No vaccine is currently licensed for use in dog-wolf hybrids. Although there are no restrictions on vaccinating dog-wolf hybrids, veterinarians should notify the owners of such animals that if the animal bites a person, it will not be considered vaccinated. In Washington, animal rabies vaccines should only be administered by a licensed veterinarian. While not all localities require that dogs, cats and ferrets be vaccinated, vaccination of these animals should be strongly encouraged. All licensed animal vaccines available in this country require that a primary dose be given when the animal is at least 3 months old.
Some products require a second primary shot one year after the first.
Periodic booster doses are necessary for all currently approved animal vaccines. In contrast, post exposure vaccine can only be given intramuscularly. Details about the human vaccines currently licensed in the U.S. are available. Table 2 provides the most recent ACIP recommendations pertaining to preexposure vaccination. Currently in Washington, rabies is very rare in the animal species commonly encountered by veterinarians and their staffs, animal control officials, and wildlife workers.