Vaccination question

Hi everyone

I took Rudi for his first vaccination yesterday. He went into the vets with his brother Barney. When Barney was vaccinated he let out a little yelp but carried on eating the treats that the vet had put down for him but, when it came to Rudi having his vaccination he let out a little yelp the a couple of seconds later he starting to really cry it went on for about a minute, has anyone else ever experienced this kind of reaction? I felt so sorry for him. He is quite a bit smaller than his brother, his brother weighs 2.65kg and Rudi weighs 2.1kg could this have anything to do with his reaction? As you can imagine I am not looking forward to the next one and I think I will wait a little while until he is a bit bigger to be microchipped I don't think he will be able to manage that one.

Anna (Mum of Harvey & Rudi)

India had the same reaction when she had her first shot. I was visibly worried at the vets! But since then everything has been fine, including the vaccinations she has had since then.

Thanks Cathy, I feel a bit better now. Like you I was very concerned at the vets, she even took him off me to try and calm him down. Still not looking forward to the next one though.

Thanks Again

Anna (Mum of Harvey & Rudi)

Try to be calm and upbeat next time Rudi goes in for his shot - otherwise he'll read your body language and expression, and he'll think something bad is going to happen. Like you, I feed my dogs treats when they're getting vaccinations.

Sometimes the medicine "stings" after it is injected for a little bit. Some reaact to that sensation more then others. My Maya used to throw a royal fit but the last time she got her rabies she was fine!

Anna, Barkley had his final round on Friday; he'd had his earlier ones without me as his breeder had taken him for those. He yelped and cried and I felt so darn bad for him but a couple of biscuits later, after everyone in the vet's made a big fuss over him, it was forgotten about.

When Chester has his first shots he sat in his bed all day and just kept looking over at us & crying. Think it was all so overwhelming for him, being in a new home & having his shots and he was very very little. He finally decided it wasnt out fault and came out later on in the evening.

We have just been to have his first yearly booster & I was really worried that he would have the same reaction but he didnt even flinch. Not even a whimper. To be honest, I dont even think he felt it now he is bigger and has more flesh on his bones.

When Daisy had her first shots (with me at least) when we brought her home at 10 wks, she yelped, too. She had a really bad day all day and I ended up bringing her back to the vet's that evening because I was so worried. He said he could tell she was in a lot of pain and he gave her some Metacam (a pain reliever). Within a half hour, she was completely normal.

For her one year old shots, the vet gave her Metacam right away (with the shots), and she never had any sort of reaction.

I think the first vet didn't do a good job of giving the shot. Maybe he put it the wrong place or something. He wasn't our normal vet that we have now. He did feel really bad, though, and gave us the Metacam and second visit for free.

Of course, since it was within the 30 day waiting / underwriting period for our pet insurance, all negative reactions to vaccines are now excluded from our policy. I signed her up for pet insurance the day after we brought her home, but because the vet noted in her file that she had a lot of pain with the vaccines, they excluded it from future coverage as a pre-existing condition. Oh well.

Dylan had this delayed cry after an antibiotic shot in the back of the neck. That vet refused to put the needle in anywhere other than there. After hearing that Cavaliers might be better to avoid a needle in the back of the neck and that a shot in the leg left a friend of mine's dog temporarily lame, I talked it over with my vet. He said the yoke area of a dog is the best place to give a shot with regards to absorption. This is where I have Dylan vaccinated now.

Sorry to sound so vague Pauline, but where precisely is the yoke? If in your experience this has proven to be less painful for a dog, then I intend asking my vet to do this from now on, as Max also lets out a little yelp and is out of sorts following his injections. I would appreciated a response and thanks in advance.

Celticharmony said:

Sorry to sound so vague Pauline, but where precisely is the yoke? If in your experience this has proven to be less painful for a dog, then I intend asking my vet to do this from now on, as Max also lets out a little yelp and is out of sorts following his injections. I would appreciated a response and thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

I think the dress makers among us would know where the yoke is I should have said the loose skin on the side of the chest. On you it would be a little below your collar bone. The skin is quite baggy here and the vet can put it into the loose skin like they usually do on the scruff of the neck. Dylan made no yelp or cry at all, though he did flinch slightly(can't expect them not to feel it at all). This is only my experience and my vets advice but I went to a different surgery recently for a single vaccine for Lepto and the vet was happy to put the injection in the chest area too.