Rabies

Rabies is an acute and almost invariably fatal disease given to man through the saliva of a rabid animal, usually dogs, foxes, squirrels, and bats.

Rabies is usually passed from animal to animal through bites (a rabid animal becomes aggressive and ready to bite without provocation). When a dog catches rabies there is an incubation period of 20 to 30 days, followed by a period of excitement, when the animal becomes vicious and typically foams at the mouth. Paralysis then develops, first involving the hind legs and thereafter becoming general. Death occurs within 10 days of the first symptom.

It is essential to have your dogs vaccinated with anti-rabies shots. Rabies vaccines can be given during a puppy's 16th to the 26th week. This requires a follow up shot one year after for total protection.