Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

Hello My name is Anna!

this morning on march 6th at 8am i took my 6 month old bichon frise for his rabies shot and two other booster shots. the clinic didn't tell me that there may be side effects!! he was fine when i brought him home. but just 30 minutes later he is crying, lipping, and not moving!! i called the clinic and they told me that is normal!!

i never seen my dog acting this way. i am worried so i made another vet appointment for later this afternoon to get a second thought. he isn't drinking or eating. just laying on the bathroom floor. i will keep you inform..

Please....don't vaccinate your dogs or cats after they've had their puppy shots. It's just not necessary. My toy poddle had reactions to rabies and other annual shots. My new holistic vet said all those shots are NOT necessary, and may in fact be very harmful, as you can see by all the comments on this website. My poodle has not had ANY vaccinations in about 8 years (he's 14 years old now) and he's doing very well. Vets are no different than our own doctors, they are taught to give drugs and vaccinations, rather than get to the root of a problem. Ever notice how you take your dog/cat for annual shots and they manage to find other things wrong and you end up with endless bills? That's how they get you there in the first place....scare you into thinking that you HAVE to give your pet annual vaccinations. It's deadly!! Refuse to do it, like parents refusing to vaccinate their children because of the link to autisum....the government is behind saying that vaccinations DON'T cause autisum because they're not concerned with the few who have bad reactions. They think they're saving millions from illness...but what if your loved one is the "one percent" damaged from the vaccination. Wake up....don't let them brainwash you into thinking your dog/cat needs vaccinations every year. It totally overloads their own immune systems.

Our cats did not have a reaction to their vaccinations, but when we got our last Siamese, the breeder told me NOT to let the vet give him his rabies shots. The breeder sees no reason for the cats to see the vet unless they are ill. They will go only when they are ill and only after I read the posts on this site for self care. Many Vets only want to write that script for meds! A few years back I no longer let our cats go outside so they are now inside only. Our older cats have not been to the vet in years. They are very healthy. Our oldest is 15 yrs old. It is way too dangerous for cats to be outside these days.

See if your vet can test the antibodies in your kitty's blood. If they are still good she shouldn't need a shot. That way you know she is "protected" and won't have to give her shot if she doesn't need them.

I took in two stray kitties in 2005 and they have been in for spaying and shots as needed since then. One of them, Annie is 8 pounds and Buffy is 12 pounds. Over the past 2 years when they got their shots Annie has suffered terribly. She cries, licks, runs around frantically, won't let me near her and is just miserable for about 2 days whereas Buffy is fine. I asked the Vet about it after the first bad reaction as I was worried Annie got too much medicine or something and the Vet told me the medicine was premeasured so each cat got the same amount regardless of their weight which I thought was strange. Anyway, my girls are due for their yearly shots soon plus their rabies also and I am leaning towards not having Annie get any shots at all which I hate to do since she is an inside/outside cat as I also have 2 rescued dogs and a doggy door, but I don't want to put Annie at risk for the adverse reaction to the shots.... I am SO confused as to what to do. I love my furry kidz so much and I want to do what is best for them but I'm not sure what IS best for them.....Any help out there?? Vicki

My little pug puppy got the following vaccinations this morning: 'distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza, leptospirosis'. She has not been eating all day, is normally very active but have been sleeping all day, and vomited twice.

On December 5, 2009, I took my perfectly healthy, 7 1/2 year old calico kitty, Margo, to the vet for her annual 'wellness visit.' Arbor Ridge gave her rabies and distemper vaccine. A few days later I noticed she squeaked and cried out if I tried to pick her up. I took her back to the same vet (big mistake) and he diagnosed Margo with some sort of back injury, perhaps from jumping off a high object, he said. She is an indoor cat and had never been sick even one day in her life up until then. He then sent me home with Medicam to give her. It worked until it wore off and then I read about the lethal side effects. I returned to him when Margo didn't improve. He again encouraged me to give her Medicam. He also sent me home with Tramedol, a pain reliever. I then tried a so-called natural vet who took many tests, barium, x-rays, consultations, etc. costing me alot of money. They determined Margo was not passing urine and stool. They gave her an enema and expressed her bladder (very painfulf or her.) This vet also recommended Medicam which surprised me and then referred Margo to the UW School of Veterinary Mecicine for further tests. They ran many tests and couldn't locate a reason for her pain when handled. They gave me Lactulose and some capsules to shove down her throat which was terrible for both of us. They gave her so many drugs that it is a miracle she has survived.

I finally consulted with a reputable pet communicator who asked me if Margo had had any vaccinations lately. I said she had, indeed, had shots right before all this happened.

