Vaccines are essential for both humans and dogs and other domestic animals. But like medicines, they are not free from producing some reaction after their administration, which we will talk about in this article on our site.
Below, we detail the most frequent post-vaccination reactions in dogs Do not forget that, apart from the fact that side effects may occur due to vaccines, it is essential that our dogs follow the dog vaccination schedule to avoid contracting any disease.
Vaccines, excipients and adjuvants
We must bear in mind that in a vaccine, not only does the weakened virus go, or a fraction of its capsule (in the case of viral vaccines, to give an example), but also a series of excipients to guarantee that what we are going to inject can travel where we want. In addition, products called adjuvants lend a hand to those who will be responsible for immunization when carrying out their work.
We also found preservatives, which gives us an idea of the different origins that a post-vaccination reaction in dogs can have. Therefore, when we observe a post-vaccination reaction in our dog, it can be due to many causes.
There are vaccines made from live and very weakened viruses (eg parvovirus), others are against bacteria (eg leptospirosis), and others made from inactivated viruses, that is, dead (eg. Rage).
Which vaccines cause more post-vaccination reactions in dogs?
Generalizing quite a bit, Rabies and the leptospirosis vaccine, are perhaps the ones that cause the most post-vaccinal reactions in dogs. They can be reactions of different types and severity, and everything depends on the conditions of the dog that receives them, among other factors.
Therefore, our veterinarian will always carry out a complete examination and a good anamnesis (questions the owner) before vaccinating. From mild to moderate, we now describe some common post-vaccination reactions in dogs.
Inflammation and/or hardening of the skin
Vaccines are administered under the skin (they are subcutaneous) and it is possible that after the application, a swollen area appears on the place where it was inoculated. It is usually common in rabies, giving rise to a fibrous lump, not painful, that does not grow after a few days and does not seem to bother. In the case of other vaccines, it can cause discomfort that disappears after an hour, like when people are vaccinated against tetanus.
What is recommended to do?
Usually disappears on its own after a couple of days, or a couple of months, depending on the injection site, whether the product has been injected under the skin or deeper areas have been reached (aggressive or uncooperative dogs), the thickness of the skin…
Applying dry heat several minutes a day usually helps to improve local circulation and the disappearance of this reaction, but few dogs accept a bag of warm seeds on their shoulder or back for 10 minutes.
Apathy and/or fever
We can find our dog apathetic or lethargic an hour or the day after the vaccine, even a few tenths of a fever may appear that usually go unnoticed. We only noticed a slight decay, and our dog is less happy than usual.
If this interferes with the normal life of our dog, the veterinarian may prescribe an antipyretic after discussing the case, such as meloxicam or tolfenamic acid, which is a product to combat fever. Let's remember that we should never administer human anti-inflammatories to our dogs.
Vomiting and/or diarrhea
Gastroenteric symptoms are also quite common, especially vomiting in the hours after vaccination. They are usually self-limiting, that is, they disappear on their own, but in the event that the dog is small or a puppy, we must always be aware of possible dehydration.
And how is this post-vaccination reaction treated?
Our veterinarian will prescribe antiemetic products (to stop vomiting, such as maropitant or metoclopramide), and gastric protectors for heartburn (famotidine or omeprazole), in addition to a soft diet and a prebiotic if necessary.
Skin signs
Swelling (edema) of the eyelids and/or lips
Sometimes our dog appears literally swollen in the minutes or hours after a vaccine, to the point of not being able to open his eyes wide because of how swollen his eyelids are.
In this case, our veterinarian will tell us to go immediately to the consultation, and will proceed to administer a corticosteroid to stop the reaction adversely, and lower the inflammation, and will proceed to control it in the hours that follow and carefully note it down on your file and chart. We should not delay the visit if we find these signs, because the edema can appear in the larynx and cause suffocation, although in other cases it is controlled after an hour, we cannot predict if this will be the case.
Urticaria and/or generalized itching
A small percentage of vaccinated dogs may have hives on the skin, and/or generalized itching after vaccination. Once again, our veterinarian will tell us to go to the clinic for a corticosteroid injection to help stop the allergic reaction.
Anaphylactic shock
In short, the anaphylactic shock is a generally fatal reaction to the administration of the vaccine (and many other products, but now we are concerned with postvaccinal reactions). Usually occurs within first 20 minutes after injection.
In the few cases in which it appears, the dog will show symptoms of cardiovascular system involvement (severe hypotension) and will need an adrenaline injection and hospital admission to monitor its constants and apply support therapy, at least the following hours.
Final tips
- Even if a dog has been vaccinated several times and nothing has ever happened, he is not exempt from post-vaccination reactions, as it may be a different brand of vaccine, with different excipients or adjuvants, for example.
- Remember that the slightest sign of post-vaccination reaction must be noted on your record and/or card, with the date, treatment and type of vaccine.
- If there has been a history of mild reactions, one option is to separate the shots by several weeks. For example, one day distemper, parvovirus and hepatitis, after a few weeks, leptospirosis and then rabies.
- There are certain types of vaccines free of adjuvants and with the least amount of preservatives possible, which can be useful in dogs that need to be vaccinated, but to which the normal ones react.
Let's remember that as much fear as a post-vaccination reaction may give us in our dog, the benefit of vaccination is, by far, a thousand times greater than the risk to which you may be exposed by vaccinating.
We hope that these tips on the most frequent post-vaccination reactions in dogs can guide you and from our site we encourage you to consult your veterinarian with any questions about vaccines and their reactions that may arise.
