# Rabies Vaccine Reaction (non- GSD)



## TMarie

Hi everyone!

We took Jeni, my 7 year old Aussie to have her Rabies Vaccine this morning. Five hours later she started vomiting. First, 3 piles, then 10 minutes later 2 more piles, about 15 minutes after that another 3 piles. Immediately I was concerned about an allergic reaction to the vaccine. I watched her for a few minutes, then I noticed her face swelling. At that point we grabbed her leash and headed back to the vet, with phone in hand calling them and letting them know we were on our way.

The facial swelling was all around her nose, and mouth and her throat. She was not running a temp or lethargic at the time, everything else seemed normal. The vet gave her a steroid shot, and a Benedryl injection, plus a bottle of Benedryl for a couple days. He offered to keep her over night, but left it up to us. We brought her home, I hope we made the right choice. She is now resting peacefully at my feet.

Okay, I am aware of all the reactions they can get from the rabies vaccine, and I know more severe reactions can occur as far as a couple months later. So this is my question, now that she had this reaction, does this mean there is still an even bigger possibility that something worse could happen in the next few weeks or months?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Needless to say, I am now a nervous wreck with worry.


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## LisaT

I am so so so sorry to hear this









There are two types of vaccine reactions. There is the immediate allergic response type of reaction, which you unfortunately just saw. With luck, that's all she will have.

The other type is the more subtle one, that will work internally, changing the structure and the working in the body. The latter one is the one that vets don't acknowledge and is not studied well at all. The closest study is the one that shows that thyroid antibodies are increased after rabies vaccination.

The only way I know to counter this second type of reaction is using homeopathy. At least that is my experience with Indy. I do hope that you will be able to get Jeni a lifelong exemption










Another recent reaction:
http://www.ourdogsonline.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/237239/A_horrible_day_Rabies_reaction#Post237239


Scary stories:
http://www.oes.org/page2/18588~RABIES_VACCINE--Skin_Reactions.html
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petvacc.htm
http://stanford.wellsphere.com/pet-healt...atopathy/736904
http://books.google.com/books?id=VKa2Wo3...disease&f=false


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## BowWowMeow

I'm very sorry this happened, Tammy. Lisa's got the info above and I would second the suggestion to use homeopathy...and never, ever, ever vaccinate for rabies again.


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## Barb E

Isn't there something we can give our dogs prior to a vaccine that helps (what little help there is) ward off some of the reactions?

My friend had told me 9,9853 times and I can never remember what it is


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## allieg

Sorry to hear this also.I hope you never have to vaccinate again.


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## LisaT

Barb, some give Thuja, and for rabies, some use Lyssin. It's questionable whether using them before really helps, and it's questionable whether their use, before you see symptoms, is helpful. That being said, I did give Lyssin after my nephew's rabies vax (oops, edit, my nephew's_ dog's_ rabies vax).

For Indy, who has lots of vaccination issues in her past, the homeopathic vet never used either though. There were lots of other ones that were selected for Indy. And I can honestly say that the homeopathic vet saved Indy's life. Before consulting with her, I thought I would have to put Indy to rest, I even had to carry her up and down the stairs. That was when she was 2 years old.


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## TMarie

Thanks you guys. 

Lisa when you mention Homeopathy, do you mean I should take her to a homeopathic vet now? Sorry, I'm just not up on all the Homeopathic stuff unless I get that info from you and Ruth.

I don't plan on vaccinating her again, regardless. I am just worried now she is going to have one of the more subtle reactions in the coming weeks now


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## Alto

> Quote: We took Jeni, my 7 year old Aussie to have her Rabies Vaccine this morning.


Contact your vet & ask for the vaccine bottle so that you can contact the manufacturer with lot information & vial number, get an itemized list of everything in that vaccine bottle - it may be a specific item or the combination that triggered the reaction, so knowing the ingredients, regardless of whether you ever intend to vaccinate again, may be useful in the future.

So glad to hear that she seems OK now, hopefully she won't have further reactions. (I would've brought her home too)


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## LisaT

> Originally Posted By: TMARIEThanks you guys.
> 
> Lisa when you mention Homeopathy, do you mean I should take her to a homeopathic vet now? Sorry, I'm just not up on all the Homeopathic stuff unless I get that info from you and Ruth.
> 
> I don't plan on vaccinating her again, regardless. I am just worried now she is going to have one of the more subtle reactions in the coming weeks now


I would see a homeopathic vet now, yes. I know that they can be difficult to find though.

I agree with Alto, getting all info now, in case you need it in the future. Also, make sure it gets reported.


