Problem from rabies vaccination...

[TatumsMom]

Tatum (and the 2 Aussies) got their rabies vacc. and blood draw for heartworm check on Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, Tatum was just not herself. She was all hunched up and favoring one of her legs. We originally thought the problem was with the blood draw area. We gave her baby aspirin in the morning and then again last night but she was still SO miserable. I called and talked to the vet last night and he wanted to see her this morning if she wasn't back to her spunky self when she woke up. Made up my mind during the night to go ahead and take her in because she whimpered every time someone moved in the bed. OF COURSE she was walking a bit better by the time my husband dropped her off at the vet and but the vet did say she needed some medical attention. He gave her an antibiotic for "just in case the injection site got an infection" and an anti-inflammatory to take instead of the baby aspirin. She did have a very low grade fever (102.9) which could have been from the anxiety or a possible infection (but I doubt that last part). He fully expects her to be back to normal within a couple days.

My thing is... I completely understand that sometimes a vaccination injection can get sore but he was sure to cover his butt by saying "well, she could have twisted her neck wrong and pulled a muscle.... or maybe, just maybe is having a reaction to the rabies injection". Oh really??? She was perfectly fine before the injection. I really love this vet and have been going there for over 20 years - usually see the older original vet but he now has a partner also that we see sometimes (including this time) but why not just admit to the fact that the shot you administered may have hit a muscle or something and is causing the pain? He did look at the blood draw site and it was perfectly fine so the pain is coming down from the injection site.

Anyway, just wanted to vent a little..... Gonna go pick her up in a little while and have some serious cuddle time this weekend. All she wanted to do last night was lay her head on my shoulder and sigh. We even went to sleep that way last night. Poor baby.

[Ellie May]

Vets like to do that sometimes (differential diagnoses when it had to have been a vaccine reaction). Happened with Ellie too except I didn't like the vet.

Rabies is given in a muscle. Lethargy and soreness are normal, but that was obviously extreme.

[Patti]

I hope she is feeling better today when you pick her up.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Vets like to do that sometimes (differential diagnoses when it had to have been a vaccine reaction). Happened with Ellie too except I didn't like the vet.

Rabies is given in a muscle. Lethargy and soreness are normal, but that was obviously extreme.

Like I said, I love the original vet and try to see him whenever possible. The younger guy likes to try to overexplain stuff - probably in the hopes that you'll zone out after hearing him talk enough and not question any of what he said. Still, he's great too..... it just irked me a little that he couldn't just come right out and say what it obviously was. A little Cover Your Own Butt was all he could spout. It's not like I would have blamed him. It could happen any time. Just admit it already and stop trying to blame my poor dog for possibly hurting herself.

[Ellie May]

For Ellie it was collapse and unresponsiveness 1/2 hour after a whole bunch of vaccines were given. Then I read in the notes later, "Possible vaccine reaction."

Are they going to pre-med next time?

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

For Ellie it was collapse and unresponsiveness 1/2 hour after a whole bunch of vaccines were given. Then I read in the notes later, "Possible vaccine reaction."

Are they going to pre-med next time?

This wasn't really an issue to "pre-med" for, I don't think. We used to have a toy poodle that had issues with vaccines and he had to be pre-med before them. Tatum's problem was just major soreness at the injection site (around her neck and down her leg). I picked her up a little while ago and she's a little bit slow still to walk around but is definitely feeling much better. I think if we had waited it out another day, we would have been fine. Just didn't want to have to make a trip to the vet on the weekend. He gave her some Metacam which is supposedly better for her than the baby aspirin. It will come in handy later if she needs any minor pain relief for other issues.

[yorkieusa]

Angie, I was wondering if you could titer next time and maybe avoid the rabies. I know I quit getting rabies for Muffin when she got older. I was just so afraid of it.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

Angie, I was wondering if you could titer next time and maybe avoid the rabies. I know I quit getting rabies for Muffin when she got older. I was just so afraid of it.

I wish! Our county is considered high-risk plus we live in the country with lots of outdoor critters. We even have to get the dreaded lepto that so many people are against on this board. Luckily none of the dogs (and the two outdoor cats that get rabies vaccs too) have ever had a reaction to the actual vaccines. The problem Tatum had was probably just due to the needle hitting the wrong spot but it's only happened this one time. She's feeling almost 100% this morning. Probably won't need the metacam by tomorrow.

I've talked to our vet many times about the vaccine protocols and he's adamant that given where we live and the kind of lifestyle that we live, all shots are necessary for us. And I trust that he's making that decision based on how well he knows us and cares for our babies - not the $$. Better to be safe than sorry.

[yorkieusa]

Well, if it was just strictly soreness, then that's a different story.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

Well, if it was just strictly soreness, then that's a different story.

Yes, and if I could have waited one more day to see if she felt better on her own, I would have. But since she had a low grade fever, the vet really wanted to see her before the weekend. They ended up not charging me for a vet visit, just the meds. She's all good now!

[chachi]

My Jewels had a reaction like that to the rabies before but she hasnt had any more since then. Im sorry you had such a time