Within minutes of receiving her 5-way shot — the 2nd round of puppy vax — as my BF told the story, “as soon as the vet left the exam room, she swelled up in huge hives, her skin turned the color of a tomato, and she went into a panic. She was screaming and running around the exam room, clawing at the doors, trying to scratch herself with both of her back legs at the same time… I knew this was an emergency and called the vets to come back quickly. They rushed our little puppy into immediate treatment for a severe allergic reaction, and she remained there in the hospital the rest of the day.

I was the one to pick her up several hours later; but the drama wasn’t over yet. Our little pup was still flaring up in hives as soon (or even before) her steroid and antihistamine injections wore off. Before releasing her to me, the vet asked if we would be home to supervise her ’round the clock for the next several days; I said that we would. Then she asked if I was comfortable administering antihistamines to my pup I/M (intramuscular, AKA. giving her a shot in the glutes), which I also said yes to. I was sent home with a pup doped up with steroids and antihistamines, and a plastic baggy full of benadryl syringes to last 3 days (once that supply ran out I had to go back to the vet for more, as the allergy flare-ups lasted well over a week). My poor little baby was such a good sport every time I had to stick her with a needle during those days to follow, it was like she knew I was trying to make her feel better. And even despite receiving the benadryl injections every 4 hours, she was still flaring up in hives at least an hour or two before she was due for her next dose, EVERY time. It was heartbreaking having to see my little girl in such agony, especially at such a young age.

Thankfully she was back to normal after about 2 weeks.

I am so grateful to have my little Caney in my life today… she will be 4 yrs old come March 2011. Soon after her near death experience in 2007, I did extensive research on vaccines and learned of the risks they carry. I have done all that I can to inform my family and friends about the dangers of vaccination, but even after many different approaches I am afraid that my preaching has fallen on deaf ears. I don’t wish anyone to have to go through what I went through with my littke Caney, but I’m beginning to think that one must experience this for themselves in order to believe it… and it makes me very sad.

Following Caney’s severe vaccine reaction when she was a puppy, she has since received only one vaccine (Rabies, when 7 months old, and she was closely monitored by veterinary staff for several hours following the shot just in case of a reaction), and as far as I’m concerned she will receive NO more vaccines for the rest of her life.

*Only get your dog vaccinated if it is absolutely healthy.
*Know the risk of particular diseases for your dog, depending on where you live and what activities you engage in.
*Weigh up the risks for non-fatal diseases like Kennel Cough.
*Don’t get different vaccinations at the same time.
*Avoid vaccinations altogether if your dog is old, has any chronic condition, immune deficiency, debilitation, is on ongoing medication, has allergies, is anemic.
*Know and trust your vet, make sure they know about alternative vaccination protocols, and alternatives to vaccination, and weigh up risks and benefits for each dog individually.

People were able to safely not vaccinate babies for Whooping Cough while most of the population were vaccinated, but now that the number of un-vaccinated people is growing babies are dying of a disease that was almost eradicated. I wouldn’t want to see the Distemper epidemics previous generations experienced.

Hooray Jean Dodds! I saw her at a conference and learned a lot. For instance, hypo thyroid is very common but did you know you are supposed to administer the meds 1 hour before or 3 hours after a meal? It was news to our vet and it makes a big difference. I highly recommend her seminars if you get a chance to go.

He never sends out vaccine reminders, and has never brought up vaccines at a visit. He also focused on strengthening Daisy’s immune system after we brought her home from the SPCA…she was kept in a cold kennel on cold concrete in October, sick and over-vaccinated (this is not a slam against the spca, mind you).

She hasn’t had a vaccine since…every year we head to the vet for her annual titer testing…so far she’s well covered. She’s better for it and it only costs me about $30. You can’t lose!

I’m also urging everyone to think twice about vaccinating themselves. I’m the only care aide at work who did not receive the flu vaccine at work last year, and I’m one of the only ones who didn’t end up sick. With the release of the swine flu vaccine just around the corner (and not tested well enough yet) it’s important to think carefully before being poked with a concoction we don’t know enough about.

Thanks again, Illona, for sharing your wisdom!

We’re convinced Dyna’s beautiful sire (owned by friends) was lost way too soon as a result of an adverse reaction to being vaccinated and I’m certainly aware of plenty of other “anecdotal” cases – from minor to major – that all add up to more than mere coincidence.

Fortunately I have a vet even more reluctant to vaccinate than I am and willing to work with us and treat each of our dogs on an individual basis w/r/t their needs.

We rely on titers (have done so for about 5 yrs now) but a word of caution about them… we travel with our guys across the border and have been advised that it is up to the discretion of the border guards as to whether or not they’ll accept titer results as proof of vaccination. It’s well worth the risk to me though and to date we’ve never had any issues, however we always draw annual titers, despite the expense, in order to ensure the results are “current”.

Thanks for the links. I’m definitely going to check them out.

Vets don’t know everything, and it blows my mind how many people don’t realize this. Half the time they’re running into the back to look stuff up in books or ask another vet’s opinion. I think anyone who has gone into a clinic and had their vet push shitty kibble at them could tell you that. It’s on the same page as what Liz said about the vet schools being funded by pharmaceuticals, they’re also funded by kibble makers. But as she also said, that’s for another post.