Vaccine reaction, horrible scare!
 

The other day was a terrible day here. Thankfully, all turned out okay and everyone is fine.

Hot Rod was due for his Lyme vaccine and bortadella. Off to the vet we went and everything went well. He was check out and over and was all good.

About 1/2 hour after we got home, I noticed he wasn't himself. I thought that maybe he was a bit scared as my neighbor was getting her grass cut and the noise was really loud as I had my windows and slider open. I picked him up and he was trembling--then thought he was cold due to all the open windows.

Called the vet and asked how he should be from his shot and they said he shouldn't be having any reaction and to bring him back up right away. Vet checked him over and blood sugar and he was fine; told me that if he's still not right--throws up, diarheria, or just not acting normal, call. Well, I just got seated in the car and hadn't even closed the door yet and he threw up. Back inside and they immediately gave him benadryl and a steriod shot. Was told that he'd be a bit sleepy and to watch for any signs as mentioned before.

Well, got about 1/4 mile from home and he threw up big time, called vet and made a u-turn and headed back in. He was admitted and given sub q fluids. I was okay until the vet tech turned around with him. I started to cry and ran out of the office.

They kept him for several hours for observation, if he continued to throw up, he would have to stay and have iv fluids, if he didn't throw up again and was responsive he would be able to come home. All in all, he was never lethargic or whacked out so I wasn't exactly in full panic mode, just 3/4. Fortunately he didn't throw up again and he was alert pretty much the whole time he was there. He was so happy to be back with mommy and me, him. It was a very long, long afternoon.

Hot Rod has had this vaccine before and has never had any reaction. The vet and I think that it could have been a couple of things but I'm leaning towards the fact that he had an empty stomach. He had only eaten once the day before as I was gone from 8:30 am to 9:00 pm and then he had not eaten his breakfast by his vet appt.

Just watch your babies after any type of shot, I was just so glad that I was home with him. I will now make sure that I'm able to be with them after any type of vet appt so I can keep an eye on them especially after any shots or treatments. I'm just so happy all turned out okay.:) Hug your babies and get to know their little quirks and body language so you can tell if something is just not right.

Poor Hot Rod, glad he is ok!!

(RileyDC) Theresa's baby Riley just had a horrible reaction too!! Man what is going on, Peanut is due and I am now nervous to inject anything in him!!

Thanks, Hot Rod is due for his annual checkup in Nov. I'm really scared to have him get his other shots now. Will really need to keep an eye on him. I didn't know that about Riley, I'm going to see what vaccine he had. It's really suggested that we have the Lyme vaccine as I'm in a wooded, rualish area. I wish I didn't have to worry about it...would be less chemicals in them. :(

How scary!! I'm so glad that you were there to observe Hot Rod's behavior and used your momma instincts to know that he wasn't alright. Thanks for the warning... Couver just got his distemper/parvo shot and luckily didn't have a reaction, but I was worried about him.

Peanut always gets the bendadryl shot before he gets his vax's- I will drop him off in the morning so they can give the shot and then his vax's, then he is there if anything should happen.. It always seems to be ok when I do it like that- He has had one bad reaction and after that scare I will always do the bendadryl!!

Would you consider doing the bendadryl shot before?

I believe Riley have the distemper/corona/ parvo- The poor baby had hives all over his tummy! It was pretty bad.

Very scary :(

We live in Lyme country here.....90% of dogs test positive and people too.
I still don't give the lyme vaccine, and I've heard of at least three dogs who contracted lyme while on the vaccine so I'm not convinced it's effective anyway. Risks seem to outweigh benefits IMO.

Bordatella, I stopped that one after Barney got KC on two occasions despite vax. Why bother?

I hope your little one is ok. Hugs.

That sounds incredibly stressful...it's terrible seeing our babies experiencing any kind of discomfort or negative reaction. I hope your little Hot Rod is back to normal and doing well now

Wow, I never knew about how ineffective the lyme vaccine is. We don't do lyme or lepto here...

So glad Couver did well with his shots. I always get nervous with any type of treatments, now I'm definitely going to be extra cautious. Hot Rod has his coming up in Nov, defintely going to talk with vet prior to vaccines now that he's had a reaction to one.

I just caught up on Riley's thread, how awful. Thank goodness HR's reaction was not so severe. I would have really been in panic mode then.

Yes, I'm going to speak with the vet about the benadryl. I've read about this before but never had any problems with any shots. I guess it only takes one time.

very scary glad all is ok now

I think that is so strange both Hot Rod and Riley have had them before and nothing happened, then all of a sudden they have a reaction..?? Doesn't make sense to me... Very Strange!! Thankful you were at home when that happened- Poor baby!

Reactions (if they get one) to vaccines get WORSE, not better! Make sure Hot Rod gets them done separately. Lyme, then Bordetella few days afterward. If they get any combination of shots, it's hard to pin point which caused the reaction. To be on the safe side, they can give him benadryl or an aniti-inflammatory shot beforehand. Do they do titers for lyme? Vaccine reactions are scary!

Evidence Based Vet Forum • View topic - client informed consent lyme information
Lymes vaccination in pets has been shown to have side efffects including those that can be fatal that have been associated with a clinical infection of the disease.

