactic shot. Non-immediate reactions days or even months after vaccination (called "vaccinosis") include, but aren't limited to:
- Aggression or destructive behavior
- Separation anxiety
- Obsessive compulsive behaviors (like chasing tails or licking paws)
- Seizures and epilepsy
- Autoimmune diseases
- Allergies
- Skin problems
- Digestive disorders
- Muscle weakness
- Pica (eating inappropriate materials)
- Fibrocarcinomas at the injection site (particularly in cats-see below--but also in dogs)
Inexplicably, few vets warn about these possible adverse effects -- or even admit to the possibility even after they occur. If your pet experiences any of these reactions, REPORT THEM TO YOUR VET. Also know that there are things you can do. (Read on.)
Tell Us About the Rabies Vaccine and Your Dog
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What Can You Do to Protect Your Pet?
Never give the rabies vaccine with other shots -- especially not with a combination shot (one that vaccinates against several diseases at once.) In fact, don't give combos at all. They are linked to serious adverse reactions. This is even more important for small dogs whose bodies can't withstand multiple shots at once.
***If your pet has documented health problems and a low likelihood of contracting rabies, ask your vet to apply for a rabies vaccination extension or exemption. A rabies titer test showing immunity may help your cause. Expect to pay license fees, and to reapply in the next licensing period. If your vet won't do it, consult another vet.
If you have to vaccinate, consult a vet trained in homeopathy. There's a homeopathic "remedy" that can be given with the shot to lessen the chance of ill effects. Find a vet at Holistic Vet List. Or try Homeopathy Trained Vets.
***Report ALL reactions to vaccines to your vet; make sure the reactions are recorded in your pet's file. Have the vet sign the page showing reactions. Get a copy! Documentation will be necessary if you ever need to apply for an exemption. Also, years from now, you may forget the details.
If your dog has any adverse reaction to a shot, but your vet dismisses your concerns, take matters into your own hands. Contact a holistic vet. There are things that can be done to alleviate even long-standing problems. At least, check out the links on this page (below) and do a web search. Surely, others have experienced the same problem and may have solutions.
Kennels, groomers, trainers and doggy day care facilities may require proof of rabies, but more and more establishments accept titer testing. If they require vaccination more frequently than legally required, educate them or find another establishment. Their lack of knowledge is potentially hazardous to your pet's health.
Tell them that only a titer test guarantees immunity and, because canine rabies has been declared non-existent in the US, requiring rabies shots to protect dogs from each another is illogical!
Are There Special Considerations When Traveling?
NEVER vaccinate within a week of travel. Your animal may experience a life-threatening shot reaction and may die without immediate medical assistance.
Keep copies of your vaccination records and titer tests in your cars. Keep license tags on your dog's collar or harness. You don't want to have to revaccinate should you need to board your pet unexpectedly or should she bite someone.
Print a list of emergency vet clinics along your route at Pets911.
If you suspect your dog is suffering adverse reactions from a rabies shot, I suggest you consult a holistic (not a traditional) vet. If you treat symptoms without addressing the cause, your dog's health will surely decline. Holistic Vets, particularly those trained in homeopathy, should be able to treat the cause of the vaccinosis.
My Favorite Dog Care Book
Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 11/19/2009)![]()
I wrote this book! It won two national awards: the Ben Franklin Award for the Best Health Book of any kind and the USABookNews Award for the Best Pet Health Book.
The Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association wrote: This is a wonderful book! It's also endorsed by Animal Wellness Magazine, The Animal Protection Institute and countless veterinarians. All author royalties benefit animal causes.
The title alone should tell you it's not your average dog care book. Scared Poopless is heavily researched and packed with information from my two years of research and interviews --but it's also really fun to read and contains 89 wild full-color photos. It makes a beautiful, and thoughtful, gift for dog-loving friends.
In addition to an in-depth, but easy to read, chapter on vaccination, it covers food, pet meds, anesthesia and surgery and dozens of other subjects on holistic dog health and safety. Please read the reviews, and see the Table of Contents, at Amazon or my website (link below) to learn more about it.
Do Cats Have Special Needs?
For more information on cat shots, go to Dr. Jean's terrific CAT website Little Big Cat. Also check out Cat Shots.
Important Links
- My Website and E-newsletter
- Learn more about my research, holistic dog care, buying a healthy puppy, anesthesia-free dental care, vaccine damage, Maltese dogs, and much more.
Get alerted when I publish another Squidoo page. My free e-newsletter comes out 6 times a year and contains lots of information on dog care and safety plus important health alerts. You can learn more about it, and sign up, at my website. - AAHA 2006 Canine Vaccine Task Force Report
- The American Animal Hospital Association Taskforce examined the safety and efficacy of canine vaccines in 2003 and 2006, changing vaccination recommendations for vet schools and organizations throughout the US. Follow this link, then click on the small red link: 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines-Revised.
- Truth4Dogs.org
- This is another website of mine with even more information about rabies vaccination.
- Dogs Adverse Reactions
- This link will take you directly to this site's vaccine problems page. It has other great pages on drugs that can harm your pets.
