First rabies shot,,,,how old should the puppy be?

[mastercaster]

Just wondering how old your puppy was when he/she got his/her first rabies shot? I've researched the topic and the answers are all over the map. I'll be making a trip into Washington for a few days to fly fish down at Dry falls about mid April so I'm wondering about whether or not my new pup will need one to cross the border? She will be a 3 1/2 months old by then.

[Jagermeister]

My pup got his 1st rabies shot at 3 months and just had his second shot last month. He's 16 months now.

[ncurrie]

Can't cross border without a rabies shot

[tadpole]

Can't cross border without a rabies shot

Yes, but only if the pup is older than 3 mnts.

[kinderdoggin]

There are new rules about going into the US, since 2014. The dog must have had his rabies shot at least 30 days prior to entering. The earliest a rabies shot can be given is 3 months of age. It is possible to apply to the Center for Disease Control to bring a dog into the US prior to that timeframe but requires agreeing to a quarantine period, which is not really something you'd be able to do while travelling/fishing. I'm not sure how strictly they are enforcing this on dogs and puppies who are 'just visiting' the US, but it does apply to all dogs entering the country regardless of age- you may get in without issue if your pup had it's shot at 3 months or they may turn you back for not having 30 days since the vaccine. It used to be that pups under 3 months- too young for that first rabies shot- were exempt but that is no longer the case.

[Foxton Gundogs]

What Erin said. Sure screws up the export of puppies, protectionism at its finest.

[35rem]

Yup, Erin is correct. Officially it is not possible to bring a puppy under 4 months of age in to the States. Rabies cannot be given before 3 months and is not valid until 30 days after. First Rabies shot is good for 1 year, follow up shots depend on the type of vaccine used, but are usually good for 3 years. This is US only, other countries can have different requirements.

[mastercaster]

Yup, Erin is correct. Officially it is not possible to bring a puppy under 4 months of age in to the States. Rabies cannot be given before 3 months and is not valid until 30 days after. First Rabies shot is good for 1 year, follow up shots depend on the type of vaccine used, but are usually good for 3 years. This is US only, other countries can have different requirements.

That sucks for me, then. So much for me being able to go on the fishing trip! The pup will be old enough for the rabies shot but I won't be able to get the 30 days in after the shot. I don't suppose if a person was to phone the US border/customs they'd let you slide on the 30 days by a couple of weeks?

[kinderdoggin]

You could try. They are really hot and cold on enforcement of this, but are absolutely able to refuse entry with this as a sticking point. Could you postpone your trip for another couple weeks? Might be your safest bet.

For the record- we are still able to sell puppies to the US and get them into their new homes at 8 weeks, prior to rabies vaccination. There is a process that the buyer goes through to apply for permission to bring them home pre-rabies and they have to quarantine them at home. It's not ideal, obviously, but if there are breeders here with potential US buyers and you want to investigate how that process works, let me know and I'll send you the step by step process that we go through. We have our buyers start the process as soon as the litter is born and they usually have their 'approval' letter in their hands within a couple weeks. Definitely it's a pain in the arse and accomplishes nothing useful, as far as I can tell, when the pup comes from a breeder with vaccinated dogs. But, thanks to some who imported rabid puppies from the Sochi Olympics, these new rules were created and we all have to play by them, including puppies and dogs who are only visiting the US and not being sold there. Maybe old Trumpy can get rid of this for us, he hates regulations! lol