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## BJDimock

Thuja works very nicely.
Benadryl an hour before vaccines will prevent reactions like the one she had.
Be forewarned. In the US, you will never be able to legally bring her anywhere once her Rabies vaccine expires.
I get that the chances of her being exposed are slim.
However....
If she so much as scratches a person who visits your house, the state then becomes able to euthanize her. No ifs, ands, or buts. It generally depends on the mood of the animal control officer. In Ct, you can get a state exemption, but the responsibilty becomes yours not to let your dog interact with other people or dogs ever again.
If you choose not to vaccinate her, then be sure you know the risks involved.
Case in point. 2 months ago, Jethro, a super friendly pit bull was out in his yard with his family when a jogger ran by. Jethro ran out to meet the jogger, who began screaming and waving his arms. Jethro, being slightly over a year of age, started leaping and nipping. (I'm pretty sure he was looking for the ball. His kids play the same way with him.) One nip broke the skin before Jethro's mom had reached him. (A small scratch. We know the outcome of the hospital visit the jogger demanded. The whole ER visit cost $100, about the price to walk through the door.)
Jethro lives in a very rural town in eastern Ct. He generally plays in his back yard (5 acres) but this morning was planting flowers in the front with his family. All of his neighbors on his dirt road know him, and he has proved to be a good companion for everyone else's dog.
The jogger was a new neighbor, who had moved in 2 months beforehand.
Jethro's rabies vaccine had expired 1 month before this incident.
Despite our offer to officially quarenteen Jethro at our office, (we liked him) the jogger demanded he be tested for Rabies.
It was his right, and sadly, I got to help remove Jethro's head from his body and send it in to the state.
It sucked. Jethro's kids don't understand, Jethro's mom knows it was done out of anger, but it has been done.
We could fault the owner, yup. Dogs should be contained at all times, but Jethro lived in a neighborhood where he knew everyone, and he was just going to greet when the jogger misunderstood him.
Jethro was neg. for rabies.


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## LisaT

> Originally Posted By: BJDimockBe forewarned. In the US, you will never be able to legally bring her anywhere once her Rabies vaccine expires.
> I get that the chances of her being exposed are slim.
> However....
> If she so much as scratches a person who visits your house, the state then becomes able to euthanize her. No ifs, ands, or buts.


Call your AC and see what they say about an expired rabies vax. Here, they just quarantine, I watched what happened when my trainer had a GSD with an expired rabies that bit. My vet told me that they would automatically chop Indy's head off. That wasn't true.

Indy hasn't had a rabies vax in 11 years (legally). She has only traveled through the state, but has done that without any issues. There of course might be trouble if you were to board, etc.


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## scannergirl

Wow, what a sad story BJD.
It shows the other side that must be evaluated before any decision is made.
Where I live, rabies is a HUGE problem. There is no way I'd let any of my animals be unvaccinated, unless they had a life threatening reaction to the vaccine and the vet could not offer any solution to the problem. The reaction you described certainly might have been life threatening. What does your vet say?
BTW in people sudden onset life threatening reaction happen early. Not to say problems can't occur later, but the big ones happen within hours.


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## Barb E

Holy Cow Tammy, just slap me up along side the head!

I was sure I posted to you first....I'm blaming age!

I do hope Jeni is ok and this is the only reaction!!


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## LisaT

Btw, this reaction will likely get worse with each vaccine, and could be life threatening. Read the link to the other reaction, and you will see how the reaction increased from one year to the next.

As for the rabies vax, it is good for longer than 3 years, so even going on an extended protocol would be safer for the dog, and the dog would be protected from rabies. There is likely nearly lifelong protection after a couple of rabies vaccinations, but there is a French study that showed that the vaccines are good for either 5 or 7 years (don't remember the duration of the study). The current rabies vax study will try to extend the length for revax to 7 years legally, though they are having funding trouble (donate if you can!)

Lucina, only the allergic ones occur early. The other very damaging ones will occur within about 3 months. Although, I recall one statistical study showing a large number of spinal problems showing up within 6 months of vaccination. So life threatening, there are different interpretations. But the number of GSDs that are put down because of spinal problems, I would say, is not insignificant.


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## BowWowMeow

> Originally Posted By: BJDimockThuja works very nicely.
> Benadryl an hour before vaccines will prevent reactions like the one she had.
> Be forewarned. In the US, you will never be able to legally bring her anywhere once her Rabies vaccine expires.
> I get that the chances of her being exposed are slim.
> However....
> If she so much as scratches a person who visits your house, the state then becomes able to euthanize her. No ifs, ands, or buts. It generally depends on the mood of the animal control officer. In Ct, you can get a state exemption, but the responsibilty becomes yours not to let your dog interact with other people or dogs ever again.
> If you choose not to vaccinate her, then be sure you know the risks involved.
> Case in point. 2 months ago, Jethro, a super friendly pit bull was out in his yard with his family when a jogger ran by. Jethro ran out to meet the jogger, who began screaming and waving his arms. Jethro, being slightly over a year of age, started leaping and nipping. (I'm pretty sure he was looking for the ball. His kids play the same way with him.) One nip broke the skin before Jethro's mom had reached him. (A small scratch. We know the outcome of the hospital visit the jogger demanded. The whole ER visit cost $100, about the price to walk through the door.)
> Jethro lives in a very rural town in eastern Ct. He generally plays in his back yard (5 acres) but this morning was planting flowers in the front with his family. All of his neighbors on his dirt road know him, and he has proved to be a good companion for everyone else's dog.
> The jogger was a new neighbor, who had moved in 2 months beforehand.
> Jethro's rabies vaccine had expired 1 month before this incident.
> Despite our offer to officially quarenteen Jethro at our office, (we liked him) the jogger demanded he be tested for Rabies.
> It was his right, and sadly, I got to help remove Jethro's head from his body and send it in to the state.
> It sucked. Jethro's kids don't understand, Jethro's mom knows it was done out of anger, but it has been done.
> We could fault the owner, yup. Dogs should be contained at all times, but Jethro lived in a neighborhood where he knew everyone, and he was just going to greet when the jogger misunderstood him.
> Jethro was neg. for rabies.


