Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Vicki

For those of you who remember my post on the combination vaccine with leptospirosis where Pixie Bella had an allergic reaction..big painful bump at the site of the shot..took her to vet to get a shot to counteract the reaction..it worked..then next time she had the vaccine..vet gave her a shot to counteract any reaction before the shots..she didn't have any reaction. Here is what I want to inform you on for those who may not be aware of this. 7 days later from the date of the 16 week shot she had, I discovered a soft bump at the shot site the size of approx. an oreo cookie. This time it was not painful to 'Pix'. I called the vet after hours. He explained that it is possible for the dog to have an allergic reaction a week later, but it is not as serious as the one the dog gets immediately or a few hours after the shot, but to take the dog in the next day to have the vet look at it. In the morning I noticed the swelling had gone down significantly. I called the vet. I was told that because the swelling was going down that is a good sign. They have seen dogs have this type of reaction. Sometimes there remains a small amount of scar tissue.

According to Doctors Foster & Smith: "Leptospirosis is a relatively rare disease that affects few dogs. Today, most people give vaccines without Lepto to puppies (those 12 weeks or younger). In the latter portion of the puppy's vaccination schedule, vaccines with Lepto are used to protect against the disease." For those of you who don't have a Doctors Foster & Smith catalog, I highly recommend it. It has terrific information in it. Also, twice a week you can call vets between certain hours with questions. I just discovered that service. Call 1-800-562-7169 if you are interested in ordering a catalog.

DISCUSSION:

My dog, Charlee, had the same thing happen after every shot. We started giving her benedryl before and after the shot, and putting DMSO on the area of the shot just after. It helped, and she did not get the large knot any more. She is the only one of my dogs that had a problem.
-Marsha A.

Hi, Vicki! I'm sorry your pup had the reaction to Lepto. I hope she is allright. Thanks for the advice regarding this vaccine. I discussed it with my vet. He also said this disease is rare and that dogs usually contract it from unclean water sources such as ditches, ponds, and rivers. He said that Leptospirosis is carried by rats. I did not get the vaccine for my pup. He recommends it for dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors and our little Maltese is usually indoors. When we go out, he is on a leash, and I bring water from home if we are gone for any lenghth of time.
-April Blackmon

Vicki, Harlee Dee & Travis have never had a reaction to the vaccination, thank God. But Foster & Smith's catalog is great!!! I started getting it 4 years ago when I got Harlee Dee & Travis. There are a lot of little tidbits of useful info in there. Take Care!
-Karen Kalamaras

Some dogs do seem to get a reaction to Lepto vaccineand I used to not give it for that reason.However, on the advise of my vet, I now give Lepto vaccine to all my dogs for two reasons. First, when going to shows you should protect you dogs as completely as possible and second, we can catch Lepto from our dogs. As it is not often seen, it is harder to diagnose before damage is done as one of the early symptoms is a very high fever. .5 cc of Benedryl about 20 minutes before a shot will greatly reduce the severity of the reaction and you and your dog will be protected
-Vivian Brownlee

Please remember, lepto is horrible if humans get it. My father nearly died and was in intensive care for three weeks having heart fibs and had a catheter in his heart. They didn't know what he had for the longest time and could only tell us that he was dying. Be careful. If you touch infected water that an infected animal has licked and put your finger to your eye you can become infected. We had to have a specialist diagnose my father and it was almost too late.
-Susan