Over Vaccinating?

Question

I have a 4 month old female Bull terrier. She received her first 2 sets of puppy shots, however after her second set, she broke out in hives and had a rash all over her body. My vet said she was fine and I went in to get her third set and he gave her a shot of benadryl with the shots and she STILL broke out all over.
My vet wants her to have her last set and her rabies shot, I on the other hand want her to have a Titer done in order to see if she has anti-bodies already for both. My vet says that is unneccesary and the shots will not hurt her. What should I do?

Answer 1

I have a dog with the exact same problem. He actually has lots of allergies. But after he had his last rabies he had a life threatening reaction, just like yours.
Your distemper series should be complete. They would not need boosting until age 1. However, you will need a rabies shot. They get repeated a year later as well.
Since your vet is acting like it's no big deal, find a different vet! This is a life threatening reaction and your dog could die.
You will probably need to do what I do. I only get the rabies shot for him once every 3 years. He gets the benadryl injection and he stays in the clinic the whole day to be watched carefully. The vet recommends no other vaccinations for him. Since I have all of my other dogs vaccinated there is really no risk for him of catching things.

I also think you need to be concerned about allergies in general. She will likely develop allergies and you will need to find the right meds to treat them. They would generally show up next year since she's still a puppy.
And, please let your breeder know what's going on. It is possibly genetic, but these things can pop up for no reason. But at least she will have the information. It will help her determine if she wants to still use certain dogs in her breeding program.
So, when we go camping or away for a day with our dogs, I always bring chlor trimiton, benadryl and ice packs in case of an allergic reaction. Feel free to e-mail me if you would like any more info on what we've done. We've been through it all.

Answer 2

I would definitely not return to that vet but I would also find out the name of the brand of vaccine that was given. In fact, I would go out of my way to let the next vet know of the situation and the vaccine used. Some vets use a less expensive brand of vaccines made by Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge has a high rate of reactions to their products, according to my vet. He switched to the more expensive vaccines by Pfizer and found a marked reduction in reactions. I am a breeder and vaccinate my own dogs and had always used Pfizer in the first place, but one day I had asked if his clinic was changing the protocol on vaccines as suggested by the research. That is how the discussion of brands came up in the first place.As for titres, the literature from manufacturers claim that the initial series of 3 vaccinations followed by a booster at one year are required to hold a satisfactory titre, so I am guessing that the titre test would likely show he still has a compromised immune system.

Also be sure to avoid getting the rabies or giving any other meds like Heartworm or any dewormer during the same week as the puppy shot. Some vets still don't think of this and want to give everything on one visit --not wise.

Answer 3

Go ahead and do the titer if you feel more comfortable with that, but know that each successive shot this dog gets will cause a DEEPER, worse reaction. If she were mine, she'd never get another, becuase it's like playing russian roulette. You'll never know which one might throw her over the edge into autoimmune diseases that can be deadly.

And one response to those who insist that rabies vaccines are required by law in the U.S.... This is NOT true in all states. I suggest you research your own states' law before spouting that it is required everywhere. It is NOT, and that is a fact. It is not required by law in the state of Ohio (Ohio Revised Code), but rather the state law lets each individual city, county or municipality decide on whether or not it is a requirement.

Back to the titer... don't let your vet charge an outrageous amount for it, either. You should be able to get the test done for around $60 (that's the lab's charge)... plus the cost of the blood draw from your vet. If they quote you higher or try to tell you that it's outrageously expensive, they're lying or trying to overcharge you to get you to do the vaccines instead.

Another thing to consider is that vaccinating for the same disease does not give MORE immunity. A dog is either immune or it is not. There is absolutely no need for booster shots or all these multiple sets of shots. Immune/Not Immune - those are the two choices. Re-Vaccinating does not make them more immune. Period. See the reference from Dr. Ron Schultz.

