For those you who travel with your dogs and have a passport, your dog will have had their rabies vaccination.
Previously, those dogs vaccinated in the UK were lucky enough to only need the vaccine every three years but those in France, annually. This was changed about 18 months ago but is still causing confusion.
Rabies vaccines are manufactured by Nobivac, Versican and Rabisin to name but a few. In France the length of recall now differs depending on the vaccine used.
If your dog has previously been vaccinated with Rabisin R, its next vaccine will last three years in France. Its really worth noting that most of the other common rabies vaccines are still 1 year.
Have a look at my dogs passport. You will see that he had Rabisin R on 13/2/14 which lasted until 13/2/15. When re vaccinated on 13/2/15 the same vaccine now lasts 3 years! Both vaccines were at my local vet in France.
If you look at your dogs passport and don’t see the Rabisin R vaccine sticker it may be worth speaking to your vet about changing the vaccine used so that you only need to vaccinate every three years. This means less money spent and less chemicals in your dog!
In France its not only dogs that travel that have a rabies vaccine. Some people elect to have this to protect their dogs against rabies and others to protect themselves and the dog should it bite anyone.
Any dog that has bitten a human must be evaluated by a vet. Three visits are necessary, the first within 24 hours of the bite a second visit after 7 days and a third at 15 days. After 15 days the vet will (assuming no risk) issue a certificate in triplicate declaring the animal free from rabies. If it has had its rabies vaccine the papers can be issued right away!
So check your passport, speak to your vet and you should be able to vaccinate every three years.