- Rabies Threat to Humans
- Click the Health Care Practitioners or Adult signpost for information about the rabies threat to humans.
- Animal Talk Naturally Podcast
- Host Kim Bloomer hosts an info-packed 60 minute interview with rabies vaccine experts Dr. Jean Dodds and Kris L. Christine, founders of the Rabies Challenge Fund. Recorded 7/31/08.
- Vaccine Side Effects Anecdotes
- On-line anecdotes about vaccination side effects.
- General Vaccination Information
- Find my video Vaccinating Dogs and links to important articles on Vaccine Damage, breeds predisposed to vaccine damage, and more.
- AVMA on Vaccination Site Tumors
- This discusses treatment options for tumors in cats caused by vaccines, but much of it also applies to dogs.
- Which Cat Shots to Give
- Poke around this website to find important information.
- Follow me (K9Author) on Twitter
- Get health alerts and my new articles by following me on Twitter. I only post when I have something important for your dog.
- Vaccinating Unhealthy Pets: Expect Reactions and Failures
- Pets that may experience reactions or immunity failures include, but aren't limited to, pets with autoimmune disease %u2026 pets undergoing chemo, radiation or surgery (even dental cleaning or neutering) %u2026 pets with autoimmune disease, cancer, severe allergies and skin diseases %u2026 pets fighting an illness or parasites %u2026 pets stressed from shipment or a move to a new home %u2026 malnourished pets %u2026 and dying housebound pets. Learn more by reading this article.
- Vaccinating Dogs: 10 Steps to Eliminating Unnecessary Shots
- Actually IMPROVE your dog's health by eliminating these shots.
- Aimee's Medical Exemption Blog
- Pamela Picard's blog arguing for rabies medical exemption in Texas and nationwide for sick and senior pets.
Subscribe to my Truth4Dogs Blog
Get articles, videos and recordings as soon as I post them!
Truth4Dogs Blog is all about holistic dog care, exposing the myths, misunderstanding and advertising propaganda damaging our dogs' health. Subscribe via e-mail or your favorite RSS feeder.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byOther Books and DVDs I like on Vaccinating
The Nature of Animal Healing : The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat
This book has a wonderful chapter explaining immunology and the history of vaccines. It's a great resource if you're interested in holistic health care for dogs and cats.
Vaccine Guide for Dogs and Cats: What Every Pet Lover Should Know
This book goes deeply into each vaccine's risks. It's for people who want to know all the technical details.
Shock to the System: The Facts About Animal Vaccination, Pet Food And How to Keep Your Pets Healthy
Catherine is a UK author who's an expert on the science of vaccines and food. Read her article "The Science of Vaccine Damage" at my website: http://www.dogs4dogs.com/JR_Articles/Vaccine%20Damage
What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines
See the description above.
In Search of the Truth About Dogs: An Introduction to Natural Canine Health
Voted the best DVD of 2008 by the Dog Writers' Association of America. Catherine O'Driscoll interviews leading vets, including Richard Allport, Michael Fox and Christopher Day, the scientist Gary Smith, and professional dog trainer Keith Dickinson about switching dogs to raw, biologically appropriate food, and saying 'no' to unnecessary and potentially harmful vaccines.
Help Change Dangerous and Antiquated Rabies Vaccination Laws
The Challenge Fund has raised money for the first year, but needs to fund future years. Learn more about the vaccine and their work, or donate to this wonderful cause, at Rabies Challenge Fund Note: the term challenge refers to the type of testing. They are NOT challenging the need for the vaccine.
As of the Spring of 2008, Kansas and Wyoming are rethinking their laws. Arkansas is next. If you want to get e-mail alerts about how you can help, click Rabies Alert and ask to be added to the e-mail list.
Disclaimer: Jan Rasmusen is a researcher and author, not a veterinarian. Please consult a knowledgeable health care practitioner for more information or if your dog shows signs of illness.
Tell Me About Your Experiences with the Rabies Vaccine -- And Read Others' Stories
Please post your question or comment also at Truth4Dogs.com blog so others can read it.
IF YOU WANT A RESPONSE, YOU MUST COPY YOUR RESPONSE AT MY BLOG: Truth4Dogs Rabies Vaccine Info. I'll try to help. Find information on other shots at Vaccinating Dogs: What Your Vet Won't Tell You.
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- TJ TJ Nov 19, 2009 @ 5:13 pm
- My 8 year old Australian Shepard is at the vet right now with renal failure. He was very healthy and active until his vaccinations 2 weeks ago which included his 3 year rabies shot. Right after he was vaccinated he became very clingy and did not want to eat. He was still eating small amounts until two days ago and then quit eating altogether. I asked the vet if this could be related to his vaccinations and she told me she had never heard of a dog having kidney problems after being vaccinated. It seems there is a lot of information about adverse reactions and I'm concerned about a vet that has never heard of it!
