Anyone has a dog allergic to vaccination?

[teddybeans]

My boy is allergic to the annual C5 vaccination.  He had it three times as a puppy with no issues.  The fourth one he had a mild reaction and developed lumps within the first few hour (exactly the same make and brand as the previous one).  The vet gave him a dose of antihistamine and it went away.  The following year, i asked the vet whether the same thing will happen.  He said very unlikely, i was nervous to say the least so he consulted other vets at the surgery and they were also in agreement a second reaction seemed unlikely.   So knowing no better, i went ahead with the vaccine based on their recommendation and the reaction was close to fatal - almost lost him.  Luckily the reaction happened while we were still at the vet.    After that incident, no more vaccinations.  My boy is now 8 and doing well and hasn't had a vaccination since.  I avoid dog parks and careful during walks to stay away from grass.

I was wondering whether allergies to dog vaccinations are common?  Are there any injections besides the annual vaccine I should avoid - like antibiotics?  My vet says it could be the preservative in the vaccine that caused the reaction.

[Loving my Oldies]

How utterly terrifying.  Many years ago, I had a little female given “the morning after” injection and the site of the injection came up in a huge lump.  Vet was mortified.  I have another little girl who nearly went crazy the one and only time I gave her Advantix.  I give her Advantage with nil adverse affects.  

 

Dogs are like people:  some have allergic reactions and others don’t.  I take an antihistamine daily, sometimes two, yet all the tests in the world have never shown anything I am allergic to.   

 

So glad your Teddybeans is with you still, happy and healthy.    

Edited May 29, 2019 by Loving my Oldies

[Loving my Oldies]

Well said @Snook, but your vet’s response was underwhelming to say the least    

[Dogsfevr]

Plenty of dogs react to vaccinations the issue in Australia is there is no real way or reporting issues & the companies are not interested .
We experienced the loss of 4 pups after there first vaccination many years ago .A first for us & our vets perplexed .
After some talking in the area we realised we werent the only ones to loss puppies & the batch numbers where checked & yep an issue .
Our vets where very proactive in trying to report but even they in the end where given the run around & the stupid answers to what these pups all died from but it was reported & logged.

We have a few boarding clients whose dogs are an issue hence they titer test ,most reacted to the C5 which we don't use .Alot react to the C7 which vets do use in areas its not required .

Personally your vets where numpties to even try the C5 again .
We don't even do C5 with puppies

[asal]

14 hours ago, teddybeans said:

My boy is allergic to the annual C5 vaccination.  He had it three times as a puppy with no issues.  The fourth one he had a mild reaction and developed lumps within the first few hour (exactly the same make and brand as the previous one).  The vet gave him a dose of antihistamine and it went away.  The following year, i asked the vet whether the same thing will happen.  He said very unlikely, i was nervous to say the least so he consulted other vets at the surgery and they were also in agreement a second reaction seemed unlikely.   So knowing no better, i went ahead with the vaccine based on their recommendation and the reaction was close to fatal - almost lost him.  Luckily the reaction happened while we were still at the vet.    After that incident, no more vaccinations.  My boy is now 8 and doing well and hasn't had a vaccination since.  I avoid dog parks and careful during walks to stay away from grass.

I was wondering whether allergies to dog vaccinations are common?  Are there any injections besides the annual vaccine I should avoid - like antibiotics?  My vet says it could be the preservative in the vaccine that caused the reaction.

my vet told me over 15 years ago annual vaccinations are not necessary

 

yes they sure can be at risk, one of mine had his immune system collapse after his second puppy vaccination,

to the extent his body couldn't even deal with his own skin microflora, had to be given low dose Ivermec for the rest of his life or he would lose his hair and skin go intense red and itchy otherwise. otherewise known as Demodectic mange

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by asal

[asal]

23 minutes ago, Dogsfevr said:

Plenty of dogs react to vaccinations the issue in Australia is there is no real way or reporting issues & the companies are not interested .
We experienced the loss of 4 pups after there first vaccination many years ago .A first for us & our vets perplexed .
After some talking in the area we realised we werent the only ones to loss puppies & the batch numbers where checked & yep an issue .
Our vets where very proactive in trying to report but even they in the end where given the run around & the stupid answers to what these pups all died from but it was reported & logged.

We have a few boarding clients whose dogs are an issue hence they titer test ,most reacted to the C5 which we don't use .Alot react to the C7 which vets do use in areas its not required .

Personally your vets where numpties to even try the C5 again .
We don't even do C5 with puppies

Yes the puppies began dying in the 80's and the company concerned told me that the puppies that die are just cleansing the breed of the weak lines.

 

found far less reactions using Canvac

 

and no I never use any but c3

 

for that very reason

[Loving my Oldies]

8 minutes ago, Snook said:

I took it to mean that a reaction like that isn't uncommon, which is disturbing. 

Exactly.  When my little dog had a reaction to an injection, my vet at the time was absolutely mortified and felt responsible.  Such a difference over the years.  

