Jump to content
BC Boards

What Now?


terrecar
 Share

Recommended Posts

So, now that I have my first dog that has ever had a reaction to vaccinations, I am wondering how others with the problem deal with it. Other than spacing out vaccines, going to a three year protocol, having vaccinations done early in the day so the dog can be observed and possibly taken back, and the veterinarian dosing with a pre-vac antihistamine, does anyone have suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How old is she? Which Vax did she have that day?

 

She is 1 1/2 years. No report from prior owner of a reaction, but she was bounced from home to home so who knows. I should mention this is not a Border Collie mix but a Chihuahua. Vaccination was rabies and DHP (no lepto). I am kicking myself as I know I should not have allowed rabies that day but felt pressured by veterinarian. Long story. Still, my fault for not having the backbone to protest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That does make it harder to pinpoint which one was the issue. Please don't beat yourself up. I gave all of my dogs EVERYTHING (DHLPP, bordatella, rabies...) all at once for years - I just plain didn't know there was any other way. The first time I walked into my vet's office and requested titers and talked to her about a 3 year schedule she looked at me like I'd grown a third eyeball on my forehead. I was the first of her customers to start bucking.

 

If this were my dog, I'd be inclined to just not vax again (though I might titer periodically to make myself feel better) exept for Rabies as required by law - and some areas will accept titers for Rabies. I'm not suggesting this is what you should do, only saying this would be my considered course of action.

 

Note: I am not a vet nor do I play one on the internet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am definitely going to get titers for parvo and distemper from here on out. From what I've been able to find out so far, MD doesn't accept them for rabies, so that will be the only one I have to worry about. Thanks Laura.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Laura. If she's had vaccines before (distemper, etc.) she should be good to go. Just do what's legally required for rabies and make sure your vet knows about the reaction so you can all be prepared (3 years from now; so maybe keep notes about her reaction, in case you see a different vet, for whatever reason, next time).

 

J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And depending on how she reacted, you can plan ahead and give her antihistamines etc before a rabies vaccine. Most research shows that vaccines can last a lot of years so I wouldn't worry about the "not required by law" vaccines.

 

My epileptic dog had a series of cluster seizures after a vaccine so we got a veterinary exemption letter and had no issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have one dog that we think had issues, she gets nothing. She isn't one that's going to get out and bite someone and rarely leaves the property so I'll take my legal chances with her. Better than seeing what she went through. She did have puppy vaccines and maybe a couple more but that's it and she's 13 now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use a vaccine from a different manufacturer.

 

For example, Vanguard DAP (Pfizer) is not the same as Continuum DAP (Intervet). While both vaccine formulations offer protection against the same viruses, the formulations are not equivalent. Often, adverse reactions can be traced to the other components of the vaccine formulations, not the antigens (proteins which induce antibodies against the viruses) or to very small contaminations in the antigens due to how these were manufactured for the vaccines. The older lepto vaccines are a good example of the latter; where inactive virus fragments (not inducing protection) were inducing adverse reactions.

 

Don't think about vaccines as one, two, or three components (just the viruses) but think of them like canned chicken noodle soup. Campbell's and Progresso's both have chicken and noodles, but the recipes are not exactly the same. If you were allergic to celery Progresso would not be good for you while Campbells would be okay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being such a small dog, it could be that given separately she would have no problem with either vaccination. It's possible that her system was just overloaded by receiving DHPP and rabies at the same time.

 

We rarely vaccinate my small dog with more than one thing at a time. It's a lot for their bodies to handle.

 

Going forward, though, because there has been a reaction I'd likely do the titers and, as Mark suggested above, change brands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...