It seems we are seeing more and more vaccine reactions....I am really concerned about this...I have used Pro-Gard-5 for years and never had one incident. Now the drug company that makes Pro-Gard has merged with another company, and they have produced a new vaccine to replace the Pro-Gard-5. There have been a couple vets that have said their incidents of vaccine reactions have increased since switching to this new vaccine....I am wondering what vaccine pets on this forum, that have had reactions, especially those that have never had reactions before, if they are getting this "new" vaccine? I have contacted the drug company about this....of course, "there is nothing to report as far as adverse reactions to this vaccine", and I was curtly corrected that this vaccine is "NOT new, it is the same as the old Pro-Gard-5". I consulted my vet and she advised me to steer clear of Ft. Dodge products....she gave me the name of the vaccines they use and I will be going with those, as she said there have been no imcrease in reactions...they have very few reactions. The "new" vaccine that replaced Pro-Gard-5 is Nobivac Canine 1-DAPPv.....it would be interesting to see if all these reactions are related to this vaccine....my vet has suggested I give Vanguard Plus 5.

Im glad Hot Rod is okay now what a scare. It seems we are hearing alot of vaccine reactions all of a sudden its really alarming

Wow, I thought that we were in the thick of lyme country. We been doing the lyme vaccine and have never had an issue nor tested positive. In my neighborhood (14 homes) 6 families have tested positive for lyme, some with several members in the family. One time I had over 2 dozen deer ticks on me after working in the garden under tall grasses...never again! I have been tested 3x due to things like this and thankfully have come back negative. So in our case the lyme prevention has been effective. As for bortadella, we've been fortunate with that as well--they go to the groomers to get their nails and glands done.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Thanks for the link, Jenny. When we first discussed the lyme vaccine with our first vet, she did tell us that it was not an all in all preventative. Taking into account of where we lived we opted to vaccinate. In light of HR's reacation, I'm definitely going to discuss it with the vet concerning next year's treatment-if any. Not sure if they do titers for lyme.

It's just so hard to decide on what is the best thing to do. I've been using lemon grass oil, as a natural remedy for fleas, in their bath. I can't say definitively that this has been what's kept fleas away but I can say we've not had any problems with fleas.

Do you use any other preventative for fleas & ticks? I know frontline plus doesn't work for some w/flea problems but wonder if it'll help w/the ticks? They do have natural tick repellant recipes online, but I do not know of it's effectiveness or if it's 100% safe for the fur butts.

We use Frontline Plus, once a month. I use the lemongrass oil at each bath-every 2 weeks. Not sure if we have any type of flea problem, but at least the lemongrass oil smells good too.

So glad Hot Rod is OK. Macy had a bad reaction to a Lepto shot. About 4 hours after the shot she started trembling badly and out of it. Everything turned out OK for her but now I schedule all shots for the first appointment in the day on a day when the vet's office is open until 8 P and I can stay home with her. He said she may do OK on one shot and the next time she has a reaction.

Where do you get the lemon grass oil & how much do you use in their bath? I also use frontline plus & have not seen any fleas or signs of them lately but would like to use something natural...

Glad to hear that he is ok.

Glad little Hot Rod is doing okay now... that was scary!

Very scary. Glad he is better now.

Every petlovers's fear - vax reaction. We're not doing Lyme but we did just do Bordetella in the summer and now I read this, so glad that's over. So glad you got Hot Rod right in(over & over!) and he didn't go into respiratory distress, seizures. Thankfully you acted to get him to the vet. Hope he's good to go for a while and nothing else is needed in the way of a vax for a while.

Another problem with vaccines is the dosages. They give the same amount for a 50 lb dog as they do a 5 lb dog. I had a lady who works a lot with dog rescues tell me that most vaccines aren't necessary and could even be harmful. More and more studies are showing that.

It really is a very hard decision to make on what is best for our loves.

I'm so glad Hot Rod is ok now!

I also don't do lyme or lepto - I lost a dog to a combo shot, a 12 week old show potential Italian Greyhound puppy :( Never looked at vaccines the same again!!! I do what others mentioned, and always have them do a benedryl shot prior to ANY vaccines. If I get a puppy, I only do 3 sets max of puppy shots, if I get a say in it I don't have the first given until 10 weeks, do one more at 14 weeks, and send in titers at 18 weeks, so far never have done anything past that. Alot of studies are showing shots done before 10 weeks have little to no affect since there's still circulating antibodies from the mom for a few weeks after they're compeletly weaned. I then titer test at a year, and if titers are high, I don't vaccinate again, and check every 1-3 years. Rabies I follow the law, but if my dogs get ANY chronic health issues, I start titer testing for rabies, to, and where I live they'll accept that with a note from the vet as to why they feel the dog shouldn't be vaccinated. Vaccines are far from harmless, I won't do them past puppyhood unless titers are low.

I had considered getting the lyme disease vaccine for Gracie last year with the ticks being so bad. I read so many negative things about it that I decided not to go through with it.

An allergic reaction will never happen the first time a body receives a dose of the antigen. It is the second or even third dose that brings on the reaction, after the body has already set up a defense against the substance.

While an allergic reaction can happen in the body when exposed to about any substance and at any time there are some substances that are more prone to elicit a reaction.

If you decide to have these vaccines again you might want to consider staying at the vet's office for at least 45 minutes after they are given just to make sure there is not another reaction.

I have heard of WAY more vaccine reactions than before lately!! My friends Doberman just died from the lyme shot.

I think vaccinations are very important... but to give them year after year, and even every 3 years is just so unnecessary! I don't do any of those "extras" for Jackson, as they don't cover all strains anyways. We won't be doing any more shots except rabies as required by law. Titers here on out to check for immunity.

I am soooo glad Hot Rod is okay. Poor little man. :(

Check out some of these semi-recent threads that have a lot of info regarding vaccine facts, etc.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...light=vaccines

Dogs Naturally Magazine Bordetella Vaccination for Dogs: Fraud and Fallacy

I am so sorry that sounds really scary. I am glad he is ok now.