Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

My Boston Terrier had his annual rabies and distemper/parvo cocktail shots yesterday at the Animal Welfare League where I adopted him a year ago. He has been inactive and shaky since. He has eaten regularly and is going out on his own as usual.

Today, though, he started whining/yelping when he is picked up. He's not his high-energy self. I'm watching him closely. I know where the emergency vet is although now I think I want to seek out a holistic vet.

A sidenote, when I was a kid we had 3 dogs that saw the vet once when they were puppies, never took heartworm meds or any kind meds. They all lived to be 13+ years old so are vaccines really necessary if you are a mindful pet parent? Meaning you watch them when they go out, check for parasites, feed them good food, give them exercise, etc.

Last year, I had to put down my 13 y.o. lab mix after a pancreatitus attack that I'm convinced was caused by the "treats" of smoked pig ears. My vet said they are very fatty and older dogs shouldn't eat them. Why aren't there warnings on the bags?

Well, I guess I'm on sick pup watch for the day!

I took my Jack Russel Terrier (English/Irish) for her shots. She had the DHLPP and the Rabies shots in her thigh. That evening and the following day she was lethargic then she got a really high fever and her back was in pain. She would not get up, walk or go up and down the stairs. She has had these shots before but I never expected this and I am worried for the next time that the reaction may kill her. The vet gave her a shot and some medicine but could not really say what caused the illness. I feel it is to much of a coincidence for it not to be the vaccinations I just do not know which one!

I can't find help for our Pug. He is 1yr. 3months. He had Rabies and Canine Boosters (Dis. Lep. Par. Parvo Adeno.2) He is sick and I can't get him any help on Sunday.

I have a 5 month-old daschund/chihuahua/shih-tzu/terrier mix named Joshua. He went to the vet at 4 months old to receive his first round of shots- which had already been given by the breeder, but which the vet would not recognize! SO...puppy had double shots! Our county requires an annual rabies vaccine, and the puppy MUST have all of these other shots BEFORE they will give him the rabies! UGH!!

They gave him DHLPP shots, and a rabies vaccine at the same time. He weighed 9 pounds at that time. 45 minutes later he became violently ill- throwing up all over the place. I immediately called the vet, who told me that it was from the car ride home! (This puppy rides in the car a lot, and had never thorwn up before.)

He limped for a couple of days, and was lethargic- just layed around doing nothing. (And this is a VERY active puppy.)

3 weeks later, the vet had me bring the puppy back in- at which time he gave him a DHLPP booster shot, and neutered him.

Joshua was so sick- he peed on himself for a whole day, and didn't move much at all for a few days.

I DO NOT want to get him this vaccine next year, but am not sure what to do, as it's the law here. Very frustrating!

I took my Italian Greyhound, Pucci in for her annual DA2PP vaccine yesterday, and she had side effects from it.....lethargy, a bump on the vaccination site, and also would not eat or drink, except for her treats. She is getting peppier now, and is starting to eat as of this evening. The same thing happened last year. She still has the bump, so hopefully that will subside as well. I look forward to next year, when they will start separating the vaccines and give each individual vaccines every three years. Maybe that will alleviate the side effects??? I hope so!! Pucci had her 3 yr. rabies shot two weeks ago and there were no side effects. From what I have read, lethargy for a couple of days, lack of appetite and the bump are common side effects.

Our 12 week old black lab mix had his second distemper/parvo shot with a lyme disease vaccination. The following day, he could not stand or walk on his own. Our vet contacted the manufacturer's of the vaccine. They acknowledged other dogs having this reaction but the cases were so few that they do not place warnings on their bottles. Our vet treated him with predizone and I began Benadryl 3x daily. Within the first couple of days our pup was back on his feet and playing. We have reduced the predizone and the results have been a gradual improvement. I have discussed this problem with a knowledgeable rescue for animals and they always give a dose of Benadryl (1/2 cc) before every puppy gets their first vaccine to avoid this reaction.

Hello I have a 17wk chihiuaha he had his Parvo Vaccine and now he is vommiting and diarrhea same symptoms as your dog can you please tell me the outcome or how long did it last? I am really worried about him he was a gift to my son and the breeder told me to wait until he was 1 to do anything but when i took him to the Vet they told me I was crazy and he needed them asap. I only did the Parvo one but now I am thinking I should of listened to the Breeder Please reply he was a gift for my son he just turned 8 and after losing our dog last year we were not going to give it another shot with a puppy because we never really got over our lil Diamond so please contact me thank you Angelica

My 11 month old recently adopted female Golden Retriever just got her first Lyme vaccine. Within 12 hours she has diarrhea and its been two days. I believe this is a direct result of the vaccine because nothing else has changed and her stools were find up unto the vaccine.

My two year old Maltese/Shitzhu went for his annual vaccine/booster & rabies shots. When he got it done this time he wouldn't stop yelping and when I picked him up from the table he lost control of his bowels. He instantly had pooped all over me and continued to yelp. The vet said this was normal when they got a rabies shot. (This was his first rabies shot) I took him home and he was very lethargic and did not want to be touched on his back. The next couple of days were the same.