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- WORRIED ABOUT MY BOXER WORRIED ABOUT MY BOXER Nov 10, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
- I am having a very hard time getting anyone to take my dogs post rabie shot aggression serious. He is a very mushy 5 year old and I call him the cruise director of my house. Very loving and lazy boy. About 3 or 4 days after the shot he fought with one of my older dogs and then a week later with the other dog. The other dogs are cowering around him and I have to keep a close eye on him. I called my vert and they state they have never heard of such a thing and I advised them I have read alot of articles where this is a side effect of the shot. They advised me to call the drug manufacturer. Which of course they claim there is no proven study to back that "theory" up. What can I do?? I have a conference call set up with a homeopathic vet in a few days. I am very worried and I do not want to have to seperate him from the others.That would traumatize him. But the others are walking around with their heads down and tales between their legs. What can I do. Help Please.
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- Amy Amy Nov 5, 2009 @ 8:03 am | in reply to Maegan
- Hi Megan: Do not listen to your vet. Mine told me the same thing. I got a Titer done anyway and found a Holistic Vet who wrote a letter of exmption. Thunder, now my angle boy, had canine Lymphoma, was on Chemo at the time and neither his primary vet nor Onc. would write a letter of exemption. Unfortunately before I could submitt the letter and titer test to the town we had to let Thunder go. Currently I am researching as I believe his Lymphoma was cause by overvaccinations and vaccinating while he was sick. Thunder had just turned 4 on July 29, 2009. Rest In Piece My Sweet Boy
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- theresa theresa Nov 4, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
- My 23 yr old cat passed away on 11/2/09. Since 10/10/09 she has been getting uncontrollable seizures. 9/16/09 she got a rabies shot when I brought her in for a pedicure to her vet. She had her last vaccine about 4yrs ago. She was 100% an indoor only cat with NO interactive with anything from the outside. She also had kidney disease, but out of no where she started getting seizures. No vet could tell me why. Her blood counts where elavated. I can't help but wonder if this rabies shot could had caused these seizures. I spent over 2,200 dollars trying to make her well again, and nursed her at home, until that day when her body was just sooo tired, and she passed on. By her last weekend with us, she was getting up to 4 seizures a day which were classified idiopathic, b/c they could not find an answer.
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- harringtonway harringtonway Nov 2, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
- This is very valuable information - I have heard about this a lot lately and with so many incidents of this I think it would be prudent for all of us to beware!
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- Debbie Debbie Oct 27, 2009 @ 3:35 pm | in reply to Beanie Babys Dad
- I am so very sorry for your loss. I have been there and I have lost.
What you are describing is called over vaccination. As you realize now, you must take the responsibility to research/Google vaccine alternatives. There are many who support alternatives. In Plano, TX, it's Dr. Alan Ward.
I have learned is that you never take a pet with a vaccine reaction to the vet, you always go straight to the emergency room. Vets, even if they have the knowledge, do not have the emergency experience, the emergency personnel, or the equipment to handle such situations. Vets are short handed and cannot monitor your pet 24/7 like the emergency room can.
Regarding vaccines. I don't do them except as puppies. I feed California Natural, which has sufficiently maintained the acid PH of my dogs' blood to give them the immunity they need to fight off disease and to recover.
To those who say, I can't afford that: Your pet will die if you don't borrow the money. Peri
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- AnnRadley AnnRadley Oct 19, 2009 @ 11:30 am
- Thank you so much for your informative lens and blogs which I've just begun to explore. I wish I had read this 2 weeks ago. I had just heeded the call by my vet to have my dog's rabies and bordatella vacinations updated. There have been no adverse reactions that I an aware of. Yet Hansel had a tumor removed from his leg 8 months ago, which I suspect was cancerous. (I didn't have it tested due to the cost) So unnecessary vacinations are the last thing my dog needs at this point. This dog is so dear to me. Do you have any suggestions as to how to find a good holistic or homepathic vet? I live near Portland OR
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- Terry Terry Sep 26, 2009 @ 3:33 pm | in reply to Mike (contd...)
- Mike,
I STRONGLY suggest you read a book by an experienced veterinarian (who treated John Travolta's dog for cancer), Martin Goldstein, DVM...his book, The Nature of Animal Healing.
READ Chapter Four in particular...The Dubious Legacy of Vaccines. I watched one of my precious dachshunds develop chronic seizures (after vaccination) to the point where medication no longer helped and I had to put her down. I lost another to cancer from vaccination and when the cancer could no longer be stopped, I had to put her down on my birthday. I wish I had read his book sooner-- I AGREE with everything on this web site. Most veterinary schools AND medical schools are largely supported with grants from Big Pharma.....so why wouldn't you be taught that vaccination is soooo safe?? Read the above book from a vet who's been in the trenches for years and listen to what he has discovered during the course of actually treating dogs and cats....you may learn something.
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- tamershrew53 tamershrew53 Sep 25, 2009 @ 8:42 am
- Nice article on how to take care of our dear pets. I didn't know that pets should not be vaccinated when they're sick. I read this on http://www.englishbulldogpuppyblog.com. I like to visit this site regularly to find helpful articles such as this one. Thanks! :)
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- monie2 monie2 Sep 12, 2009 @ 10:29 am
- This is very enlightening article. The dogs I have had in Jamaica did not seem to have any adverse reaction put who to tell I did not have this information.
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