She then went on to say that the needle had hit a nerve making it painful for Margo to squat and suggested an acupuncturist. I took her advice and the acupuncturist also gave Margo a chiropractic adjustment. She recommended TRAUMEEL (a safe, natural anti-inflammatory supplement)and THUJA (used for bladder irritation) to ease Margo's discomfort. I am also giving her prune juice each day. The veterinarian at the UW Vet school wanted me to keep Margo on the Lactulose and said 'We don't know the effects of prune juice." Interesting! They also sent me home with antibiotics to start giving Margo several days before the tests for any infection that would call for them, were back from the lab. She was hospitalized there for two days because they wanted to do a cat scan and an MRI but the neurologist upon examining Margo, said she didn't feel that was necessary. They had given Margo a form of morphine when she stayed there in the ICU unit. She was given a phentanol patch to relieve pain which didn't work one bit. She is urinating and deficating but still is sensitive to being picked up. She was just fine before those vaccines!! The vet, of course, is taking no responsibility and the others who examined and over medicated Margo are being quite evasive about the reasons for her predicament even though I had told them over and over that Margo had been perfectly healthy before that 'wellness visit.' I guess that is all part of the "Code of Cover-up."If anyone has any other suggestions please write.

Mari

dog dental vaccince side effects: I took my 3 yr old Maltese into the vet to have her teeth cleaned.She is only 4 pounds! The vet told me about the new dental vaccine that they have been reccomending to smaller breed dogs. I told them to go ahead and give her the shot while she was under. When I went to pick her up she seemed ok until they set her down and I tried to pick her up. She cried out in pain and then started to whimper. I set her back down and she was just pitiful! There was a large knot where the shot went in but I was told this is normal. She couldn't move for the first 24 hours at all. Not to eat, drink, or use her pee pad. We are now going into day three and she can still hardly move. If you try to pet her from mid back down she cries out then will whimper for hours after. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Sickness after shots: This is just to ask what is happening to my kitten. He is 6 months old. I had his first booster shots done 5 days ago and he has not been "right" since,. He is listless, unhappy, has a tiny mew, meows loudy before he vomits, which he didn't vomit before, sits with a sad look on his face... a distant look in his eyes. He has not eaten in two days and seems to be interested when I ask him but he won't eat it. I thought maybe the food was "off" a bit.. so opened another can... but no way. He didn't even want to have his "cookies" which I purchase from my vet. He is a ragdoll, lynx points cross and has come from a reputable breeder in our area. Thank you

i have a poodle/havenesse mix and 8 months ago i took him in for his booster, and that will be the last time i do that, we thought we were going to lose him. i wont do it. he is 6 years old and there is alot of contervsory over vaccines and how often it is needed. we as humans only get one, not every year so why in animals,, is to make the vets richer? we must remember that it is a business.

I took my 5 year old pekingese in for her annual vacination booster which included her rabies and canine 7 way. After receiving her shots on that Friday, she vomited and was unable to walk. She also had a moderate fever. After contacting her vet for a weekend emergency consultation, her vet advised to simply give her an asprine a day until she was better. It took her over five days until she was able to walk and over two weeks for her to walk without falling over. This was a terrifying experience as I was unsure if she was going to pull through or not. Although her vet advised this was a common reaction, I disagree and I am uncertain of having her receive the boosters next year.

I am concerned if it was a problem with the vaccines or in how they were administered.

I did note that the vet used the exact same injection site and gave the injections back to back. Allowing the vacines to be contained together under the skin. I am not sure if this made any difference but it did concern me at the time of being too hurried.

Normal side effects? I have an adorable 4 year old 1 pound female Shitzu name Tosh,she got her annual shots as well as rabies shot this past Sunday, ever since then (almost 2 days) she has been laying there not moving, she would not eat or drink or move by herself. Her body in aching because whenever I try to pick her up she would cry. The vet told me this is normal and to give her baby aspirin every 8 hours... this morning she started to breath heavily, not sure what to do, I paged my vet and waiting for a call back... was wondering if anyone experience similar issues with their pets. I might just take her in to be checked just in case... thanks in advance for any reply!

I own 2 e.bulldogs which they are very happy and healthy all the while till the day i send them to take their vaccination shot. The female is 14mths old and after the vaccination she has seizure and till now im still controlling the and she is more easily allergy to foods. The male which is about 3.5 yrs old only had his vaccination at his puppy hood so im thinking to give him a shot as i was told many dogs around my area has parvo but now he is more allergic to food even the same thing he takes daily. He is the best e.bulldog even if he has allergy it will take only 1 pill to clear it off but now i have to give allergy pill plus antibiotics and go on for about 1 week anly i could see the result. I will never give my dogs yearly shot

All pet owners should encourage their veterinarians to report known or suspected adverse vaccination side effects to the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics (USDA/CVB) at 1-800-752-6255. Include the following information: Vaccine Manufacturer's name, Product Brand Name, Product Code, Lot/Serial Number and Expiration Date. Information on the breed, age, injection site and reaction should also be provided.

