Sheriee Dardis
Dear Dr. Falconer,
My 15-week-old Norwich Terrier puppy is raw fed, and was tragically vaccinated twice with combo shots...(but that story is for another day.)
She just spent an entire day with my parents' 12-year-old dachshund. As dogs will do, they were in one another's mouths all day. The doxy has been, unfortunately, revaccinated annually for rabies and had, in fact, had another booster one month ago. (He's experiencing chronic health problems but my parents are "old school" and I can't convince them that they should stop vaccinating the poor old guy!)
During a brief but very enthusiastic period of rather rough play, the doxy had, understandably, had enough of my puppy, chomped down and held her muzzle in his teeth. After he let her go I found blood in her mouth. Because she is teething now, I couldn't be sure whether he had broken the skin, or if she had lost more teeth.
My questions for you are:
A) How long does a dog shed virus after receiving a rabies vaccine?
B) If a dog has had rabies vaccines, can he pass on immunity to another dog through a bite?
C) Might my puppy have acquired immunity from the Doxy? and if so, how soon would titers indicate that immunity?
Thank you so much for this mission you're on, Doctor. I use your site as my dog-rearing bible!