Rattlesnake Vaccines

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Boy, I am just full of good news today, aren't I?  Gracie Doodle had a lump cut out of her back hip last week.  We had been watching it for a few months and it wan't a normal lump or bump.  It was bumpy and sort of like a caterpiller shape.  The vet did a biopsy a few months ago and the lab was unable to diagnose it.  So, we decided to have it removed.  This time the lab report came back that it was a lump of calcification.  The theory that the vet and I had is now probably correct.  This is the area where she received her Rattlesnake vaccines each year for probably 3 years.  We now have concluded that there must have been scar tissue that built up from the injections and it then calcified.  But, WTD?  Dogs get vaccines all the time!!  I don't know how wide spread the ways injections are given, but here they map them to different areas of the dog's body.  That way if there ever is a reaction or problem they can better isolate it.  They used to give all the injections up in the back of the neck but they found they were unable to pinpoint a reaction.  So here, when rattlesnake injections are done they are given in the left rear hip.  

Needless to say, we are no longer having this vaccine.  We never needed it anyway.  We don't live in snake country.  I just always wanted Gracie to have the best protection just in case!  Something to think about!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wow, poor Gracie Doodle really needs a break! Good call on no more snake vaccine! 

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Yep, that was initially the plan.  If we were up in the mountains we would have time to get down and to a vet.  Well, we just don't go up to the mountains that much.  We even did the avoidance training and annual refreshers.  Now we are doing nothing.  We are just letting our poor girl be a dog!!  Of course, always watching out for her.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I guess you could consider the old saying "If it is not broke, don't fix it."  After the puppy shots, the only shot you need to have is the rabies every three years.  My vet says that the others are not necessary.  Hondo, of course, could not have any injections because of his compromised system.  Calcification from an injection?  Yeah, forget it.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

POOR GRACIE!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poor gracie. at least the lump was not something serious. I do get a number of vaccinations for the dogs each year but reactions such as you describe are not that common and some of the diseases are serious. It's all in the odds. How is Gracie doing overall/

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

F...right now things are great with Gracie.  Her hair is growing back beautifully but a different color.  She has more dark orange than apricot but she is beautiful.  Fluffy and curly and her tail is getting feathers again.  She is so happy and loving and really enjoying life.  Every day we wake up and hold our breath when she yawns.  As my DH keeps saying...Every Day is A Gift!  Boy, don't I know it.  We are keeping our fingers crossed and the only thing now is the root canal and then maybe we won't have to visit the vet for a while!!!  Gracie sure does deserve a break and she is such a sweet girl and doesn't deserve all that has happened to her.  We are so protective of her and always keep her with us and an eye on her.  You know the saying...S*** Happens!  Well, not any more in our home!!  

[Star and Goldie]

I have never even heard of a Rattlesnake Vaccine. Wow, there must be a vaccine for everything. After Goldie had a bad reaction to the Lepto vaccine I've decided to just stick to the basics! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry that Gracie had this happen to her.  I am glad that the lump turned out not to be a malignant tumor.

[Amy M. and Molly]

I also thought I was being "proactive" in getting the rattlesnakes vaccine for Molly last summer. We also live in So. California, and our property borders lots of vacant acreage where there are snakes. Three weeks after the last shot, she developed a lump the size of an egg that took two weeks to resolve. Because it didn't happen right away, it took me a few days to realize it waa a reaction from the vaccine. Needless to say, we won't be getting it anymore. My vet told me that they have changed the formulation of the vaccines in recent years, and last year he saw more adverse reactions than ever before.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Amy...I am so glad the lump resolved itself.  I am also glad to hear what your vet told you.  It sort of confirms what we are thinking was wrong with Gracie.  There is no 100% way to prove the calcium deposit was caused by the vaccine but the deposit was sitting right on top of her hip muscle and the only thing that has gone on in that spot over the years was the vaccine.  Funny though, Gracie's started showing up over the last 8 months and she had been having the vaccines for three years.  Hummm, actually it started showing up after her last booster last April (a year ago).  Maybe that was the fomulation change and this was the result the adverse reactions you mentioned.  That would make sense.  I hate not knowing 100% when thing go wrong with our babies! Thanks for your input. 

[DJ & Chance]

Thanks for the warning, Nancie.