Allergy to Rabies Vaccine

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Hi.  When Cooper had his first rabies vaccine as a pup, he had an allergic reaction to it where his face swelled up to the size of a basketball, his eyes swelled shut, his lips swelled up, he was drooling profusely and repeated projectile vomitting.  All of this happened about an hour after the vaccine when we were already home and so I had to throw him back in the car and rush the 25 minutes back to the vet's office to get an antihistime and steroid injection.  Needless to say it scared me to death!

Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone else has had a dog with a vaccine allergy and if so did it last forever or did the dog outgrow it? 

He is due for his rabies vaccine next month and I'm a nervous wreck about it already even though the vet is going to pre-medicate him with an antihistime and have me leave Cooper there for the morning for observation.  

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Jen 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I'm sure that if the vet is aware and premedicates tha it will probably be ok. I know it's hard to see them in pain or reactive. Myla had a tough time with the lymes shot she was so sensitive around the area that we couldn't touch her. It got better in a day or so. Good luck!!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

In our state it is possible for a dog to be exempt from the legal requirements of having the rabies shot if the vet documents that the dog has a medical condition that puts them at risk from the vaccination.  Then of course there is the risk of him not being protected against the disease so you would have to weigh the risks if you have the option.

 

If he HAS to have the shot maybe getting more information from your vet about his/her previous experiences with this type of reaction would help put you at ease. Knowing that  he/she has done this successfully in the past  might boost your confidence.

 

Your description of Cooper's reaction is really scary and I can understand your hesitation and concern. I suggest you do your research and find out as much as you can about this vaccine and about rabies vaccine allergies. Remember you are Cooper's voice and knowledge is the key!  Here is a link to some ideas to ponder and that might be helpful. Good luck!

 

http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2010/09/23/rabies-vaccination-12-ways...

 

 

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Hi.  Thanks for the link.  Good information.  Unfortunately in Michigan you have to vaccinate for rabies.  The State does not allow exemptions.  And as you said, by not vaccinating it would leave him suseptible.  I know it's best to have it done and thankfully he'll only have to have it done every 3 years from now on.  My vet has been very supportive and informative.  We've been taking our dogs there for over 25 years so I trust them to know what they are doing.  Like you said, it's just scary.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Well, it sounds like Cooper is in good hands! It is great that you have a vet that you know so well and trust. Maybe they can hand out sedatives to the the Doodle Mommy that morning too!! LOL!!!

[shelly]

WOW, Ricki!  I never knew that!  Don't even know when the last case of Rabies was here!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If he's pre-medicated and stays at the vet's office where they can monitor him and act quickly should there be a reaction, I'm sure he'll be fine.

If possible, ask them to give him the three-year vaccine so you both don't have to go through this again for another three years.

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Hey, I never thought about asking the vet about sedatives for me for when Cooper gets his rabies vaccine (and associated allergic reaction.)  Good idea!!  Never thought I'd need a designated driver to get home from the vet's office.  LOL!!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I am not an expert in allergies in dogs but I do have some experience with humans.  If a person had such severe reaction to a vaccine then it would never be given again. I would double check that this is indeed the correct thing to do and have the vet ask for a second opinion.

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Thanks Lisa for the info.  When he had his puppy rabies vaccination he also had his DHLPP at the same time so I guess that is a possibilty although he had had at least 2 other DHLPP vaccines prior to that without any problem.  Do you think it could be the combo of the rabies and DHLPP?  He is due for his DHLPP at the same time as his rabies obviously so I'll see if I can get him in this week for the DHLPP and then his rabies next month.  

My problem with not getting it done at all is that he is young and he's a very social dog and loves to be around people and other dogs so we are always at the parks, festivals, downtown, hiking in the woods, etc. and there are tons of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, etc. around our house thereby increasing his exposure to other animals.  He is also testing for Therapy Dog certification in a couple of weeks and without the rabies certificate he won't be able to be certified.   

I guess I'll just proceed with caution and hope for the best. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

DHLPP contains the following vaccines: Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis (this one in particular can cause side effects), Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza.) And then Rabies on top of all that. IMO, that's too many vaccines at once.

Parainfluenza vaccine can be given intranasally with bordatella vaccine, at a separate time. Lepto vaccine can be given separately, and there is a newer protocol which is less likely to cause a reaction, involving getting two shots one month apart...obviously, if you get the "cocktail" he got last time, you have no choice. There is also now a three year DHP vaccine that you can ask for, do the Lepto separately at another time, and do the parainfluenza intranasally with bordatella, which could also be done at another visit.

 

[Sue Z. + Finley]

We had an Australian Shepherd who had a severe reaction to a vaccine. Same symptoms: face swelling, panting, and throwing up. This also happened about 30 min. after the vaccine when we were on our way home from the vet. The vet concluded that it was a combination of too many vaccines at one time. From that time on we always gave our dog the DHP and rabies separately and she had no more reactions. Good luck!

P.S. Our Aussie was also about three years old when this happened - so she had been through several years of combo vaccines before she had the reaction.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Aussies are also one of the breeds that can have Ivermectin sensitivities.