My aggressive dog: Is rabies testing needed before euthanasia?

Animals with rabies typically become progressively worse with other neurologic symptoms (such as muscle tremors and seizures), and die within a few days of beginning to show symptoms. So if this behavior has been going on for longer than that, it isn't rabies - instead, it's likely to be a behavior issue. From your description, it sounds like Max is very anxious and fearful. Many fearful dogs are also aggressive towards other animals and people. If you want to work on this problem, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate him in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for his aggression and anxiety issues. This might include medication, as well as management suggestions to help him avoid situations that make him afraid, and specific training exercises you can work on to help with this behavior. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Hi there and thank you for using Pet coach to address your concern. Based on your description I would suspect this is due to pain and that the pain is not being controlled well with the medications you are giving. The UK is a Rabies free country so this is less likely to be Rabies, however, not completely out of the realm of possibilities. If she is afraid of water especially ans becoming aggressive these would be red flags and I would have her examined immediately. If she is attacking anyone, I would call the police to come and get her so thst you are not injured as rabies can transmit to humans and be fatal. For now, I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss more options for controlling the pain better. For now, I would keep the dogs isolated from one another and monitor for now. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

The incubation period of rabies in dogs is typically between three to eight weeks, but there have been reported cases of incubation periods lasting up to six months. Behavioral changes are an early sign of rabies, as well as a hypersensitivity to light and sounds. There could also be another medical cause behind his behavior. If you concerned that Snoopy has rabies, you need to take him into the vet immediately. The only test to confirm rabies is a post-mortem exam of the brain, but your vet can quarantine him to see if his symptoms progress further. You will also need to see your doctor immediately if the vet thinks Snoopy has rabies, as you will have been exposed to it if he bit you, and you will need vaccines. Please take Snoopy into a vet now.

Please put a muzzle on your dog and immediately take him to a veterinarian. There is a possibility that your dog may have been infected with rabies, especially if he is not up to date with rabies vaccine. Please also see a doctor since he bit you. Rabies is a deadly disease.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If Austin has had his rabies vaccine you should be fine. But you should contact your local health department and talk to a human physician. If Austin has Rabies in the transmissible form (in the salivary glands) then he will show neurologic signs for rabies with in 10 days. Keep him quarantined for 10 days. If he dies from any cause he should be tested for Rabies if it is before the 10 days quarantine. Always keep your pets up to date on rabies and prevent them interacting with wild life and unvaccinated pets. I wish you the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear you are going through this with Horus. If you have not tried behavioral training or anti-anxiety drugs, I would speak with a veterinarian before making the decision to put him down. I've had a couple of cases where the owners were at their wit's end and as a last ditch effort, I prescribed a combination of anti-anxiety medications and had them start behavioral training. After 3-6 months of this combination, I saw a drastic reduction in the aggression that the owners had reported. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Hello, and thanks for your question. I'm wondering if the rabies vaccine product or protocol is a bit different in India vs the United States. Our typical protocol with a previously vaccinated (up-to-date) dog who may have been exposed to a rabid animal (such as a wild animal or unvaccinated dog) is to booster the dog immediately with another rabies vaccine - just once....and then get back on the standard vaccine schedule of every 3 years. We don't typically do the multi-dose PEP you're describing, although that protocol would be given to people with exposure. However, rabies is much more endemic in your area - so I would defer to the advice of your local vet who treats far more rabies exposure cases than we would. If the original plan (prior to your dog's second altercation with another stray) was to give the two additional shots on the 4th and 5th, then I would probably stick with this plan. All vaccines can carry a small risk of reaction - but there's no "overdose" per say. And any risk of vaccine reaction is negligible compared to the risk of actual rabies exposure, in a rabies endemic area. So it is always best to err on the side of protection from rabies. I hope this helps!