Shot Reaction in Dogs

[Aggie_Ama]

Jens had his 9 week shots Wednesday and reacted to them. His eyes and cheeks became swollen, he had a lot of tenderness and pain at the injection site due to swelling. We gave him 4mg of Benedryl and were able to control it without vet care needed. The reaction started 2 hours after the shots and the vet was closed, I didn't want to take him to Doggie ER. The vet said it was actually considered a mild reaction but he will need to be treated with an additional shot (I think antihistamine) prior to receiving any shots.

Anyone have experience with this? Is it like bee stings in humans where the reactions tend to get worse? Is it a much higher cost I need to be prepared for the rest of his life? Mild on the vet scale was still scary for us!

[Tri Girl]

Poor little Jens.
Our little cocker spaniel, Cookie, had reactions to her vaccinations. The first time it happened her cheeks got so swollen that her snout was easily three times bigger than it normally was (she kept trying to lick her lips but her tongue couldn't touch her lips).
We didn't know/realize what it was, so we took her to the emergency vet. They gave her an antihistamine shot and she was fine. It scared the bejeebers out of us, tho!!! From then on, the vet would give her an antihistamine shot before her vaccinations and we had no other trouble. Once they knew she had a reaction, they just prepared for it and we had no other trouble the rest of her life (she lived to be 16 and this happened right after we adopted her at age 3).

I know every dog is different, but hopefully it won't be a big deal for Jens, either

[Grits]

My dog had a reaction to the leptospirosis (sp?) vaccination. She was in pain and actually seemed to have a small seizure. Scared me to death! We called the vet who told us to give her benadryl, and she was fine after that. Now we give her benadryl 45 minutes before she receives her vaccinations and have never had a problem. She does not get the additional shot.

[westtexas]

Poor Jens!

Vaccine reactions are actually fairly common in dogs, so you're definitely not alone. Basically from now on, your vet will probably give him a little bit of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) either mixed in with the shot or about 20 minutes prior to giving the shots and then have you give Bendaryl at home later. Luckily it's very easily treatable. One thing to consider is that once he's got all his puppy shots, his 6-month parvo booster and his first set of "adult" vaccines at one year - it may be worth it to run titers. The vaccines we have for Parvo and Distemper are very good and if your pup has a normal immune system, he may not have to be vaccinated yearly to stay protected. It's definitely something to talk about with your veterinarian. His reaction to the vaccines shouldn't worsen with age, but just so he doesn't have to have his face swollen up, it might be worth the extra cost.

HTH.

[snapdragen]

Yes, Chloe had a bad reaction to her DHLP vaccine. She could barely walk, seemed to be in pain. The vet gave her a diphenhydramine shot, she spent the day at the vets. After that, when it was time for boosters, she'd have to spend the day under observation.

Now she gets a three year shot, doesn't have the reaction caused by the one year shots.

[Aggie_Ama]

So glad to hear so many of you have a been there and it isn't that big a deal! I am not worried about having to pay for the extra precaution as much as will it get into a bigger issue. He has to be groomed so not getting shots isn't an option (I read some vets end up thinking this is safer). We were also a bit nervous because he has shots in three weeks and they think he might be ready for the rabies vaccine which I found a lot of reports of reactions with it.

He already did not enjoy his first vet visit at all, in fact my vet felt he has a relatively low pain tolerance. I just felt so bad for my poor little Jens! Our other schnauzers (Heidi and Maggie we lost in 09) have always been awesome at the vet. Not used to a whining, scared little guy, I don't want him to be even more frightened to see the doctor.

[makbike]

Your vet should premedicate given Jens's reaction to the vaccine. You can also ask your vet to split vaccines - that is give distemper/parvo at one visit and give the rabies vaccine 2 -3 weeks later.

[Brandi]

My cat Aki, the one in my avatar pic got a Leukemia vac when she was a kitten a year after having her first series. She had had no problem when she first had it but this 3rd shot she couldn't walk that night and was in massive pain all night. She cried. and her leg was swollen. Took her to the vet very next morning (we have an emergency vet but it is over an hour away). They said it was from the shot. They don't give it to her now. But she is not a fighter so I am not worried. But I was scared to ever give her that shot again. Dogs must be different? They haave never offered to give her and allergy med prior.

[emily_in_nc]

My dog had a reaction to the leptospirosis (sp?) vaccination. She was in pain and actually seemed to have a small seizure. Scared me to death! We called the vet who told us to give her benadryl, and she was fine after that. Now we give her benadryl 45 minutes before she receives her vaccinations and have never had a problem. She does not get the additional shot.

This is scary. Paisley has to have the lepto vaccine to go into Belize. It's not REQUIRED but is strongly recommended, and lepto is a horrible disease, so our vet also recommends she get it. However, she did warn me about possible side effects. I am going to ask her about giving a benadryl prior to the shot.

Hope your dog is all better now! I am going to be a nervous nelly when time for this vaccine rolls around (late July).