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Parvo Vaccine Reaction

cy1266

Well-known member
Has anyone's dog had a bad reaction to the Parvo vaccine? My Truman (4 months old) went in for the vaccine this morning (I only have single injections given, no boosters, just in case there's a reaction you'll know which vaccine caused it), and he threw up four times afterwards within the next hour at the vet's office. He had the Distemper vaccine about 4 weeks ago and did not have a reaction. Of course the vet didn't think the vaccine caused him to be sick (she thought it was the car ride to the vet's office) - I kind of disagree - I don't think it's a coincidence. He didn't show any other signs of being sick, but the throwing up concerned me. They kept him there for another hour and then gave him an injection of Benadryl, which seemed to help. She also prescribed Pepcid AC. My breeder is concerned that he had a reaction, but was relieved to hear he's now doing better.

Has this happened to anyone else, and what have you done to prevent reactions in the future?
 
Dogs will throw up due to anxiety and nervousness as well, and car sickness is pretty common in puppies -- so this could easily be the case.

Most reactions to vaccines involve a reaction at the injection site or the dog being a bit under the weather. Vomiting alone would not generally indicate a vaccine reaction as far as I know -- if the dog is having a reaction bad enough to be vomiting, a lot more would usually also be happening:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/allergic-vaccination-reaction-in-dogs/page1.aspx

The vet was right to keep him in to see if he would go into a full reaction but it sounds like he didn't. Benadryl is a way of easing some discomfort but it would not have addressed anything more than a mildish reaction, which is likely why your vet is saying they doubt this was a vaccine reaction. Usually this type of mild reaction can be addressed by giving something like Benadryl each time the dog has that vaccine so maybe that is a workable solution for you?

You will need a one year booster for this injection so if you are seeing the same vet be sure to remind them of your concerns about a possible reaction, or tell any new vet. You can have them give the individual vaccines again separately of course, as well.

I'd recommend following the three year protocol at any rate.

If you are really concerned you can pay for an annual titer to see if the antibody levels are OK for parvo and avoid that injection. The problem is that some kennels and daycare will then not accept your dog.

PS If you are not comfortable with your vet's response in this area, you should probably get another vet that you feel you can discuss this with in more detail and whose advice you would trust and believe. (y)
 
Thanks for the advice, Karlin! My regular vet is the owner of the animal hospital and he's really hard to get into, so I went to another doctor that was available - I won't be bringing my dogs to her anymore though! She also almost gave him the wrong injection. He just had his Distemper vaccine a few weeks ago, and when I confirmed that he was getting the Parvo vaccine on Saturday she told me no, he was getting the Distemper vaccine :eek: I'm glad I confirmed which one he was getting - he almost got the wrong one! She also didn't tell me that the vaccine wouldn't protect him for a few weeks -I had to ask her about it, which I was disappointed about - I feel like most people assume they're dog is protected as soon as they're vaccinated.
 
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