Shots? (Long Rant/Questions/Small Dog History)

[ashleydoom]

I'm a little worried about my dog. He's a male chihuahua. He's probably 6 years old. (Dog Years.) Saturday I took him to the vet to get all of his shots because i have to board him because i'm taking a cruise. (I hate that part, leaving animals for a week SUCKS!) So we had to update both of our dogs shots and we also got the kennel cough shot for them...

Anyways, I was out of the house all day. From about 11am to 7:30pm. I didn't notice anything wrong with mickey (chihuahua) before i left the house but right when i got home i noticed he was acting really weird. Sometimes he does act a little weird, and it usually creeps me out. But he stood on the staircase with his mouth open like he was dying of thirst. There was still water and food in there bowls. I decided maybe he was just being a little weirdo like usual and i figured i would give him a treat to see if anything was wrong. He's standing in the middle of the staircase on a little landing and i threw a treat up to him. It made it about half way up. He didn't budge. (Which usually he would inhale the treat as soon as it landed.) So i grabbed the treat and tossed it all the way up to the landing where he was. He didn't touch it. I couldn't get him to come down the stairs so i figured i would just leave him alone and let him do what he wanted. He finally came into the living room with me and he had a little trouble getting onto the couch. (I believe that part is from old age.) I could hear him breathing loudly, and he was shaking. (Most chihuahuas shake) I covered him up and when i started to pet him he felt REALLY hot. Then later on he started to lick my arm and his tongue was burning hot. (Well, it couldn't actually burn anything - but it was pretty hot.) Before he came and got on the couch and he was walking towards me i noticed his shoulders were swollen. maybe 1 inch out, and 1 1/2 inches thick. (where he got his shots on saturday)

I usually over freak out when my animals act weird or look sick or sad or anything! My two dogs are my very best friends. I'd rather me be sick than them. It sucks, because they can't tell you whats going on or how they feel. ARUGGG!

My mother told me not to worry, all of this is probably just happening to him because of the shots. Then she said something about when babies get shots sometimes they swell, and get a fever.

So, I was just wondering.. Does everyone here think it's because of the shot? Or could it be something else? I hope he's not allergic and it's not going to keep him sick. If he has a fever/swelling tomorrow i'm calling the vet and i might take him up there. I worry about everything dog related!

When we first got him he got REALLY sick, ($500 worth of vet bills sick, almost death sick) so when he gets a little sick i freak out.

That was longer than i thought it would be. Has anyone else experienced these problems with your dog after they got there shots, or any shot for that matter?

Thanks in advance for ANY input!!!

[RedGlitter]

I wish Valerie was here to give her opinion. She's very knowledgeable about animals too. Well, the thing with vaccinations in people or animals is that you're injecting them with a little bit of virus to trigger their body into defense mode. So I would not be surprised that you might feel warmth at the injection site or that he would be running a fever. With people, when they get flu shots, it's expected that they'll feel crappy for a couple days while their body fights off the flu vaccine, so I'm thinking your dog's case is a similar thing. He probably was feeling a little poorly and I'm guessing that's why he had no appetite for treats. The swelling makes sense too and unless it gets worse, I wouldn't worry too much. I did know one dog who was allergic to his vaccine and he puffed up all over; yours seems more like a common swelling from being injected. All this said, I'm no veterinarian and I don't think it would hurt at all for you to call your dog's vet in the morning or take him in, just to be absolutely sure all is well. And for sure, if he starts getting worse instead of better, or the swelling gets bigger definitely take him back in. But I would just keep an eye on him until tomorrow and see how he does then.

[ashleydoom]

Originally Posted by RedGlitter

I wish Valerie was here to give her opinion. She's very knowledgeable about animals too. Well, the thing with vaccinations in people or animals is that you're injecting them with a little bit of virus to trigger their body into defense mode. So I would not be surprised that you might feel warmth at the injection site or that he would be running a fever. With people, when they get flu shots, it's expected that they'll feel crappy for a couple days while their body fights off the flu vaccine, so I'm thinking your dog's case is a similar thing. He probably was feeling a little poorly and I'm guessing that's why he had no appetite for treats. The swelling makes sense too and unless it gets worse, I wouldn't worry too much. I did know one dog who was allergic to his vaccine and he puffed up all over; yours seems more like a common swelling from being injected. All this said, I'm no veterinarian and I don't think it would hurt at all for you to call your dog's vet in the morning or take him in, just to be absolutely sure all is well. And for sure, if he starts getting worse instead of better, or the swelling gets bigger definitely take him back in. But I would just keep an eye on him until tomorrow and see how he does then.

