Puppy shot allergies

[Lecia russell]

Ollie had a serious reaction to his second set of puppy shots, so much so that I had to run him to the nearest vet. There they started him on a IV drip to counteract his reaction. When I took him home his little face,eyes and ears were still swollen ,not as bad . I also had to give him Benadryl later on that night several times . His vet said oh we will just pre-medicate him prior to the next shots in 3 weeks. Well I contacted the breeder and her Libby had reactions also, but not as severe she get pre-medicated and is fine. I went to her vet b/c he knows moms history,wonderful vet we had a titer drawn an Ollie was immune so no shots needed. I have to bring him back in August for another titer, hopefully he's still immune. He will need his rabies shot at that time and I'm terrified that he'll have a reaction , anyone with advice? Can I refuse the rabies shot ?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Lecia, I'm so sorry about Ollie's severe reaction to the puppy shots. Tara is 4 years old and has only had her puppy shots and no others. I titer test her annually and she still has strong immunity.  As far as rabies go, I don't think you can refuse the shot as it is mandated by law and because on the off chance that Ollie should encounter a species that carries the rabies virus he could contract it and that would be a BIG problem. In Oregon if a domestic dog or cat has contact with a rabid animal and has not had a rabies vaccine shot they are automatically euthanized!!  If they have had even one shot in their lifetime the animal will be put into quarantine.  What I did with Tara was put the rabies shot off as long as I felt I could. She was over a year old before she received her first one. I was hoping that would give her immune system more of a chance to mature and be able handle the shot a little better.

The laws are different from state to state but in Oregon a vet can give a dog or cat an exemption from the rabies vaccine if they have a health issue. So perhaps once Ollie has one shot you can get an exemption for any further rabies shots. I'm glad you found a vet that seems to know how to handle this issue. 

[Lecia russell]

Thank you, I will have to discuss the risk with the vet, maybe I can get an exemption .

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are also 3 year rabies shots and I believe they have a 5 year rabies shot now, too. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think we discussed this and the 3 year shots are the same as the 1 year shots. So maybe the 5 year shots are too. Mine get rabies shots every three years.

[Chelsie]

So sorry to hear about the reaction. My little Eli had the same thing happen to him. I still get him vaccinated because to me the risk of him getting sick far outweighs having a reaction. He only gets rabies and distemper though. We pre-medicate and have him observed at the vet for several hours after the shots and he has never had another reaction. My vet told me that his type of reaction, which sounds like Ollie's, isn't super serious. It needs to be handled of course, but is actually pretty common.

[Lecia russell]

Well his titer was strong so he didn't need any puppy shots in February . August we go back for another titer so I'm hoping their still high. He had a really terrible reaction that pre- medicating him I feel won't help much. His new vet agrees, his eye lids, ears and mouth swelled so big that his eyes were completely close and was having problems breathing , I would never risk killing my dog when usually there immunity is pretty high from the mother and also the first set of shots. But rabies still concerns me , hopefully he won't have a reaction to the rabies shot the vet was going to check around for a different manufacture .

[Chelsie]

Yeah Eli's eyes were swollen shut and he was so puffy! Our poor babies! Of course I would never risk killing my dog. I don't vaccinate for anything else other than distemper and rabies, and is always pre-medicated and watched at the vet for several hours. Hopefully Ollie's immunty stays high and he doesn't have a reaction to rabies!