shot reactions
 

My 2 yr. old, 3.9 lb. yorkie got his rabies shot yesterday and had another reaction. When he got his 2 yr. shots a few months ago, he began shaking and ran a fever, and was lethargic for at least two days. Now he's having hte same reaction to the rabies shots. I am appalled that they give the same dosage to my little guy as they did to my 103 lb. german shepherd. Has anyone looked into this? My vet told me it's a law that they have to have the recommended dosage to be in compliance with PA law, but the same dosage for a 3 lb. and 103 lb. dog makes no sense to me. HELP. If anyone has looked into this, I would appreciate any feedback. I don't want to loose him and don't want to get him vaccinated again!:confused:

I am so sorry that happened. Jewels had a slight reaction to the rabies but nothing like your pup. Even though getting the shot is the law I thought the vet could give you a waver if your dog had extreme reaction.

In my opinion, your dog has all the shots he will ever need. New research is showing lifelong immunities after the 1 year and 4 month booster for annual vaccines. Your vet can perform a titer test that shows if he has immunity against rabies and parvo, etc. Some cities (and some boarding facilities) will allow you to show proof of the titer test, rather than receiving the actual vaccine.

what is a titier test?

MaryKay

Unfortunately Buddy's daycare requires certain vaccinations, thankfully the vet agreed to give a smaller dose to him. Not sure if that helps though...
I hope your little one is feeling better!

My dogs have never had a reaction to any shots. I think their rabies shots are good for three years.

I talked with my vet a little about this. His attitude is that certain diseases, rabies, for example, is especially bad and is almost always fatal (plus rabies can be transmitted to humans). So - he believes in being more aggressive with this vaccination. (Plus, it is almost always required.....)

He said there are a lot of factors involved regarding whether, when, or how often to vaccinate dogs.

1) Is the disease, you are trying to prevent an especially bad (fatal) one?
2) Is the disease prevelant in your area?
3) Is your dog around an outside dog, around other animals often, etc.

So - shots that might be recommended in one area for one dog - might be considered not important in another area for another dog.

But - Rabies vaccines are always necessary. They might be given oftener in areas that have more cases of rabies - and less often in an area where they is rarely a case of rabies.

Anyway - this is only the tip of the iceberg. I don't want to be the one to make these decisions. So, I just let my vet be in charge of my dog's shots and when they need them. I follow their schedule.

Carol Jean

Here's a good article from 2003, but there are 1000s of them on the web. I stand corrected, it says a rabies is only good for 3 years and the other core vaccines about 7. There have been dogs who have died from the rabies vaccine We just had a post within the last month of one. Since your dog reacts so badly to the vaccine you have to weigh the pros and cons. So many of these Yorkies never even go outside to where they could even be exposed to rabies.

A titer test is simply a blood test that the vet can tell if the dog has antibodies (and how much) to protect against a certain disease.

Anyway, here's the article

Annual Dog Vaccines May Not be Necessary

Since the 1970s, the professor and chair of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine has been studying canine vaccines and has found that dogs are being over-vaccinated.

As a result, a group of canine vaccine experts has developed new veterinary guidelines that may eliminate the need to give annual shots to dogs.

Dogs receive up to 16 different vaccines each year, often combined into one shot. While four of the vaccines protect against serious diseases like rabies, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), the others protect against much milder diseases that a dog may or may not be exposed to, such as Lyme disease.

However, over-vaccination can result in side effects such as skin problems, allergic reactions and autoimmune disease. Moreover, tumors have been found at the site of vaccine injections in cats, though not dogs.

The adverse reactions caused by vaccines have caused many veterinarians to rethink the issue of vaccination.

Evidence suggests that like humans, dogs could be vaccinated with certain vaccines early in life and be protected for a lifetime, rather than receiving yearly doses.

Reportedly, with the exception of rabies, the core vaccines, which protect against life-threatening disease, could last for seven years and should not be given more frequently than every three years. Rabies shots have a three-year duration, according to research, and should be given every three years.

In terms of the non-core vaccines, many have a shorter duration and last about one year. But according to researchers not every dog should get these vaccines because only some dogs are at risk of exposure. These vaccines, such as the shot for Lyme disease, can cause adverse effects and should only be given if the dog is at significant risk, as is the case with all vaccines.

Many veterinarians rely on annual vaccines to bring in income, so the revised recommendations may create controversy. However, researchers note that annual visits are important for other reasons such as checking for heartworm and tumors. A recently developed test can be used to check dogs’ immunity against certain diseases rather than vaccinating them each year.

Additionally, researchers say that veterinarians who have switched to three-year vaccinations, as opposed to annual vaccinations, have not had seen an increase in dogs with diseases that could be prevented by vaccines. Further, giving an animal a vaccine that's not needed creates an unnecessary risk to the animal.

How's your baby doing?

Bonnie had her shots yesterday also, and last night was shaking and lethargic! Today she is a little bit better but not much :( It is very sad seeing her this way...The vet offered to do the 3 yr rabies shot, I told my husband I am very glad we didn't do that. I wonder would the reaction have been 3 times as bad:confused: They also gave her the same amount as they gave our 60 lb dog, which by the way seems fine. We also took the cat for her shots and she was throwing up last night! Makes you wonder about these things doesn't it??

Distemper shot today---shaking tonight
 

My dog turns one next week and I noticed after her canine distemper shot today that she is lethargic and is shaking tonight.....is this common for these types of dogs...she only weighs 4 pounds....she did eat dinner and is drinking water but it's sad to see her shaking when we hold her...:mad: I wish the vet had told me about this side effect!!!

Delsi, my 15 year old Chihuahua has not had a shot in many years and I will never get her any either. My Zada and Azrael have not had shots since their first initial puppy shots and I will wait till they are about 7 or 8 years old then have the titer test done.

http://dogs-cats-and-more.com/Vets_R...cinations.html

http://www.wholisticanimal.com/petvaccinations.html

http://www.canine=epilepsy-guardian-...techtiters.htm

re: vaccines
 

Hi,

Visit this group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TruthAboutVaccines/join, they get down to the nitty gritty details regarding the pros and cons of vaccinations.

layla had the exact same reaction... scared me to death... when we go again in march for her one year shots.. she will be getting them separately... over the course of two weeks.. and i'm going to talk to the vet about getting her vaccinated every 3 years or more.. i know she doens't need all the stuff they are putting into her.. if your vet doesnt' agree with this.. get another opinion.

:p Any vet I have been to has given my 3.5 & 4.0 lb. Yorkies from 1/2 to 2/3 of the full dose. My latest vet recommended the full dose and I pointed out their size and the "stories" I heard about over-dosing our small dogs on these vaccines and he agreed that it would be acceptable to give them 2/3 of the dose. Good luck...look into it, I don't let my dogs get a full dose :confused: after I read it could be dangerous.

I also got my dogs the 3 year vaccine and they are just fine...they don\'t give them the full dose, just 2/3 this time.:p