Vaccine reaction? advice please

[MPlayman]

I need to have Layla fixed and the vet would not do it unless she had a rabies vaccination which I was not going to do. So we took her in on Moday (last week) and she get shot. We watch her close and she seems fine. Last night she is more tired then normal. I pick her up so I can go potty and she screams! So I freak and start looking for reasons why. Wake my husband and see go over her. She has nothing noticable except a quarter size swelling on her neck. She is set to be spayed on Friday this week.

Do you think this is from the shot? Its the correct area. Why now?

Thanks to all in advance.
Paula

[My Sophia]

I've heard of this happening many times with the rabies vacc. Soph had it last time she got hers too. Very very tender but after a week or so the knot was gone and she was OK. We just had to be very careful about picking her up and letting her jump around on the furniture. Soph's knot was more in the shoulder area, not her neck, though. Give your vet a call in the morning and let him/her know what's going on.

[ArmaniMan]

None of mine have ever gotten Rabies or any other vaccine in their neck... did you watch where the vet injected? I did have one dog get a reaction to a rabies vaccine once that presented as a swollen area at the injection site but it was further down then their neck.

I would get her into the vet tomorrow and see what the swelling is from and they will also be able to tell you whether you can go ahead with the spay or not.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

None of mine have ever gotten Rabies or any other vaccine in their neck... did you watch where the vet injected? I did have one dog get a reaction to a rabies vaccine once that presented as a swollen area at the injection site but it was further down then their neck.

I would get her into the vet tomorrow and see what the swelling is from and they will also be able to tell you whether you can go ahead with the spay or not.

I have never heard of that either...rabies is usually given in the right hind leg.

Was there another shot perhaps?

I would definitely have the vet check it out.

[jp4m2]

Sorry your Layla is having adverse reaction with this vaccine.....Sadly this is quite common ......

According to the Center for Veterinary Biologics stated: Between 4/2004 through 3/2007 there were 10,000 reports concerning adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine, of those, 65% where for dogs. Taking into account that there is a serious underreporting of adverse reactions, amounting to only about 1%. If 65% of the 10,000 reported cases amounted to only 1% reported then the real figure for adverse reactions would be closer to 650,000 cases!
Adverse reactions: vomiting, facial swelling, injection site swelling or lump, lethargy, urticaria, injection site pain, pruritis, injection site hair loss, diarrhea, lameness, hypersensitivity, anaphylaxis, death.


As rabies vaccines are known to elicit severe and even fatal adverse reactions, and are among the strongest vaccines antigenically and contain potent adjuvants to bolster their immunologic effect, giving them more often than truly needed is unwise, unnecessary, and can be unsafe,“ -Dr. Dodds.


I'm not sure if two weeks is enough time to have surgery scheduled after a such a strong vaccine is given. Three to four weeks might be safer, at two weeks the immune system is still processing the vaccine.....Just something to think about......


This is a quote from Dr. Bob Rogers, a vet that has been studying overvaccination for several decades....

We should not give vaccines two weeks apart. At the two week interval the immune system is at its peak response. Lots of non-specific inflammatory agents are stirred up. If we give another vaccine two weeks later we are more likely to get an adverse reaction and less likely to get a good immune response. Vaccines should be administered three or four weeks apart. An even longer interval will work just as well. IF A CLIENT IS LATE FOR A VACCINE IN THE INITIAL SERIES, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO START OVER.
(Home) (Dr. Rogers)

[dwerten]

Great post - I agree

Originally Posted by jp4m2

I'm not sure if two weeks is enough time to have surgery scheduled after a such a strong vaccine is given. Three to four weeks might be safer, at two weeks the immune system is still processing the vaccine.....Just something to think about......

(Home) (Dr. Rogers)[/I]

[MPlayman]

Called the Vet. They said we will give her a shot to prevent her from reacting to the shot next time. Seems like a double wammy to me!

Layla seems better today. Still sore and sleepy but wanted to play (bit my feet) just now. Her ears are cold so I put on a little sweater. She ate her chicken for lunch.

Her eyes are less goopy. I think we are on the upswing. If she is not better tomorrow she will go to vet.

What do you guys think about getting her fixed Friday? Should I wait a week?

Thanks

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by MPlayman

Called the Vet. They said we will give her a shot to prevent her from reacting to the shot next time. Seems like a double wammy to me!

Layla seems better today. Still sore and sleepy but wanted to play (bit my feet) just now. Her ears are cold so I put on a little sweater. She ate her chicken for lunch.

Her eyes are less goopy. I think we are on the upswing. If she is not better tomorrow she will go to vet.

What do you guys think about getting her fixed Friday? Should I wait a week?

Thanks

Please read up on vaccinations

read this thread

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/mem...5s-pain-5.html

has your pup finished all puppy shots?

Please educate yourself on vaccinations and separating them out and current protocol. There is a lot of information on here in regards to it so you can make informed decisions for your pup especially since your pup is reacting in this way.

i personally would wait like the poster stated below

how old is your pup?

[dwerten]

what did they say about the neck and did they give the shot in the neck?

[kalina82]

it is VERY uncommon for the rabies vaccine to be given in the scruff of the neck. It is supposed to be given in the right hind leg, as far down as they can get it. The rabies vaccine is the mostly likely to cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site and this mostly happens in cats. Its also most likely to cause any other reactions ranging from milk to severe. Because it can be highly reactive it is given in the same spot on every patient (dogs and cats) so if there is a localized problem from a vaccine the vet can tell which vaccine is the culprit.

Its odd also that it took a week for your dog to have a reaction. pain at the injection site usually happens within a day of the vaccine as well as the little lump and is gone in a week or so.

