Maltese & Shots
by Bernadette & Bee Bee
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I was recently told that toy breeds are sometimes violently allergic to one of the ingredients in their annual shots and that this can be fatal. Does anyone know anything about this. I know that Bee Bee gets sick every time he gets his shots. He seems to be in a lot of pain. If you touch him he yells. Last year he developed a lump after his shots. The lump remained for about a month. This little guy is not usually a complainer so I know he hurts a lot after the shots. He is 23 months old and weighs 6.5 lbs. Thanks for your help.
DISCUSSION:
You may be referring to the lepto vaccine. This has come up several times on this board. For information on lepto, you can check the archives.
April B
My Macy has had a severe reaction to the shots since she was 1 year old. We continued the shots during her 2nd and 3rd year, but each year her reaction got worse. It was very frightening. Even with the vet pretreating her, she still would have a reaction. Last year we discussed it with the vet and the vet agreed that because the reaction may be fatal, that we should discontinue the shots. She has no reaction to the rabies shot which is required by law. But we have not given the other shots. You can check with your vet to see if they will do a titer to determine if your baby has the antibodies in her system. Macy rarely goes outside and when she does we only stay in our yard. Of course we are careful; if we touch other dogs we wash our hands thoroughly before we touch Macy. But everyone elses dogs in my neighborhood have had the shots.
It's a difficult decision to not give the shots, but if you know that your dog has a severe reaction, it may be the safest solution. There are also some children that have had died or suffered brain damage due to vaccinations. It is more common than we think.
Vanessa
I thank you for your answers. I will check all of this out. After Bee Bee's shots the first year, he was terribly sick for about two days and as I previously stated you couldnt touch him because he hurt so much. This was on a weekend and when I called the vets emergency service they could not get him. I did not hear from the vet until the following tuesday. Needless to say, I changed vets. I took him to a vet hospital which has a very good reputation in the area. There are at least 6 or 7 different vets there. When I took Bee Bee to the new vet for his shots the following year, I told him about the reaction. His answer to me was, "these little dogs tend to be very whimpy and every little thing bothers them" He then proceeded to give him the shots. Again Bee Bee seemed in a lot of pain and developed a lump where the shot was given. When I took him back one of the other vets looked at him and said the lump was probably from the shots and to watch him for three or four weeks. Bee Bee really is not a whiner and he very rarely complains about anything. I am now looking for a new vet.
Bernadette & Bee Bee
Please check out my post under "Please help with lump" by Gary. Nike developed a lump similar to the one that you are describing. It is important that if they have to even get the rabies vaccination that they do have a single dose vial. All of the info is in that post. I hope that this helps!
Georgiann and Cotton
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