Originally Posted by SRD (Post 2438187)

Shorty just got vaccined this morning, and she started having allergic reactions at dinner time, half of her face is all swellen, both of her ears, her eyes are really red, and Shorty was itching like crazy.
so I took her to the ER, and they gave her a shot of benedryl and a dose of steroids. and they told me to pick up some children's benedryl and give it to her for three days starting tomorrow, and they seemed to think that Im overreacting:eek:
after we got home, while the swellen and redness are visibly reduced, she still seems to be very uncomfortable due to itching. Im wondering, is that alright, I thought that after the treatment she should feel better right away:confused:
she is digging into all her toys as she is so itchy, my poor baby:(

Originally Posted by PiperPuppy (Post 2438453)

I had something very similar happen when Piper had her 2nd rabies shot. (she had the first at the breeders). Fortunately the vet was open still when she started having problems and they told me to try Benadryl right away. I gave her that and then brought her in as well. They then gave her a steroid shot. She recovered, but it was quite scary. I don't think you overreacted at all. My vet never made me feel like I was being silly for worrying about my dog.
It's been a year and Piper just had one more round of vacinations. This time the vet was very careful and gave her benadryl and a steroid BEFORE the shots. Then we waited 20 minutes before he gave her any shots. Then we waited 30 minutes before leaving the office...just to make sure she was fine. It cost a good 30 dollars more to pre-treat...and was worth every penny. She had no reaction at all this time because her little body was ready for the shots. She was just really, really tired. I would advise anyone who is worried about this sort of thing to talk to their vet about pre-treating. It seemed to do the trick for Piper.
The vet said that a lot of times when a dog has a reaction to something like a vaccine, the first time is kind of a warning sign and the second reaction is much, much worse.
Please be careful and find a vet that understands about pretreating for reactions.
I'm so glad Shorty is okay.

Originally Posted by lreed (Post 2438526)

If Shorty keeps "digging" at herself she'll probably cause sores with bleeding. Before that happens try putting her in a snug fitting sock. Our vet told me about it after Rocky had a particularly nasty reaction. Take a man's large white tube sock and cut off the toe. Holding it by the top cut slits where you think the front legs will be. Then slip it over the head, sock top last, easying it over the body, down to it's tail end. Turn back the top to make it a "turtle-neck" top. It fits snug and doesn't let air get to the skin, and thus eases the itching. Good Luck with your problem! :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa

Originally Posted by Belinda68 (Post 2438952)

I took my babies Kramer & Kozmo on Friday afternoon for their big boy boosters. Kramer had a reaction about 30 minutes after. Same symptoms.
His face swelled up & he started wheezing, his ears turned red & got little whelps. I rushed him back to the vet & they used the same protocal & had me pick up children's benedryl. He was still uncomfortable for several hours. And, he was pretty lazy all day the next day. But, by yesterday morning he was his usual playful self. The odd thing is they told me it was very rare for this to happen and, I find you had the same thing happen this weekend.

Originally Posted by SRD (Post 2439054)

thanks again, everyone. you are always here for us when we need help!
Shorty is doing a lot better with the allergic reaction. she is just kinda lazy and sleepy right now and hasn't shown any sign of itching.
the only problem is, I gave her some children's benedryl this morning(2ml), and she started having diarrhea about 45 mins after, she did not eat anything before, so maybe she has a hard time digesting or the dose is too much for her?
I called her vet and she told me to cut the dose in half and give it to her in 8 hrs, and of course, watch her closely.