Also, the best place to get your titers done is through Antech and Dr. Jean Dodds. You can find the forms here: http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/HEMOPET.HTM

Answer 4

Some puppies will have vaccine reactions. The vet may need to try a different preventative other than benadryl, or maybe she's allergic to one of the vaccines in the shot. OK, what I mean is, a puppy shot is called a DHLPP (Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza). Sometimes puppies have a reaction to the Lepto part.
So ask your vet if you can not vaccinate for the Lepto and see how that goes. And stay at the vets for a good 20 minutes after the shot to see if she has a reaction. They may want to split up the DHPP and Rabies, which would probably be a good idea. Now the rabies is required by law, and I personally haven't seen a reaction to this vaccine in the 6 years I've been in a vet office or thru vet tech school. Once the puppy shots are done, they're only a yearly vaccine if not less depending on the vet office. Good luck

Answer 5

I agree with the majority of posters on this board. RUN from this vet (or should I say Quack). Always listen to your intution, you know whats best for your dog. I would definitely do titers for the rest of her life. All my dogs get titered about once a year, they will probably never see another vaccine again. I would get a hold of a good holistic vet and see what you can do to boost and strengthen her immune system. Then when she 6+ months old I would consider the rabies vaccine. It is a tough call, but to me if the dog bites someone even just in play the consequences can be really bad if she isn't vaccinated for rabies.

Answer 6

Definitely find a new vet. This one obviously does not keep up with new information.

I would have the titer done for the booster, and discuss with the vet the pros and cons of doing the rabies.

One of my dogs will NEVER be vaccinated again due to her reaction. The rest are vaccinated every three years (except the ones over 10, who do not get done). I also had a previous dog who could not have shots due to allergies and a compromised immune system.

Answer 7

Freedom is absolutely spot on, and has given you lots of info you can look up. Your vet is being totally and utterly irresponsible in the way he is treating your dog. There's not a lot I can add, except that you may want to join a list which is dedicated to absolutely NO vaccinations at all.....and that includes rabies. If you do a search on rabies in your state, I think you might be shocked as to how the government are playing around with the figures. The site is:-
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jstsayno2vaccs/

I would also think that titre tests are not necessary. Your dog is protected against all diseases. But by all means have the titres done, if you want to. I do agree that to vaccinate soon would be seriously risking your dog's health. Vaccinating an ill dog **should not be done**. This is stated by the manufacturer's themselves.....it's on the labels!! Your dog has already had a side-effect of the vaccines (which your vet has chosen to ignore) and this *must* not be repeated. Your best bet is to go to the site I gave, and ask them questions. They are *very* anti-vax. The sites that Freedom gave you are also very much worth looking at.

For all those who gave Freedom the "thumb's down"....you really must stop being herded around like sheep. My vet has strict instructions not to vaccinate any of my dogs....or he will be sued! I have on my dogs notes (not that there's much on them.......we're hardly ever there!):- NO vax, no metacam, no NSAIDS without my strict permission, etc., etc. He is quite happy with that. My dogs are extremely healthy, and I put it down to no vax and raw diet. The oldest is 11 y/o, and she is still running around like a youngster.

Good Luck!! Stick to your guns.......your dog is more important than staying friends with a vet who doesn't seem to care if he's damaging your dog or not.

Answer 8

I totally stopped vaccinating my dogs and cats over 4 years ago. They have improved a lot over this time. One had seizures 4 times a yr. One had ear infections 6-8 times a yr. The seizures are reduced to 2 per year. The other has not had an ear infection in 4 yrs now.
Do not allow the vet to vaccinate this dog again.
Read Dr. Ron Schultz's article at Wisconsin University
http://svmweb.vetmed.wisc.edu/articles/68/5/39

There is a Yahoo Group that you should join. Learn what vaccines are doing to the animals and how to avoid them.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jstsayno2vaccs

Answer 9

I'm with you - the majority of vets are now admitting that dogs are being way over-vaccinated. According to my vet, the drug companies are now admitting it too, because so many people are running titers that the proof is irrefutable. Your puppy does need her rabies shot, but go ahead and run titers for the others - parvo and distemper especially. If your vet is one of those who won't listen to your concerns, I'd be finding a new one.

Answer 10

Get a new vet. Clearly the vaccinations are causing problems for this dog, and "the shots will not hurt her" isn't cutting it.

I would absolutely do the titer. 3 sets of Distemper/Parvo is more than enough for a puppy. It's becoming clearer and clearer all the time that we have been overvaccinating our dogs for some time, now.

By law, she needs the Rabies, so you should get that done. Definitely get the titers done if you want -- I expect that they will prove your point.

Here are a couple of vaccination protocol articles that you may find useful:
http://www.boxerunderground.com/bu2000/april2006/new_vaccination_protocol_in_a_nutshell.htm
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM
http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/MinimalVaccineUse.html