[PANDI-GIRL]

What does the  c3 vaccine cover is this enough,  can dogs have the c3 vaccine as Adults 

 

What does c7 cover,  that's  a lot in a vaccine,  I'm not sure about all this stuff

Edited May 30, 2019 by PANDI-GIRL

[Rozzie]

My dog had a severe allergic reaction to the C5. She was covered in red, angry looking welts. She was swelling around her face and neck. Luckily we were 2 minutes from vet. 

Next time she needs to be vaccinated it willbe C3. Vet happy to titre test.

Edited May 30, 2019 by Rozzie

[Little Gifts]

13 hours ago, Snook said:

I can't imagine how distressing and scary that must have been. I'm glad your darling boy is okay. My dog had regular vaccinations from when I got him at around 3 years of age with no problem. I had decided to stop vaccinating him a few years ago for various reasons but then I wanted to enrol him in a nose works class, which required a current vaccination certificate. I took him in to his regular vet to be vaccinated and he had a bad reaction and came up in a huge lump at the vaccination site. I rang the vet and she said it was nothing to worry about and would go down on its own, but he hasn't been vaccinated since.

 

He'll be 14 this year and I no longer give him preventatives for worms, heartworms or fleas either, as his risk of contracting any of them is too low where we live and the limited places he goes, for me to be comfortable giving him such strong chemicals on a regular basis, given his age and a compromised immune system due to cancer (although of course I'll treat him if ever needed). 

 

That being said, I'm not anti Vax or anti preventative treatment. They do carry a risk though and some dogs have had seizures from some preventative treatments. I think each person has to weigh up the necessity, risks and benefits based on their own situation and own dog. 

In the last couple of years of my oldest dogs life my vet said to stop annual vaccinations too. I was told there would be enough resistance in her system to keep her protected. We kept up heartworm though because of where we live.

 

When I was in my late teens, early 20s I had an OES and I went off travelling, leaving her with my parents. I ended up being gone for 2 years. When her heartworm supply ran out my parents never got her more and I never knew. By the time I got home she had heartworm. We started treating her for it but it wasn't successful. I still feel terrible guilt about that.

 

Not sure if you have seen this vaccination guideline before:

 

https://www.wsava.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines

 

This article also gives some simpler details about the vaccinations:

 

https://www.choice.com.au/outdoor/pets/health/articles/pet-vaccination

[Loving my Oldies]

Because my dogs are all very old, they haven’t been vaxed for years.  The only treatment they get (apart from a host of medical issues  ) is flea and tick prevention.  

 

However, I do recall some years ago one of my vets saying that she would never give C7, it was completely unnecessary.  Can’t remember the details, but I am sure someone here has much more up to date information.   

[Tassie]

The C7 (which includes leptospirosis) is apparently much more problematic .. as in a higher proportion of adverse reactions.   Lepto is rat borne, so vets will sometimes give it if the dog lives in close proximity to a lot of rats, but as far as I know, it's very rarely given.

[juice]

I do mine as pups , c3 then 12 month booster then nothing ever again . Although I havn’t had a pup for years , and I don’t vaccinate older dogs I adopt . 

Not sure why you avoid grass tho? 

[tdierikx]

The clinic I'm doing my TAFE work placement at uses the C3 vaccination  and the intranasal version of the Kennel Cough components to make up the C5 vaccination - we have had virtually no adverse reactions to this combination.

 

I have personally found less reaction happening with the C3 vaccinations of many many foster pups (and my own dogs) over the years... it's when they start combining more components into the vaccine (C4 through to C9) that problems and reactions seem to become more common. It is most likely that the reactions are to the combining agents used in the vaccines, not the actual antibody stimulants they contain, and which are the active part that causes immunity to those diseases.

 

The issues with puppies dying back in the 80's and 90's was from one particular brand of vaccine... and as vets started realising this, they stopped ordering it in droves. That pretty much sorted that issue...

 

Personally, my dogs only get a vaccination if I have to board them for some reason... and that is VERY rare... I have no life... no holidays for me... boohoo!

 

T.

[Dogsfevr]

5 hours ago, PANDI-GIRL said:

What does the  c3 vaccine cover is this enough,  can dogs have the c3 vaccine as Adults 

 

What does c7 cover,  that's  a lot in a vaccine,  I'm not sure about all this stuff

C7 does Lepto/corona virus which is required in only extreme high risk cases not for the average run of the mill pet.
Police & search / rescue dogs where generally given it due to working in drains & other areas with a very high rat population . It can be a problem where there are large numbers of wild rats and dogs consuming the same food or water contaminated with rat urine.

As a boarding kennel owner we view vacc records & its surprising how many vets use this vaccine & even more scary how many owners are clueless to what there dog is being given & ask no questions whats so ever before a vaccination .
 

[teddybeans]

thank you all.

 

I never found out what caused the reaction, was it the perservative in the vaccine or the vaccine itself.  But i was also told the same by the vet that they reported to the vaccine companies and they don't give a damn.

 

Very frightening.

