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Pain after vaccination/immunisation?

denali

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

Kokoda had his second set of vaccinations this afternoon about 2 hours ago and now he keeps yelping when you touch the spot he was injected.

This never happened with our old dog, is it normal?
or should we be watching him closely in case something's gone wrong?

also, if this is normal. How long will it last?

Sorry if this is a silly question, but he seems to be in a little bit of pain.

Thanks!
 
I would just call the vet to double check.

Brooky was a bit sensitive, but not very. The vet said she might be...she more just scratched at the site for a few hours. Best to call your vet, then she can at least note in your file that this happened even if it is normal...maybe there is something they can do next time to help him feel more comfortable.
 
That is a good idea, he seems to be a bit better after sleeping for a bit. So hopefully in the morning everything will be perfect. But i will call her and let her know for next time.

Our vet is wondeful, she has owned cavaliers for years and I just love having a vet that knows our breed.
 
It's pretty normal -- you see the same in kids (and adults!) with vaccinations -- sometimes they don't hurt and sometimes the area can be sensitive. If your dog appears really ill, indicating an actual reaction, then ring your vet.

With cavaliers the general advice is to ask for vaccinations always into the thigh, never the neck. There is such a high rate of SM in the breed -- with syrinxes forming first usually in the neck area -- that many will be at the very least sensitive in this area even if they are never symptomatic in any other way. On a related point, at least one neurologist feels that walking dogs on collars rather than harnesses can possibly aggravate and even promote the development of any existing syrinx, so she has recommended harnesses (which many vets feel are better for small breeds to avoid collapsed tracheas anyway). Generally it's always wise to avoid any neck aggravation in the breed just to be on the very safe side. (y)

PS You really have no need to worry about SM as the reason for a vaccine sensitivity in a little pup -- in young puppies it is definitely just a site sensitivity.
 
It's pretty normal -- you see the same in kids (and adults!) with vaccinations -- sometimes they don't hurt and sometimes the area can be sensitive. If your dog appears really ill, indicating an actual reaction, then ring your vet.

With cavaliers the general advice is to ask for vaccinations always into the thigh, never the neck. There is such a high rate of SM in the breed -- with syrinxes forming first usually in the neck area -- that many will be at the very least sensitive in this area even if they are never symptomatic in any other way. On a related point, at least one neurologist feels that walking dogs on collars rather than harnesses can possibly aggravate and even promote the development of any existing syrinx, so she has recommended harnesses (which many vets feel are better for small breeds to avoid collapsed tracheas anyway). Generally it's always wise to avoid any neck aggravation in the breed just to be on the very safe side. (y)

PS You really have no need to worry about SM as the reason for a vaccine sensitivity in a little pup -- in young puppies it is definitely just a site sensitivity.

Thank you Karlin. This helps alot. I thought it may have just been sensitivity,but you can never be too sure.

The vet we found for him, (convenietly just a few minutes down the road!) actually owns a few cavaliers (and has owned them for about 20 years now i think she said). So she did give it to him in his thigh area not his neck. Which is good :)

I heard great things about these harnesses so I have ordered a puppia harness for him as i really don't want to promote the development of any syrinx, and I think they would be much more comfortable than a collar.
 
Oliver got his second shots on Wednesday, and the exact same thing happened. Within 2 hours he was shrieking with pain just from shifting position on the sofa. I called the vet and she had me come back in and pick up an anti-inflammatory liquid medicine for him. I gave it to him, and within the hour he was sleeping peacefully. She told me to give it to him an hour ahead of time when he gets his 3rd shots in a month.

I suppose he could have toughed it out, but I hated seeing him so miserable. :(
 
We went through this is February when Leo had his jabs. Also he developed a large lump around the injection site:(
It took about 1-2 weeks to go down, the vet said it was just sensitivity where he's had his injection.
 
Some pain is normal

Mine two cavies have always bounced back, if they were sore I'd give them a baby aspirin for pain.
 
I no longer given vaccination based in part on what you all are going through. I feel we seriously over-vaccinate our dogs. Micah was vaccinated at 11 weeks, titered at 14 weeks showing immunity and titered again at 15 months still showing immunity....all from an initial round of puppy shots (I would have never skipped the 2nd and 3rd round of shots without titering!! This is so very very important). I know this is not the norm, we still vaccinate 3 times as a puppy, booster at 1 year and booster every 3 years after. After attending Dr. Dodds and Dr. Schultz's seminar last year on vaccinations and vaccinosis....I have found a vet who is in the same line of thinking with me. Just my opinion and personal practices ;)
 
I definitely agree the majority overvaccinate. I still do not understand why vets do not take on board what vet SCHOOLS and their own professional associations recommend: the puppy series, the one year booster, and then every THREE years for core vaccines (the Dodds recommendation as well). In some areas people need to get other vaccines on an annual basis -- I get lepto every year. We do not need to vaccinate for rabies in the UK or Ireland. I do not vaccinate ay dog after a final core series at age 7 under the above protocol. After the 1 year booster people might want to use titres instead (though they can be inaccurate but generally if they indicate immunity that's likely to be fine).

People can get all this info from the post in the Library section on vaccines -- think it is in health and/or Caring for your Cavalier. Print off the recommendations if needed to show your vet! Vaccinating core vaccines every year is *known* to put pressure on immune systems with bad outcomes for some dogs.

The 1-year booster after the puppy series is generally considered very important. There was an outbreak of distemper around a cavalier show in the US a while back and a lot of cavalier breeders were discussing this; some dogs got it and died. Cavaliers that died were those that had NOT had their one year booster yet or had had the weaker version of what they can be given for 1-year (I think killed vaccine is weaker than live? Or is it the other way around?). Dogs can titre with immunity but it may not be a strong enough immunity to fend off a strong strain of distemper, or parvo and strains all differ. If someone wants more info, search the archives of the L-list cavalier email list (which is virtually silent these days) and you should find that discussion.
 
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