Minnie went yesterday to get her third series shots. Within an hour of being at home she developed swelling on one side of her shoulder area. She was sleepy and I let her rest. She was able to get up and walk outside to do her business, drank and ate a few pieces of food. She went back to her bed and slept. Within the next hour the swelling grew. The pocket of swelling felt like a mass of liquid build-up under the skin. She became very sensitive to touch anywhere around her shoulders and sides. She could not lay down and stayed sitting leaning against the side of her bed. I could not pick her up. She went to our emergency Vet. I had gone to a shot clinic to get the shots for her and not the regular Vet. The Vet said that small breed dogs do not do well with the Leptospirosis vaccine and that she was having a reaction to it. The Vet said that BT's are known to have reactions to the shot. She had to stay overnight at the Vet and received 2 shots (one steroid and one Benedryl). When I got home and searched on this vaccine I found a lot of information about reactions to it and controversy about it.

Please research and talk to the Vet prior to getting this shot especially when the dog is very young or small.

I just hope that there are no lasting side effects for Minnie. After I see the Vet this morning, I will update.

J

Oh wow, im sooo sorry to hear Minnie had this reaction! Wonder why it was only to the third shot and not with the prior two?! My first impression when reading your thread was that maybe the vet accidently injected her shot into a muscle or vein and not just simply under the skin?! Just a guess! I am glad to hear that she is doing better, keep us updated!

Thanks Reba-doo,

She is doing better on pain meds eating and drinking just fine. The Vet is still keeping an eye on her there. From the research that I read about it, the puppies that do react to the shots usually do on the 2nd round NOT the first unless it is a severe reaction. Hers is considered Moderate. After her first Lepto shot she was uncomfortable, slept a lot and didn't eat much for a couple of days and I thought that was just normal. Called the place where she got the shots and they injected sterile solution with the shot due to her small size and that was the accumlation of liquid under her skin. It's her pain level and inability to move without the pain that was the bad reaction. Vet said that the Lepto usually is in cattle and can spread to dogs then humans. No cattle around here and I hadn't planned on travelling to see cattle anytime soon!

Scary and I wish I had read up on everything beforehand! The regular Vet does not give those shots for dogs in this area, 1. no need to and 2. because of the complications/reactions.

They love her there and the Vet knows a lot about the BT's so no more visits to the other place!!!

J

Home and feeling much better!

My vet didnt even ask me if I wanted Lepto for Rosco and gave it to him anyway
I didnt know until I got home and looked at my bill, luckily he didnt have a reaction but from now on he's not getting it. Sorry your little girl had a reaction, hopefully she's feeling better.

Originally Posted by JMichel

Home and feeling much better!

GLad to hear that she is doing better and you got a better understanding from the vet!!!

Thanks guys so much.

The best thing was the Vet sat with us for 1/2 hour! She has 3 BT's herself and we worked out a schedule for the rabies and spaying. Since Minnie had the reaction to the shot she will go in the morning and get a pre-shot prior to the Rabies at 5 months shot and be monitored for about 5 or 6 hours after the shot there at the Vet office.

Spay not until 6 months because of her size.

We feel so much better knowing that we have a Vet that loves animals and especially having BT's herself!!!!

Minnie back to her normal happy self and so are we!

So sorry Roscoe got that shot too but glad he did not react. Yeah they had told me only 2 shots and she comes out with 3. Should not be allowed to happen!!!!

J

Stormy reacted really badly too.
The vet said the liquid pockets would go away in about half an hour--NOPE! They kept getting bigger and bigger. Then it got to the point where she would just lay there and if you touched her she would scream! I've never heard a dog scream! But the bad part is we were at my aunts scooter shop so we HAD to pick her up. It killed me to pick her up. I almost cried hearing her yell in pain. We called the vet and she said to give her benadryl, within 45 minutes she didn't scream but she slept for a while.

jrvl,

So sorry about Stormy....yeah the scream was just awful! I was crying...every shift of the car on the way to the Vet was a yelp.

Thank goodness the Benedryl worked and Stormy was able to sleep. Minnie came home with pain meds but she slept real good and didn't need any. Back to her normal self with a little extra zoom now to make up for the down time!

J

I'm surprised your vet gave Minnie the shot then. The reaction is more likely in small dogs and can be life threatening. Vaccinating for lepto is like vaccinating for kennel cough, there are so many different strains and the shot only covers a few so to me its not worth the risks to vaccinate against just a couple of the strains.