quarantine for rabies!!!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

i was wondering if anyone has ever experienced a dog being bitten by a rabid animal. and if anyone is familiar with what the term of quarantine is. my sister has a great dane that was bitten in the head by a rabid raccoon. her dog did have his rabies shot and received another one right after the bite. the health department said that he would need quarantined, which i understand completely. the problem is that they started off saying that it would need to be for 7 weeks. which i still find understandable. but a couple of days later they changed their story and said it needed to be for 6 MONTHS!!!! now that is a huge difference. it just doesn't seem right and they really don't seem like they know what they're doing to change it so drastically for no good reason.

the health department and her vet said that the closer a dog is bitten to the brain, the sooner they would get rabies. he was bitten on the head, i mean how much closer can you get to the brain. so that makes less sense to lengthen the quarantine. her vet doesn't agree with it but the health department says she has no say.

i've tried to look up info on rabies but i'm not finding much. i've found that the health department is by county (at least in the state of south carolina) and they each have their own rules. but noone seems to say what they are.

the dog is having a hard time adjusting. :cry: if you know anything about great danes, they need people! (i know all breeds do, but some more than others) if it was her lab it wouldn't be such a big deal. i personally think that it is a little harsh for a great dane to go through that long of a quarantine. he is 1 1/2 so he is still growing, but he is underweight. he was getting better before this happened but now has lost weight. he is eating fine but getting skinnier. they say from stress. but he can't get much skinnier. i mean he looks sick with his ribs and hips sticking out big time. but the bad thing is she can't take him in to get weighed or anything. they expect him to stay in this cage thing (outside) for 6 months including evenings. that's just cruel. the nights are freezing in south carolina this time of year and he has no meat on his body to keep him warm.

does anyone else find this a little harsh?????

thanks for taking the time to read!!

[Horsefeathers!]

[quote name='bulldogsrus']
does anyone else find this a little harsh?????

[/quote]


Not really. Inconvenient, sure, maybe even traumatic, but rabies is ALWAYS fatal. There is no cure therefore the need to be so cautious. I know that the closer to the brain, the quicker the onset (if it's going to occur), but then there are so many variables. Who is going to be the one to try to make the judgement of exactly how long it will take for the animal to exhibit symptoms based on the location of the bite? There are no concrete answers. It may be overkill, but I do understand the need for it.

I do feel sorry for the dog stuck in the pen for that length of time, but there are a few options. A heat lamp can be used to heat the dog's house. All he really needs is enough to ward off the cold weather and stay dry. I'm sure he's miserable, but it is just a necessary evil. It's not the ideal situation, but sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

[Guest Anonymous]

thanks for the reply. i think you are correct about the danger. it's a good idea for the heat lamp! i just thought there would be a more concrete policy state or nationwide as what to do so that there would be no question. i guess i just don't like them changing it like they aren't really sure what they are doing. these are the people she is relying on to come and observe her dog. :o

[Guest Anonymous]

Had your sisters dog been vaccinated by rabies previously to this?

[anne3149]

The post said the dog had been vaccinated against rabies and then had another vaccination.
We are lucky in Australia, no rabies here at all.

I feel so sorry for the Great Dane and they are not happy away from their home. Ahh the frustration of dealing with authorities who don't know or don't care what they are talking about. I would be asking to speak to the superior of the department and asking for a written copy of the rules and regulations then you will be able to work out the quarantine time for yourself and have a valid argument.

[Guest Anonymous]

Skimming through, I didn't read that he had had the shot.

Sorry to hear about this poor dog. I haven't experienced anything like this but I do think you are right to inquire and think you should check into this further. Are they certain that the Raccoon was rabid? Was it caught?

Anyway I do find this harsh. Number one because I believe vaccines can often do more harm than good. (but that is a whole other topic) However if the vaccine is so "effective" where the dog was bitten is irrelevent. And then to give it another shot seems ridiculous. How qualified are these "health authorities" anyway? Understandibly they want to protect the public, but if your sisters vet doesn't agree on the length of quaranteen, wouldn't most vets feel the same? I find this sickening they seem to feel the dog should stay outside in winter, poor dog.

I agree demand to get a hold of who ever is in charge, it seems to me this shouldn't be happening to a previously vaccinated dog.

Wish I could help,
please keep us updated!

[starcastle]

4-6 months is the normal time in quarantine in countries with no rabies, if you want to import a dog from a country that is not declared free of rabies.

My country has not had rabies for more than a century.
Since a couple of years back we changed our import regulations and can now travel with dogs within the European Union if the dogs have gone trough a vaccination and testing program that takes about 6 months.

For any countries outside the European countries quarantine is still required, except for countries like Australia, New Zealand, and actually Hawai.

Before we changed our regulations we had quarantine even from the rest of Europe except the 3-4 countries that are rabies free.

Many times an export from Sweden required that the dog had to be vaccinated for rabies (although WE did not have rabies...) at least 30 days prior to entering their new home country.

Since a dog with a rabies vaccination automatically had 100% more rabies in their bodies than any other dog in Sweden, the dog had to be put in quarantine during this 30 day period before export.

So I don't find 6 months in quarantine the least odd.