Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

Just wanted to let people know Pfizer doesn't stand up and do the right thing when one of their vaccines cause adverse side effects. A multi-million dollar company can't reimburse a few hundered dollars in vet bills due to an adverse effect from thier Bordetella vaccine. They also only look into reactions if they get a substantial number - they don't review the data on a regular basis. I had a perfectly healthy dog prior to the vaccine but after he had a reaction which necessitated more vet visits. To this day, months later, he isn't the same dog.

My little 3 lb chihuahua did the same thing. He now has a reverse sneeze that freeks most people out that he does daily. He had another reaction last week to his 3 year rabies shot which is the only one he still gets. His face was huge and he had hives and his fur was sticking out. Childrens benedryl and emergency vet were fabulous. No more shots for our dog... he'll get titers.

We just got our 5 year old min-pin (who had never before gotten) a bordetella vaccine. Since we are going to board our other dog and he needed the vaccine, we figured we should get both dogs the vaccine so that the min-pin did not catch kennel cough. They both got the vaccine over a week ago and i just noticed last night that our min-pin been swallowing hard over and over again. At first i thought that he had a dry throat because we have electric baseboard heat but today he started to cough a little. I'm thinking that he may have developed a slight case of kennel cough from the vaccine. That's the only thing that we can associate it with at this point. I'm contacting our vet tomorrow. Has anyone else seen the side effect of their dog swallowing hard frequently?

My pup Oliver received a Bortadella shot in May of this year. On July 2nd, I had to rush him to the emergency clinic as he was having a hard time standing up and walking. His PCV was 17. Long story short, he had developed Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia. After two awful months of massive medications, blood transfusions, and weekly vet visits, extensive expense and awful heartache, we had to put him to sleep on September 8th as he had a serious relapse. I have read that vaccinations can cause a pet to get AIHA. This was the worst experience of my life. I miss my pup terribly and did everything I could for him. Did the vaccinations cause him to go into AIHA? I don't know, but it is a very good possibility after researching and communicating with others who are going through the same thing with their pet.

I took my two chihuahua puppies in for their 16 week shots one month ago. All previous shots were well tolerated. I asked for the vet to give them a bordetella shot just in case I needed to board them when I go on vaation. Within minutes of administering the nasal vaccination, one of my puppies began snorting. I thought he was just trying to get the liquid out of his nose. It is now about a month later and he has developed a permanent cough. I am treating him with medication twice a day, but I don't know how long I will need to do this. The vet is now saying he has a collapsed trachea, but he never coughed before the bordetella. I think the vaccination did some permanent damage to him, or at the very least made a slight genetic issue much, much worse.

Bordatella allergic reaction:

Our one year old lab went in today for his routine vaccinations. A few hours later the vet called to say we forgot his Bordatella. Our lab received it (through the nose). About an hour later his eyes and mouth area were very swollen. The vet said to give him Benadryl. We also gave him a bag of ice to chew. This helped calm him and hydrated him at the same time.

My Boxer had her 16 weeks vaccine to help prevent the Bordatella virus.5 days after her nasal vaccine, she developed not just a little runny nose, but a full blown infection. Yellow mucus shooting out of her nose when she sneezed. Major pleghm and rolling cough from her throat. Presently taking Doxycycline with no improvement. Now going to Guelph University for further testing. It appears the vaccine did this to her. Now I find out most people do not recommend giving your boxer this vaccine. Boy is my dog sick right now. I hope she gets better soon.

I just took my 10 year old Chihuahua to the vet for a check-up last week. I was also talked into the Bordetella nasal spray vaccine. I specifically asked if there were any possible adverse side effects and was told there were not. Since then my dog has been sneezing, reverse sneezing and I think he had a seizure of some type on Saturday where his whole body stiffened up and he could stand on his own for about 5 minutes. He kept trying to get his paws up to his face. I am very angry that I was not told about possible side effects when I asked.

