Hey Dog got her vaccines and now seems sick??

What vax did she get?  There are a couple of them that can cause some pretty difficult reactions -- lepto, in particular, can be a problem (I don't ever give that at all). 

In future you may want to titer for the ones you can (parvo/distemper) and just not do them annually.  You likely have to do rabies (hopefully only once in 3 years) to license her, but particularly with a mature dog they are now saying you don't have to vax annually -- you might look up some of the discussion on it here.

If your regular vet doesn't seem concerned you might want to contact a holistic vet because vaccinosis can be very bad.  http://www.tcvm.com is the Chi Institute -- and I've had really good luck recommending them - they have a locator on the left that is really helpful.  I also give mine homeopathic Thuja (the little pellets -- for a chi, three of them 3 times a day for three days) after a vaccine to help the body process it and detox.  That's not something a regular vet will tell you -- but a holistic one will often say that.

Sorry it took me all night to reply, it's been a bad night with her. I almost took her to the emergency clinic as she looked swollen, and cried at any touch anywhere. Her sides seemed bulged too. This morning when I got up I thought my big dog (the one with cancer) peed in the house, but then saw that nipper had peed on her and smelled really bad. This seemed like a lot of peed from my 6lb nipper. Also her sides are not swollen anymore, and she is walking some. She is still crying if you try and pick her up. She got a full set of shots, distemper, hepatitis, lepto., para A, corona, bordetella,rabies, and tested for heartworms.

ann404

She got a full set of shots, distemper, hepatitis, lepto., para A, corona, bordetella,rabies, and tested for heartworms.

Unfortunately giving so many shots at one time is not only hard on her system, but it makes it impossible to determine which shot(s) she is reacting to.  Please give as few vaccines at a time as possible. 

Suggestions:

• Don't give a rabies shot within 30 days of any other vaccine.  AAHA recommendation - every 3 years.
• Don't give corona at all.  It is not recommended by the AAHA.
• If you don't live in a high risk area, stop lepto shots completely.  They are dangerous for toy dogs.  From the AAHA site below - "Routine vaccination of toy breeds should only be considered in dogs with known high risks."
• Do titers (blood tests) in lue of shots for parvo and distemper.  If the titers are good, the dog doesn't need additional shots.  AAHA recommendation (titers or shots) - every 3 years.

Please see this post and read up on canine vaccines.  It is a very controversial topic right now.  Studies are showing that the duration of immunity from many vaccines is at least 7 years and maybe lifetime.  We just don't have long enough studies yet.

If this were my dog, I would consider her to have lifetime immunity to parvo, distemper, and adenovirus (hepatitis) if she has had at least 1 MLV shot at age 1yr or older.  She would get rabies shots according to law (shouldn't be more than every 3 years).  With such a small dog, I would get parainfluenza every 3 years and bordetella yearly.

Personally I would not be comfortable ever giving this dog another lepto shot.  The high incidence of reactions to lepto vaccines (especially in toy dogs) makes it the likely culprit this time.

Even if you don't take the dog into the vet this time, be sure that the vet has the reactions on the dog's chart.

Wow, I had no idea that some of these shots may not be needed. I thought it was the state law to get these shots for them. I will absolutely look into this more. I think all but the Bordetella and Rabies is a combo shot as that's how it writen up too. She is still holding her back paw inward and still crying if you touch her underside. The vet. just says to give her the baby asprin and that if I really want to, he'll look at her. This is about as good of a vet. as you get down here now. Before the storm we had a great up-to-date vet. hospital, but not any more. Hey, he's better then the other vet. I took Sinse to, he ask me straight away if I wanted to put her down for being so nervous at storms!! Oh and how he (the vet.) had to put down his dog for attacking the pigs.

ann404

I thought it was the state law to get these shots for them.

As far as I know the rabies vaccine is the only canine shot mandated by any state in the U.S.  Locations with up-to-date laws require rabies shots once every 3 years.  Localities that are behind the times may still have a requirement for rabies shots every year.

The 3-yr requirement, however, is a political compromise until the actual duration of immunity can be determined.  We already know that the rabies shot is good for at least 3 years and a longer study is in progress.

The old 1-yr requirement was never based on a medical necessity.  There was no "business need" for the drug companies to determine the actual duration of immunity.  They determined that the shot worked for at least a year and stopped testing.

It may well turn out that the rabies shot when a dog is 1-yr-old is the last rabies shot the dog ever needs.  Wouldn't that be nice?

ann404

Oh and how he (the vet.) had to put down his dog for attacking the pigs.

I guess he has never heard of a thing called a "fenced yard".  Come to think of it I think there are a few dog lovers who don't have pigs - like just about everyone in an urban environment.  What an bozo!

Why would any vet tell a client that they killed a healthy dog instead of rehoming it?  That is not exactly the reassuring, compassionate attitude that one would like to see from the person that is taking care of one's pet.

Two things to ask your vet about:

• What preservatives were used in the shots that your dog was given?
• Were all of the shots from single dose vials?

The odds of contamination go way up with multi-dose vials. 

Personally I would want to see (before the shot was given) the vial or package insert to verify that Thimerosal was not used as a preservative.  I would also want to watch the syringe filled. 

Why am I so cautious?  The fact that I am allergic to penicillin is always on my doctors' charts, but I have still been approached by nurses prepared to give me shots of penicillin.  It kind of shakes your confidence when things like that happen.

Well it should be said that he was a old country vet. I don't think it even crossed his mind that it may offend me. However, I only took my pets there until another clinic open (the one I go to now) and that was about the same time Sinse became ill. That's my biggest problem there's no good veterinary clinics around here. The closest is where my sister works which is about 1 hour away.  

 Honestly if it were me, I'd be driving the hour to get to a good vet right about now - swollen sides, odd smelling urine, and crying in pain *does not* sound like your typical vaccine reaction - it sounds like something is majorly wrong.  The fact that your vet "will see her if you want him to" is just ridiculous to me.

BTW I drive over 30 miles to get to my vet because I wasn't happy with the offerings around me, so it's not uncommon to drive to get a good vet. We have an e-vet about the same distance away with specialists that I would use after hours.
 

 I do not want to scare you needlessly, and I hope by now your dog is all better, but if not, you might want to consider further testing.  I don't know how rare this is, but my dog had a similar reaction after vaccinations and it was an auto-immune osteoarthritides reaction.  I hope I spelled it right - it has been a while.  Anyway, the Vet believes it was caused by the vaccinations and he had to take large doses prednisone.  He stopped hurting almost immediately.  Then over the period of a year, the dose was very gradually decreased and eventually he was able to do without.  He is fine now, but he can not have vaccinations any more as he would be at risk of having it return.  If it did come back, he would need to be on prednisone for the rest of his life.  I remember that he was in a lot of pain before they put him on prednisone and it was very scary.  Now with my younger dogs, I never let them have the whole battery of shots at once.  It is a bit of a hassle, but I take them in at different times for one vaccination at a time.  I just do not want their bodies bombarded with all that poison at once.  I also have the testing done, and if their anti-bodies are high, we skip a vaccination for a year or two.   Talk to your vet about that.  Hope you baby is better by now.