Question About Multi-Year Rabies Vaccines for Dogs

My husband is traveling to the UK with our dogs on August 15th. Because we are not using a pet relocation service, I want to be absolutely certain we have everything correct and am a little concerned about the rabies vaccines for my oldest dog.

We pulled all historical rabies certificates just to be safe. They all include his microchip number. His last 3-year vaccination was administered on July 29, 2016. The previous 3-year vaccination expired on July 1, 2016 which leaves a gap. The first vaccine, which was the one-year vaccine, was administered on June 29, 2015.

The reason this concerns me is that I'm worried the UK will want another one-year vaccine after the 28-day gap in 2016. Is that something I should be concerned about, or do you think we're okay?

Any insight would be tremendously helpful.

Call the Animal Reception Centre for the airport your animal is flying into and ask.  They'll walk you through it all.

Thank you. We spoke with ARC, and they confirmed he will need a new one-year rabies vaccine as a result of the two-week gap in 2016.

The reason makes sense, I guess. They require the primary vaccination to be a 12 month shot. All secondary vaccinations are allowed to be three-year shots, but the gap automatically makes the following vaccination the new primary. So that shot (a three-year) after the gap should have been a one-year, followed by a three-year.

The good news is the timing associated with this delay will hopefully work out well with my visa wait. Fingers crossed!

Thank you. We spoke with ARC, and they confirmed he will need a new one-year rabies vaccine as a result of the two-week gap in 2016.

The reason makes sense, I guess. They require the primary vaccination to be a 12 month shot. All secondary vaccinations are allowed to be three-year shots, but the gap automatically makes the following vaccination the new primary. So that shot (a three-year) after the gap should have been a one-year, followed by a three-year.

The good news is the timing associated with this delay will hopefully work out well with my visa wait. Fingers crossed!

Glad to hear it.  The ARC is usually very helpful and may even allow you to email your paperwork in advance to ensure you have everything for a successful clearance.