 

I'm always super nervous when my boy needs to go in for a surgery or put on new medication.  Super nervous.

[Jumabaar]

vets should (and usually do) report adverse reactions to medications to the manufactures and the AVPMA. 

https://apvma.gov.au/node/309

 

I recommend titre testing (checking to see if your dog has antibodies) rather than vaccinating so you know if your pet is good to go OR if they are unprotected. 

 

Reactions to vaccinations are not common. And the most common ones is feeling a little flat (same as humans). 

Less common reactions which are more severe of course DO get a lot more publicity!! So they can be perceived as much more common than they are. I work in with vets offering eastern and western medicine so I tend to see more than I did when I associated more with western medicine because people who have experienced a reaction seek out eastern medicine and concentrate there!! 

 

I have not found a correlation between vaccine reactions and reactions to other medications, or the other way around. I do understand that it can be stressful when it’s your own pup! But Facebook and forums will be filled with proactive owners who are also seeking information and will confirm your worries disproportionately. 

 

The best way way to sort through this is to find a veterinarian that you trust and can talk to about your fears so they can discuss individual risk vs reward for any treatment. 

[teddybeans]

1 hour ago, Jumabaar said:

 

I recommend titre testing (checking to see if your dog has antibodies) rather than vaccinating so you know if your pet is good to go OR if they are unprotected. 

Thanks, my vet recommended this too.  But its expensive, and also i'm not going to vaccinate on him  again regardless of the result.

 

I have discussed this with my vet and he seem to be in agreement with me.  My thinking is so what if i find out whether he has the antibodies or not, all it does is maybe give me a bit of peace of mind but I can't really make a difference knowing the outcome.  If it comes up that he doesnt have the antibodies anymore, I wont be vaccinating anyway.  So i didn't really see the value of it. 

[asal]

3 hours ago, Jumabaar said:

vets should (and usually do) report adverse reactions to medications to the manufactures and the AVPMA. 

https://apvma.gov.au/node/309

 

I recommend titre testing (checking to see if your dog has antibodies) rather than vaccinating so you know if your pet is good to go OR if they are unprotected. 

 

Reactions to vaccinations are not common. And the most common ones is feeling a little flat (same as humans). 

Less common reactions which are more severe of course DO get a lot more publicity!! So they can be perceived as much more common than they are. I work in with vets offering eastern and western medicine so I tend to see more than I did when I associated more with western medicine because people who have experienced a reaction seek out eastern medicine and concentrate there!! 

 

I have not found a correlation between vaccine reactions and reactions to other medications, or the other way around. I do understand that it can be stressful when it’s your own pup! But Facebook and forums will be filled with proactive owners who are also seeking information and will confirm your worries disproportionately. 

 

The best way way to sort through this is to find a veterinarian that you trust and can talk to about your fears so they can discuss individual risk vs reward for any treatment. 

actually they rarely get publicity, well remember a bad batch of kitten vaccine killed over 300 before it was recalled. in the case of my litter it killed 8 out of 9 and the vet kept the survivor in lieu of the thousands he was going to charge me for saving her, at no time did he advise me it was not a fluke all mine died.

only found out when a friend who worked there at the vaccine supplier told me how many reports of fatalities before the batch was recalled, so the manufacturer did not tell my vet or he chose not to tell me. No idea if my kittens vet reported their deaths and bet even if he did bet he was not told how many had died all up before the recalled that batch.

because i didnt find out until over a year afterwards I had no way of sueing them for the deaths of my kittens and they were worth over 2,000 each so I lost $18,000 as everyone of them already had deposits on them...

 

nope they sure do not take responsibility, nor do our vets advise us either, in fact they charge US to save our pets that are affected, not the drug company... think on that next time it happens 

 

N I havent forgotten the litter of 4 beautiful chihuahua puppies all dead within hours of my vets locum overdosed them.  Yes he was fired, but even those vets have to carrry insurance, (no idea why) certainly was not offered compensation for four irreplaceable puppies.

 

I am always very aware that when I take mine in for vaccinations, any that die are my loss and no one elses.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by asal

[asal]

1 hour ago, teddybeans said:

Thanks, my vet recommended this too.  But its expensive, and also i'm not going to vaccinate on him  again regardless of the result.

 

I have discussed this with my vet and he seem to be in agreement with me.  My thinking is so what if i find out whether he has the antibodies or not, all it does is maybe give me a bit of peace of mind but I can't really make a difference knowing the outcome.  If it comes up that he doesnt have the antibodies anymore, I wont be vaccinating anyway.  So i didn't really see the value of it. 

my vet believes if more people titre tested then the price would come down.

at present it is way more expensive than vaccination.

 

the catch being if you opt for vaccination booster and your pet reacts then as my daughters friend discovered, it cost $7000 to save her cat after his 3rd bad reaction, the first time it cost $2,500 to save him, second time it cost $3,000 to save him.

curiously his vet didn't seem to realise perhaps vaccinating a now 18 year old cat after the previous two life threatening events might have been triggered by the annual booster they had been giving him?