Just a follow up to this, in case someone else is in the same boat. As Catt said, Golden Arrow have been really helpful (and we haven't even engaged them yet
).
- Timing. As Kiwi indicated, it seems the best source of definitive info is the datasheet of the product used (in our case, the Canigen Rabies sheet says 3 weeks is ideal).
- Testing. Whoever your vet sends the titre test to, it should end up with AHVLA or Biobest Labs, who are both acceptable to the NZ government.
- Doubling up. Golden Arrow say: "Sadly not all pets will pass the Rabies blood test. In an attempt to overcome this problem, some vets will vaccinate twice - 2 weeks apart - rather than once, before taking the blood." After speaking to GA, it seems they aren't aware of a downside to this (other than cost).
The Canigen Rabies datasheet says this: "Experience has shown that a proportion of vaccinated animals, while protected, may not show the 0.5 I.U. antibody titre on blood testing required [by the PETS scheme, although they point out that that requirement is no longer applicable as of 1 Jan 2012 for the PETS scheme, which is presumably why NZ now want UK dogs to be rabies vaccinated]. Veterinary surgeons may wish to consider two vaccinations, particularly in young, naive animals. Blood sampling for antibody titres should ideally be carried out three weeks after the last vaccine injection."