My cat had a rabies and FVRCP vaccination 0n 1/23/09. The next day he was lethargic, not eating, but is drinking, walking slowly and with some difficulty. He is 12 years old. I believe the rabies vaccine makes him ill. He is an outdoor cat so I believe the risk outweighs the possibility of the disease. This is not the first time he has been ill after a vaccination. However, he seems very ill this time. I will watch him closely for the next couple of days before calling the vet.

Do you know someone in the Portland, Oregon area who does homeopathic vaccinations?

My kitty Elmo is seven years old and like a dutiful mother I vaccinated him yearly until the fateful day after his sixth year of the shots he went into a breathing/asthma attack, spit dripping from his mouth, an actual moan from his lips, and when I went to pick him up he went limp. We rushed him to the emergency room, 1000 dollars later they tell me he had an "allergy" attack and tried to claim that the shots had nothing to do with it. yeah, right. Had I not been witness we probably would have lost him. So needless to say I started checking into this and do not plan to vaccinate him every year. Thank God for this site, for all of you angels, for Ted, and for our higher power. xoxo Cara

Some people out there have never experienced such and wouldn't know what a dog with an outbreak of hives looks like. Since last friday, I have been posting those pix of my Bella in hopes that others can learn from them. Liquid benedryl is a godsend to have on hand too. In a severe case, it could mean the difference between life or death while in route to a vets office. People should call their veterinarians, and ask if their dog ever has an allergic reaction (it could be to something as simple as a bee sting), what amount of childrens liquid benedryl is proper to give, for their dogs weight size. Education is key in being prepared.

A bit more about her first reaction to that 7-Way booster...

Bella was fine 2-3 min's after administering that shot but within 4-5 min's, she was acting sluggish standing with her head dropping low. I thought "whats wrong girl". As I sat there watching her, a couple more minutes went by and within 8 min's after getting that shot, her breathing had become labored, she was lying on the floor and very lethargic. I now knew we had a problem so I scooped her up and took her outdoors and laid her down in the cool grass. Breathing now was very very labored and she was lifting her tail as if she had to "go". She was dying right there in front of my eyes. I had my husband begin to massage her, talk to her, and keep her alert as possible while she lay there dying. I ran inside and called the vet whom said "get her up here now, she's experiencing an aniphylactic shock reaction and could die".

Once we got there, med's were given by another form of shot to counter act Bella's reaction. It perked her up and got her back on her feet quite quickly. As Bella stood there on the examining table, I noticed the linings around her eyes began to swell and bumps breaking out all over her body. Most noteably first in her facial area. Bella began to whine/cry immensly while pawing at her eyes. I asked the vet "what are those bumps coming out on her face"? She said "she's breaking out in hives" and then gave her some kind of pill to counter act that reaction. We waited about 20 min's, in which she was still pretty swollen with hives so a second pill was given which seemed to do the trick.

In the end, Bella came through ok as her reaction was a mild case, per the vet. She said she didn't expect Bella to even be alive upon arrival, as many do not make it through such a reaction. The vet said my quick thinking to get her outdoors in the fresh air (oxygen) and the fact that we massaged her body and didn't let her "go to sleep" most likely helped to save her life that day.

The point here is that the reaction happened so fast, within 8 min's of giving Bella that 7-Way (1yr) booster shot here at home. Yes, it was a home vaccine. People do need to be aware how fast a dog can go down from an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

At that time, both the vet and I had assumed Bella's reaction was due to the "leptospirosis" (lepto) virus that was in that vaccine. Since that time (a few years ago)... lepto is no longer recommended for small dog breeds nor puppies. We almost lost Bella that day due to that aniphylactic shock reaction and the vet said we were very lucky. That is why she no longer recieves any types of vaccines other than rabies, as required by law. But now the reaction to the rabies vaccine makes me very cautious and wonder if the problem wasn't the lepto from her first vaccine reaction but rather, if it lies within Bella's own immune system, which is most likely the case. The question is why?

I have five little teddy rat terriers and she's the only one I've ever had problems like that with. If the vaccine companies out there could get a sample of each dog's blood that reports having adverse reactions... they might run some kind of test to see what is so different about those affected dogs. Only then will an answer to my question above be answered. It's apparent that these companies are aware that some dogs are affected and do have adverse reactions, yet where are the studies from those affected dogs to find out why? What is it about their immune systems that are so different? Could it possibly be that some dogs already have their own high levels of "natural" antibodies? If that is the case, then giving them a "man-made" vaccine shot could put their immune systems outta wack of which the results wouldn't be good. Again, I stongly feel boosters are over-rated and that more testing needs to be done.