BAD Reaction to Lepto/Lyme shot

I wonder if, like parvo and distemper, they "last" much longer than one year?  Anyone know of stats for these two vaccs? 
 
I am definatly not one for ove-vaccinations.  But, you do bring up legitimate concerns.  I wonder if - if the above is true - if you could wait a few years between shots?
 
I also wonder if you could use a different brand next time.  The "carrier" product used can vary from one company to another.  I mentioned my boy dog having a bad reaction to the rabies shot when he was younger, and my vet suggested switching brands b/c she said that some companies "carriers" can make some dogs more ill.
 
I would also do what you suggested and titer him in the future. That was a really bad experience for you, and I know titering is more expensive, but I think definately worth it.  I think my titers for everthing (but rabies) was around $ 80 lus office visit.  But, that didn't include Lyme, I don't think. 

 Kim, I don't have any comments on Lepto and Lyme vacs but I wanted to say how sorry I am about the awful time Louie had and I'm glad he's okay now.

I had always heard that Lepto was the vaccine that caused all the problems. I argue with my vet over  it....he is trying to give it to Bubblegum.  I would not get the Lymes either BUT I am not in an area that I am worried about either. My vet said that Lepto is making its way closer to us,,,but either way, Bubby doesn't really go anyplace except  when she is with me,,,she doesn't go by creeks and water.
Lepto has many many strains and the vaccine does not cover all of them. ALSO I understand it only lasts for 6 months...so what is the point on a Lepto vaccine??    I haven't figured that out.
I guess the question is,,,is the risk worth it?  Not sure! Not for me! For sure not if my dog had a reaction like that!!!  Too bad you live where you have to worry about these illnesses.
Not sure if there is titers for these two illnesses, is there?
 
 
 

I guess Dyan is right .... I don't think it last as long.  After she said that, I remembered my titers came back great, except Lepto.  I didn't think much of it b/c I hadn't planned on giving it.  She also brought up a good point - Are there different strains?  So, if you get the shot, are you likely to get another strain of it???

Here is a website about vaccines...it explains about the Lepto vaccine, Lyme vaccine also.
[linkhttp://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=57]http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=57[/link]
 
Leptospirosis The bacterium Leptospirosis--found in infected mammal's urine or
urine-contaminated bodies of water--can penetrate skin or mucous membranes and invade
your or your pet's bloodstream. Its effects range from diarrhea to abortion to chronic renal
failure. The current vaccine can be given at the same time as distemper and adenovirus, but
some pets are allergic to the lepto vaccine, so lepto is available separately.

Unfortunately, the lepto vaccine doesn't protect against all strains of leptospirosis, and it
lasts only 6 to 8 months. If you have a high-risk dog--a dog that is exposed to marshy
areas, ponds, or heavily irrigated pastures--your veterinarian may recommend a
twice-a-year schedule. Remember, even though your dog is protected against some of the
common strains of lepto via the vaccine, it could still become infected with a different form.
 
My vet told me there is a new lepto vaccine out,,,but I think you would have to make sure that is what your vet is using. My dog pretty much stays with me, I don't let her drink puddles so I'm not getting it.  Lepto is also treatable...but since humans can also get it, its a scare, and a reason that the vets say to vaccinate against it.

If you live in a high risk area, then I would absolutely vaccinate your dog for lyme and lepto EXCEPT for the dog that is having the difficulties. Is the lyme/lepto vaccine the only one that he had?

You KNOW the dog will be sick if he gets the vaccine again, but there is only a slight risk that he will get the disease. I would leave the dog home if you go on camping trips etc because then his risk will skyrocket. Keep him on a good tick preventative and don't let him drink water from outside and you should be fine to not vaccinate him again.

I appreciate everyones input. We live on 23 acres and we have all the wildlife ...creeks...and ponds... Louie is a swimmer and loves to swim. If he sees the Ducks on the pond he dives in a swims after them.
 
We also hike the dogs at a local park that has alot of wild life. My dogs LOVE exercise and running free. And the Deer are thick on our property and they have a ball chasing them too. My dogs don't have free run of the entire property. WE fenced in 15 acres for them and its not wooded.
 
When I titer test Alley yearly she is good with all her vacinations for 3 years and then they start showing weak coverage. But I still only do Rabies on her...
It scares me cause we had 3 really sick raccoons on our property last spring. We had to shoot them. See then I worry about Distemper and Rabies. Isn't there always something to worry about??
 
What I saw louie go through is NOT WORTH it to vacinate him again. I do use good tick/flea treatment all year round cause of the ticks.
 
My Westie Mattie can tolerate Frontline Plus so Im trying to figure out how to prevent the ticks on her....Iv been using advantage and my Vet told me to put a Prevent a tick collar on her....

Have you tried advantix? It does have pyrethroids in it, so not all dogs do well with it, but its the next best thing to frontline plus... it tends to stop working for ticks around 3 weeks in some dogs, so you'll have to watch and see if you like it.

I actually prefer it, because I never see ticks on my dogs. With frontline, I'll see the ticks, and sometimes bring a few home and then find them dead in the house. With the advantix, the ticks fall off in the field and I don't have to worry about what is dying in my bed at night... I have cats though.. so I have to be careful with it.