Thank you very much for the reply. It makes a lot of sense and i never thought of any of those things. My mind gets a little boggled when i'm worried. I'm defiantly keeping an eye on him. I can't sleep because i'm still watching out for him. Although, I am about to crash. Haha. I have him set up on a bunch of comforters, but a small blanket over him. I also brought a small bowl and a cup of water upstairs so i can make sure he stays hydrated. He has quiet a few breathing problems because the kids who had him first use to pick him up by the neck. (Toddlers, Didn't know any better.) He struggles sometimes when he eats to fast. I have to push my hand across his throat making sure he doesn't choke. I just think he's getting old and i'm trying to deny it. But thank you very very much for your input it defiantly put an ease to my racing mind. I'm defiantly going to make sure he doesn't look worse tomorrow and if so i'll be calling the vet and if i need to take him.

[valerie]

Hi, the problem with the Chi's is their body mass is so small things can
affect them much more than the larger dogs.

He could just be feeling "poorly" because of a reaction to the shots,
but again, in such a little guy, I wouldn't hesitate to take him back
to the vet. If he were a larger dog I might say try giving him a Benadryl,
but in one so little the dosage would be difficult to say.

You do usually have to have shots to board, but in future, you might
consider getting a "titer" for him and skipping the shots. A titer is a
test that will tell you what antibodies he already has built up. Either
that or see if your vet will do individual shots and not the all-in-one,
it's quite a lot for their immune systems.

If the place you are boarding won't accept the titer ( a lot won't)
then I would also investigate getting a pet sitter for him.

Smooches to Mickey, let us know how he does!

[ashleydoom]

Originally Posted by valerie

Hi, the problem with the Chi's is their body mass is so small things can
affect them much more than the larger dogs.

He could just be feeling "poorly" because of a reaction to the shots,
but again, in such a little guy, I wouldn't hesitate to take him back
to the vet. If he were a larger dog I might say try giving him a Benadryl,
but in one so little the dosage would be difficult to say.

You do usually have to have shots to board, but in future, you might
consider getting a "titer" for him and skipping the shots. A titer is a
test that will tell you what antibodies he already has built up. Either
that or see if your vet will do individual shots and not the all-in-one,
it's quite a lot for their immune systems.

If the place you are boarding won't accept the titer ( a lot won't)
then I would also investigate getting a pet sitter for him.

Smooches to Mickey, let us know how he does!

Thank you very much for all of that information. After I woke up I checked on him and it feels like his fever went away. I can't tell if the swelling got worse or better because of the way he's laying but from what i can tell it doesn't look any worse. So far he looks like he's doing a lot better. He hasn't moved since i woke up. He rotates a little bit to get comfortable but he hasn't gotten up to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. My mom said he's probably just sore. I'm trying to keep him comfortable because rest heals the body. Like I said above i brought a bowl of water upstairs and i'm making sure he stays hydrated. I think things will defiantly be okay!

If i ever have to board my dogs i'll defiantly look into that option. I've never had to board my dogs before. You go on cruises to relieve stress, but boarding my best friends is stressful!! Haha. I've been looking into a LOT of places though. Hopefully i can find one i'm really comfortable with so i can enjoy my cruise.

Thanks very much for the info and reply.

[valerie]

Hey I do know about the stress aspect!! So much so, that my husband
and I took our beloved Tamsen (now at the Bridge!) with us on our
wedding trip. She waited patiently in the car while we were in with the
JP and then celebrated afterwards with cheeseburgers!!

We never did board her, we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it. I think
in the entire time we had her (14 years 3 months) she spent a couple
overnights at the vets, and one time we left her with a trusted friend
for a few hours to go to my brother's wedding. That's it.

Glad to hear he's on the mend!

[LilacDragon]

My mom has a pair of chi's and her rule of thumb is to never get more then 2 shots at a time. If I am not mistaken - her littler one gets benedryl when he gets home from the vets after getting his shots. The dosage was prescribed by the vet.

[ksd75]

I no longer vaccinate yearly. I titer to check immunity and vaccinate when necessary. I do, according to my state law, vaccinate every 3 years for Rabies.

Speak to your vet (or even get a second opinion) in the future about vaccination protocol for your little one. Chi's are very susceptible to having problems with the Lepto vaccine, and in fact, the AVMA has changed their view on vaccines and dont' recommend Lepto for any dog unless they live in a high risk area.

I also would recommend vaccinating in stages. If your little one needs his distemper/parvo and Rabies for example, I'd do one vaccine one week and the other two weeks later. This will also make it easier for you to see which is causing the problems.

Just my two cents.