Rabies!?!?!?!??!??!!!!?

Question

i forgot to put away my dogs canned food last night. when i left the bowl was full, and the dogs didnt eat any of it when i came back an hour later. i went inside and fell asleep. in the morning i came outside and the food was almost all gone.

could it have been a racoon or a wild animal with rabies? or do u think it was my dogs??

how long does it take for the rabies to kick in?

i have a full grown siberian husky and a 4 month old husky/german shepherd mix (one of the huskys pups).

Answer 1

?? Whats rabies go to do with a raccoon eating the dog food??

Answer 2

Even if a raccoon or other wild animal ate the food, that doesn't mean your dogs will get rabies. Rabies is transmitted through saliva but the dog has to be bitten and the virus enter the blood stream for the dog to become infected. Clean the bowls well (as you should be doing every day, anyway) and relax. Plus, your dogs should be vaccinated against rabies. If you live in the US, all the states pretty much require rabies vaccination of dogs.

Answer 3

1.Calm down. First of all, do you live in an area where rabies is endemic? Because in the western world rabies is generally extinct. If a wild animal ate your dog's food it doesn't mean it was rabid.
2. I didn't understand, were the dogs outside with the food? If so, what makes you think that a wild animal ate the food and not the dogs?
3. If the dogs were inside, just throw their bowls away if you are so anxious that they may have been infected.
4. Last but not least: aren't your dogs vaccinated against rabies? They must be, if not do so immediately, and talk to your vet about the food story. If they are vaccinated, even if they ate from the bowl, they have no rosk.

Answer 4

A lot of misinformation here. Rabies is not solely transmitted by bites. That is just the most common. The reason bites transmit rabies is because it's transmitted by the saliva. From rabies.com:
"The virus exists in the saliva of mammals and is transmitted from animal to animal or from animal to human by biting and/or scratching. The virus can also be spread by licking, when infected saliva makes contact with open cuts or wounds, and with the mouth, eyes, and nose."

Also, the statement that rabies is extinct in the western world is totally inaccurate. There are still many wild animals that have rabies. Since there is a vaccine, most domestic animals are protected from it.

Having said all that, it's still highly unlikely that your dogs have rabies. If they've had their shots, they'll be fine.

Symptoms usually take 20-60 days to develop.

Answer 5

Just wash the bowl and you won't have to worry. Rabies is transmitted by saliva getting into the blood via a bite or scratch. Rabies is endemic to the US and is far from extinct, that is why pets need to be vaccinated. Was your dog vaccinated? If not, he needs to be. Rabies is very common in bats, skunks and raccoons and has been found in family pets that were not vaccinated including some horses. Even pets that are in the house 100% need to be vaccinated in case they come in contact with a bat or other animal, or if they get out. In your case, don't worry about the bowl and get your dogs their shots. The need rabies shots, but also need Distemper, parvo and leptospirosis vaccinations. Rabies vaccine every 3 years, DHL yearly.

Answer 6

Rabies isn't spread by eating out of a bowl, it's spread by biting or scratching.

If you make sure your dogs are vaccinated for rabies, you won't have a problem.

Feed them while you are there, then the food won't attract critters.

Why are your dogs outside anyway? They should be in the house with you.

Answer 7

...It was probably your dogs, but I don't see how the dogs could get rabies in this situation. Animals only get rabies by either eating an animal with rabies or by getting bitten by an animal with rabies. Doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. Calm down.

Answer 8

i don't know what it was, i wasn't there. but i doubt that your dog has rabies, and your animal can only get rabies if it has been bitten by the animal with rabies. if you're that worried then just wash out the bowl properly before giving them any more food.

Answer 9

If your dogs are up to date on their rabies vaccinations (as they are supposed to be by law) then you should have nothing to worry about.

If you don't know which animal ate the food, then how are we supposed to know?? I don't see the relevance of this, because you don't say your dog/s was/ were bitten by a potentially rabid animal.

Finally, if you dogs aren't up to date with their vaccinations (and some states, like NY, require one every 6 months) it's worth checking with your vet to see if you can have them preemptively treated. I know this exists for humans, so perhaps it exists for dogs, too.

Answer 10

Your dogs can only contract rabies if they were bitten by an animal that has rabies. Check your dog for any puncture marks, if there aren't any, don't worry about it.