My now 7 year old golden retriever had a severe reaction to her second set of annuals at abe 2 1/2.  No problem with puppy shots nor first year annuals. It was Good  Friday and we were the last ones to see the vet that day and I dallyed around a little and that threw me behind and we decided we didn't have time to make the church service that night.  If we had we might have lost KayCee.  Anyway, 45 m inutes after getting her vax (the u sual yearly plus rabies, but no Lyme) she was covered in huge hives, her eyes were swelling shut and looked like she had pencil erasers  under the skin on her snout.  Her entire stomach was one red, hot h ive.  Her temp was 106.9. The emergency service called our vet (he was at church) and he came right to the hospital--his wife called and told us to get KayCee there.  Oh, while waiting on h is return call i had given her benadryl and we wrapped her in a wet towel and  poured cool, not cold, water over the towel to try to bring down her temp, or keep it from going any higher.  It was still 106.9 when we got to the vet.  Could have gone higher without the water over her..  He gave her some injections and we stayed til her temp went down below 103.  I was to take it every 30 minutes and if it started going back up i was to call him.  She was back to normal by bedtime.  He is sure it was the lepto vax, but h e m arked her chart RABIES ONLY and said no more vax for her except law required rabies.
 
However, 3 years later we had an outbreak of distemper here and we decided to get her a booster.  I gave her benadryl and took her in early in the morning and she got her injection and they kept her in ICU all day to monitor her...no problem at all.
 
Also, it is highly likely that once a dog has had a reaction, the next time the reaction will be worse.    Our youngest son had a reaction to wasp sting, and then a year of so later got stung and again and this time he swelled even more and our pediatrician had me bring him in once a week for a injection for year.  he said Randy would start to swell on the inside as well as outside and we needed to do these inujection.  It worked--he no longer swells at all (he was 6 when he had the injections 31 years ago.
 
Also, I met a person here who almost lost their dog to that 6 month heartworm preventative injection, ProHeart6.  Said that when the dog had her first shot she had some problems, but they didn't connect it to the PH6 as they didn't appear for a few days.  However after the next injection 6 months later the dog got really sick and they almost lost her and they (and the vet) realized that she h ad had a milder reaction the first time.  SO it seems a good idea to avoid anything you suspect has caused a reaction as the next time it could be fatal.

I agree with the others, now that Louie has had such a strong reaction, it may never be safe for him to have either of those vaccines again.  I don't have much knowledge about the Lyme vac, but the Lepto vac is considered to be especially hard on small breeds.   If you feel that you really need to give Lyme and Lepto, I'd give them separately (for all of your dogs).  And in Louis' case, if he must have either one again, talk to the Vet about premedicating him with a Benedryl shot prior to the vaccination.   Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't both Lyme and Lepto very treatable?  My dogs are tested annually for Lyme at the same time as their HW test. My youngest dog had a severe reaction to his last rabies vac, and the Vet told me that he shouldn't have another rabies vac, even though it's the law.  I still have a couple more years before I have to worry about what to do about that.  I titered and stopped giving the other booster vaccinations several years ago.

Back when my vet and I argued over the Lepto vaccine,,,I researched it and yes,,,Lepto IS treatable. And I told my vet that since she is my baby anyway,,I would never let her be sick for anything longer than a little while without taking her to the doctor.  I don't  know about Lyme,,,I have a feeling though that Lyme Disease is one of those that are hard to diagnose....at least I have heard of people that were sick and the doctors didn't know from what,,,and Lymes entered into the conversation then.

My vet has never treated a case of Lyme down here, has never even heard of one, and has only treated one case of Lepto and that happened to be my mechanic's standard poodle. They have no idea where the dog caught it as he is a total house dog.  They do bring him to the garage, but he stays in the office, only out on leash to do business.
 
 It is my understanding that Lepto is the most dangerous of the two diseases, but I could very well be wrong.  I know my mechanic said they were sure they were going to lose their dog, but our vet pulled him thru.

It is my understanding that Lepto is the most dangerous of the two diseases

 
Iv heard its fatal if a dog gets it... Im going to talk to my vet again about all of this.
 
I will add that I forgot to tell you guys that he had his monthly adaquen shot on that day too. I thought if he was due for the Lepto and Lyme when I was down there getting that shot it would save time and stress on Louie...
 
When will I learn that I know my dogs best and that the vets over due on vacinations. When I took the dogs in for there anual they always bring in the lepto and Lyme and I said NO... I do those at a seperate time.
 
I feel the Adequen wasn't any of the cause it was either the lepto or the lyme...

Lepto is not fatal...we had 2 police dogs come down with it and were treated with orla meds and are fine/. The new Lepto vax from fort dodge is for 4 strains, but yet there are MANY strains of Lepto, it is passed in urine, etc..humans can but rarely every get it.
We now vaccinate pets for it,under 6 years old and over 30 pounds as to prevent reactions. I however will not allow any of my dogs to have the vaccines. I do not think they work well and there is more side effects that may not even be seen right at first. AIHA is one that can be cause by vaccines, and many more. do a google search on vaccine side effects. We no longer vaccinate older pets.
By the way both police dogs that contracted the disease had been vaccinated and boostered with the new 4 way lepto on the market that the vets are pushing.
Lyme vaccine is rec for dogs in high areas of ticks that are coming positive for lyme. But there is no real known lengh of vaccine life, dogs can still get lymes when vaccinated however they are just not supposed to feel it that bad, lyme can be treated with meds also.
I weigh side effects versus benifits and see that I do not vaccinate my pets at all, even though I work at a hospital that grosses 4 million a year ( thats alot of vaccines)