Five days later I noticed that he had a bump on his shoulder and a patch of hair was gone. I rushed him to the vet and was told that he had an infection, probably from a bee sting which caused this. I asked if it could be from his shots and was told that it wasn't. They put him on antibiotics and within a week the bump was gone.

After a month I took him back to the vet because the area was still red (no swelling), and still had no new hair growth. The vet then told me that he probably had allergies and put him on a new dog food. (Something he does not want to eat)

It is now a year later and he still has a bald spot on his shoulder. We have since then switched vets but I am very reluctant to give him or my other dog their boosters or rabies shots because of this.

My dog has IVD, which was diagnosed on his 9th Birthday, after a severe symptom outbreak, shortly after receiving the combo vaccination of Bortadella/Parvo/Leptosporosis. After an MRI, steroids & ongoing weekly acupuncture, he had his mobility back until the annual vaccination was again due. To be conservative, I asked that the vaccination be separated. Therefore, he had Bortadella, Parvo & Leptosporosis vaccinations separately, 2 plus weeks apart. That is why it was easy to determine that 24 hours after the Leptosporosis vaccination, he had back disc/pain/ambulatory problems as severe as the year before. He was on steroids for a month until he could resume acupuncture weekly again. His chart was marked "No Lepto." However, he continued to have intermittent setbacks until the most severe one 5 weeks ago. He was again treated with steroids which helped but did not get him fully functional. Yesterday, I had bloodwork done for the neurosurgical consult. Today, I was informed that he now has hepatitus/advanced liver enzymes which could be caused by steroids but is also caused by Leptosporosis. You requested feedback for negative reactions to vaccinations so I hope this will be useful.

My 4 year old neutered male cat had booster shots for rabies and distemper yesterday. Since then he has been lethargic and not eating.

Lymes Booster Side Effects

Our 3 y/o Chihuaua had a Lymes booster shot when she was about 2 y/o. They apparently give the same dose no matter what size they are. She weighed appr. 6 lbs at the time. She was really sick for two days with flu like S/S. She recovered, but now she has been getting front and back leg tremors. It started with just one side, but I noticed it has gone to the other side as well. We didn't realize until after the shot that this condition has been reported. We are sick to death about it and and know her quality of life is now affected and quite possibly her length of life also. We have not found any remedy :-(

I rescued an abandoned lab about a month ago, took him to the vet who decided to give him Rimadyl and Simplicef for a sore on the pad of his foot. He seemed to react fine so a few weeks later I took him in for his rabies shot, 1st round of Bordetella and DHPPC shots. I went back 2 weeks after the for the second round of Bordetella and DHPPC and scheduled him to be nuetred in 4 weeks.

Within those 4 weeks my dog became sick and began to vomit a yellow bile. When I took him in to be neutered his platelet count came back really low and the vet put him on Doxycycline and Prednisone. We tested for tick titers that came back negative and they still don't know what is wrong with him.

I'm so angry that the vet didn't wait longer between vaccines and antibiotics before scheduling him for surgery. If she hadn't done a blood test before surgery, my dog would have bleed out on the operating room table.

And now I can't afford to keep taking him to the vet and don't know what to do.

I have a 2.5 year old Chihuahua, I took her to the vet (20 October 08) for her annual rabies vaccination and booster. I was in the morning at around 10:00. Everything was fine and I left the house at 14:00 that same day, she was still perfect. When I returned home an hour later, she came to greet me at the door as she always does, to my horror I noticed that her whole head was severely swollen, her eyes almost shut closed. I immediately took her to the vet. He gave her an adrenaline injection to help the swelling go down and kept her there for observation. At 5:30 that afternoon I went to pick her up, lots of the swelling had gone down but not all of it. At home she was very uncomfortable and in pain, she was limping as the legs that got the adrenaline injection was very sore, she was moaning and couldn't lie down for 2 mins. I phoned the vet and he said it was very unusual and i could bring her in to get something for the pain, so I did. Only at around 22:00 that night did she fall asleep. Today (21 October 08) she's doing much better, she doesn't seem to be in any pain and is walking fine. She still has swelling especially under her chin which worries me. The vet said that it's a debate if this swelling is from the rabies vaccination as something could have bitten/stung her. I told him that we live in an apartment and have not insects/spiders in our home. The possibility of something like that are very slim. I don't believe that it was anything else but from the rabies vaccine. What are your thoughts on this matter?

My Old English Bull Dog had puppies on 10-9-08, given amoxocillin 2x a day for mastitus, doing great... she went for stitches to be removed 10 days later. On this 10th day the Doctor noticed she was due this week for her parvo yearly shot. He said it was safe for the mom feeding pups to have this shot. Now 24 hours later she has a low fever and the 'runs'... I am taking her in tomorrow because there has been no change in diet and where we live, there is no contact with any dogs, 'pets or strays'... I am afraid of what this could be, because with the antibiotics and her mastitus being gone, and still finishing her meds, there is no reason at all for the runs and low fever.