My dog received the intra-nasal vaccine for bordatella on Feb. 28, 2008 the next day she started to cough almost asmatic, a runny nose so full of mucous, constantly running also very tired out. She's only 3 yrs. old .Over the next few months she has been scoped, x-rayed, nebulized,and been on three different antibiotics,$1,000.00 later to no avail.The vet chalked it up to an allergy. At which I called Schering-plough the company which makes this vaccine. The vet there said to take her back and they would pay for a battery of tests to see if the Bordatella was responsible. Of course after waiting 3 weeks for results they said Bordatella didn't show up. My dog was a healthy energy filled dog until this. Now she's very lathargic and sleeps alot. I will not vaccinate my dog again I will go all natural. To see her so sick and uncomfortable and shortness of breath breaks my heart and angers me to know the vets continue to over vaccinate.

Both of my dogs - a female Shih Tzu and a male Pekingese - had the bordetella vaccines this past Monday. Within a couple of days, they were both extremely lethargic, and have been sort of "snorting" (I guess this is called "reverse sneezing"?). I took them back to the same vet on Saturday, and he did a blood test on the Peke, as he was the worst, and his white blood count was above normal, but everything else was normal. He said to give them both liquid Benedryl every 8 hours for 3 days, then once a day for the next 2 weeks. I haven't noticed any significant difference so far, but have only administered 3 times so far, so hope it helps soon.

My Rat Terrier Peaches developed bordetella both times a few days after she was vaccinated intranasally as a young dog. I stopped giving the yearly vaccine and it never happened again. She is now 8 years old. I had stopped all vaccinations except the rabies vaccine which was given last April. During the summer, she then developed an autoimmune disease that was diagnosed by Univ. Of Penn's Chief Professor of Derm. Name- "Rabies Vaccine associated Ischemic Dermatopathy.

It cost me around $12K to get the diagnosis since the local vets would not admit the problem for various reasons. Once we got the proper dx and then the proper meds, she is now in remission, however she almost died and local vets would not admit the cause(including local specialty center) Ft. Dodge Vaccine. Our story is in these archives. My advice is to stay away from vaccines as your dog may be hyper-sensitive like my Peaches. You can now get a waiver from a homeopathic DVM.

I recently (last friday) had my dog vaccinated for Bordatella because she is kennelled quite often due to the fact that I travel. She has since the intranasal application, been very strange... Tons of reverse sneezing, regular sneezing.. rubbing at her nose... and sleepy... to the point of total exhaustion.. What is going on... ? Has anyone else expereinced similar reactions? Please let me know what I should do.. I'm at a loss .. Thanks.

I took my 2 boxers in to have their first ever kennel cough vaccine so they can be boarded at the end of the month. One is 6 years old & the other 3 years old. About 2 1/2 days after the vaccine they both developed runny noses with clear discharge & the younger boxer is coughing intermittantly. Both started exhibiting symptoms withing about 3 hours of each other. Could this be a side effect of the vaccine ??? The vet is putting them on antibiotics which my mother is picking up for me right now.

Intranasal bordetalla vaccination side effect: My 14 month old chihuahua was given (without my prior knowledge or concent) an intranasal vaccination for bordetella nearly a month ago. Since then, she continues to have intermittant bouts of sneezing, "reverse-sneezing", and coughing. I cannot seem to get a straight answer from my vet as yet, but in researching the internet it would seem she may have developed chronic rhinitis or tracheobronchitis as a side effect of the vaccination and will require 3-6 weeks of antibiotics. I also read that this vaccination, along with others she's been given, should be reserved for dogs that are shown or kennelled, which she is not. Has anyone else reported problems such as this from the intranasal bordetella vaccination? I'm rather upset and am considering refusing all future vaccinations of any kind.

My 3 year old Bichon-Poodle mix just had her yearly Bordetella Vaccine and is experiencing side effects of loss of appetite, very tired, slight cough and cries when I try to pick her up. Prior to receiving the vaccine, she was a normal happy dog. The side effects began about 6 hours after receiving the treatment. I have given her 4 mg of Chlorpheniramine Mealeate which has not helped yet. She has never had a reaction to this vaccine before.