It is also mandatory by law in most states to get the rabies vaccine unless you have a written statement by your vet that your pet cannot get the vaccine due to an illness or severe reaction.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by kalina82

it is VERY uncommon for the rabies vaccine to be given in the scruff of the neck. It is supposed to be given in the right hind leg, as far down as they can get it. The rabies vaccine is the mostly likely to cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site and this mostly happens in cats. Its also most likely to cause any other reactions ranging from milk to severe. Because it can be highly reactive it is given in the same spot on every patient (dogs and cats) so if there is a localized problem from a vaccine the vet can tell which vaccine is the culprit.

Its odd also that it took a week for your dog to have a reaction. pain at the injection site usually happens within a day of the vaccine as well as the little lump and is gone in a week or so.

It is also mandatory by law in most states to get the rabies vaccine unless you have a written statement by your vet that your pet cannot get the vaccine due to an illness or severe reaction.

have you heard of dogs getting cancer in that spot as i know you were in the vet profession prior to grooming so just curious if you have heard of this as my friends cocker just finished chemo therapy on her dog that is 7. He had cancer on the spot where rabies is given and vet removed it then it came back immediately afterwards and her dog had to go through chemo costing her 30k so just curious what you have heard about this and if this was a coincidence or if this happens to dogs?

Also why do vets get rabies titers after completing their series of shots but they do not accept rabies titers in dogs?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by kalina82

it is VERY uncommon for the rabies vaccine to be given in the scruff of the neck. It is supposed to be given in the right hind leg, as far down as they can get it. The rabies vaccine is the mostly likely to cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site and this mostly happens in cats. Its also most likely to cause any other reactions ranging from milk to severe. Because it can be highly reactive it is given in the same spot on every patient (dogs and cats) so if there is a localized problem from a vaccine the vet can tell which vaccine is the culprit.

Its odd also that it took a week for your dog to have a reaction. pain at the injection site usually happens within a day of the vaccine as well as the little lump and is gone in a week or so.

It is also mandatory by law in most states to get the rabies vaccine unless you have a written statement by your vet that your pet cannot get the vaccine due to an illness or severe reaction.

is the reason they give it far down so they can amputate the leg if the dog gets cancer and the owner cannot afford chemo?

[MPlayman]

Layla is 8.5 months old. she is 3.6 pounds.

We wanted to wait until she was 4 pounds to have her spayed. She came into heat at 8 month. I called several vets to find one that did allot of spays on very small dogs. This one came highly recommended. Here they will not spay her unless she has a rabies vaccine. So they wanted to give her it when they spay her and I said no I wanted it split up.

We took her in Monday (last week). (This was not something I wanted but what choice do I have if I want her fixed?)

So Yes she is done "Puppy" shots.
They gave her the shot in the right shoulder/neck area. This is where the lump is also. She only had the one shot. (I do not like to vaccine and feel most are not needed)

From what I have read, dogs can have reactions months after the shot. We have been watching her very close for any reaction and thought we were good. But Saturday night she was just screaming when I picked her up.

It was heart breaking to here my baby scream and not know what was wrong.
The Vets are on a "wait a day or two and see".

I am scared to get her fixed now and scared not to.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by MPlayman

Layla is 8.5 months old. she is 3.6 pounds.

We wanted to wait until she was 4 pounds to have her spayed. She came into heat at 8 month. I called several vets to find one that did allot of spays on very small dogs. This one came highly recommended. Here they will not spay her unless she has a rabies vaccine. So they wanted to give her it when they spay her and I said no I wanted it split up.

We took her in Monday (last week). (This was not something I wanted but what choice do I have if I want her fixed?)

So Yes she is done "Puppy" shots.
They gave her the shot in the right shoulder/neck area. This is where the lump is also. She only had the one shot. (I do not like to vaccine and feel most are not needed)

From what I have read, dogs can have reactions months after the shot. We have been watching her very close for any reaction and thought we were good. But Saturday night she was just screaming when I picked her up.

It was heart breaking to here my baby scream and not know what was wrong.
The Vets are on a "wait a day or two and see".

I am scared to get her fixed now and scared not to.

hmmm so already went into heat - maybe others can give more info on that as my dd was spay at 8 months before her first heat barely as i held off from 6 months as she was itching so much after all her puppy shots were completed but none of mine ever had a reaction like you are describing to their rabies but i have heard of others having this on here. I hope others can explain where vaccine was given as I learned that on here that it was given in the spot they stated below after my friends dog got cancer i asked that question on here and was sad.

You are correct over vaccinating can cause health issues in dogs and reactions - some are epilepsy and immune diseases like allergies, etc. These are the things that happen after the 30 days and such.

I hope others can give you more insight on this as I always want to learn more about this as well.

You do have to make sure they have the puppy shots, rabies every 3 years and one year booster as you want your baby protected. You can then titer for dhpp after the one year booster if you are comfortable with titering.

I hope your baby is ok soon

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by dwerten

have you heard of dogs getting cancer in that spot as i know you were in the vet profession prior to grooming so just curious if you have heard of this as my friends cocker just finished chemo therapy on her dog that is 7. He had cancer on the spot where rabies is given and vet removed it then it came back immediately afterwards and her dog had to go through chemo costing her 30k so just curious what you have heard about this and if this was a coincidence or if this happens to dogs?

Also why do vets get rabies titers after completing their series of shots but they do not accept rabies titers in dogs?

yes dogs can get fibrosarcoma from it too but its less common in dogs then it is in cats. i don't know anything about the titers.

Originally Posted by dwerten

is the reason they give it far down so they can amputate the leg if the dog gets cancer and the owner cannot afford chemo?

Its given as far down the leg as possible so the leg can be amputated to prevent mets. From what i saw the leg was amputated and then chemo was done, but then again i worked in the surgical department so i cannot tell you about the chemo only patients. do you know what type of cancer your friends cocker has?