I realize this is the law but I do not vaccinate my older dogs and do not isolate them from the world either. Basu had an allergic reaction to the rabies vaccine when he was 5 and I never vaccinated him again. I did run titers and I did license him with those titers and a note from my vet in both states I lived in. He traveled to Ontario (legally) with me several times a year and he led a normal life. He was fear aggressive but I took great care never to place him a situation where he would feel the need to bite.


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## BJDimock

> Originally Posted By: LisaT
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted By: BJDimockBe forewarned. In the US, you will never be able to legally bring her anywhere once her Rabies vaccine expires.
> I get that the chances of her being exposed are slim.
> However....
> If she so much as scratches a person who visits your house, the state then becomes able to euthanize her. No ifs, ands, or buts.
> 
> 
> 
> Call your AC and see what they say about an expired rabies vax. Here, they just quarantine, I watched what happened when my trainer had a GSD with an expired rabies that bit. My vet told me that they would automatically chop Indy's head off. That wasn't true.
> 
> Indy hasn't had a rabies vax in 11 years (legally). She has only traveled through the state, but has done that without any issues. There of course might be trouble if you were to board, etc.
Click to expand...

Most people don't choose to kill the pet that has nipped them. This jogger did, and ACO was required to do what he said. He was the "victim" and didn't want to wait through the quarenteen. His other option was to go through the post exposure series, which, although not as painful as it used to be, still sucks. (Trust me!







I choose that route.)


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## BJDimock

> Originally Posted By: BowWowMeow
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted By: BJDimockThuja works very nicely.
> Benadryl an hour before vaccines will prevent reactions like the one she had.
> Be forewarned. In the US, you will never be able to legally bring her anywhere once her Rabies vaccine expires.
> I get that the chances of her being exposed are slim.
> However....
> If she so much as scratches a person who visits your house, the state then becomes able to euthanize her. No ifs, ands, or buts. It generally depends on the mood of the animal control officer. In Ct, you can get a state exemption, but the responsibilty becomes yours not to let your dog interact with other people or dogs ever again.
> If you choose not to vaccinate her, then be sure you know the risks involved.
> Case in point. 2 months ago, Jethro, a super friendly pit bull was out in his yard with his family when a jogger ran by. Jethro ran out to meet the jogger, who began screaming and waving his arms. Jethro, being slightly over a year of age, started leaping and nipping. (I'm pretty sure he was looking for the ball. His kids play the same way with him.) One nip broke the skin before Jethro's mom had reached him. (A small scratch. We know the outcome of the hospital visit the jogger demanded. The whole ER visit cost $100, about the price to walk through the door.)
> Jethro lives in a very rural town in eastern Ct. He generally plays in his back yard (5 acres) but this morning was planting flowers in the front with his family. All of his neighbors on his dirt road know him, and he has proved to be a good companion for everyone else's dog.
> The jogger was a new neighbor, who had moved in 2 months beforehand.
> Jethro's rabies vaccine had expired 1 month before this incident.
> Despite our offer to officially quarenteen Jethro at our office, (we liked him) the jogger demanded he be tested for Rabies.
> It was his right, and sadly, I got to help remove Jethro's head from his body and send it in to the state.
> It sucked. Jethro's kids don't understand, Jethro's mom knows it was done out of anger, but it has been done.
> We could fault the owner, yup. Dogs should be contained at all times, but Jethro lived in a neighborhood where he knew everyone, and he was just going to greet when the jogger misunderstood him.
> Jethro was neg. for rabies.
> 
> 
> 
> I realize this is the law but I do not vaccinate my older dogs and do not isolate them from the world either. Basu had an allergic reaction to the rabies vaccine when he was 5 and I never vaccinated him again. I did run titers and I did license him with those titers and a note from my vet in both states I lived in. He traveled to Ontario (legally) with me several times a year and he led a normal life. He was fear aggressive but I took great care never to place him a situation where he would feel the need to bite.
Click to expand...

And I would never blame you! I just want OP to be informed of what could happen! 
Sadly, there are people who look for lawsuits when there aren't any.


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## TMarie

Great info, I can't thank you all enough. I called the vet and we will pick up all the vaccine info tomorrow. I never thought of that, so thanks.

Lisa I did read those links, and those are some very scary stories. Experiencing this first hand has really made this real.









My vet already told me he would recommend a waiver on the vacs, I am not worried about animal control. I already talked to them a couple months ago about a waiver for Jarie, and they had no problem with it.

BJD, very very sad story, thank you for sharing that.

By the time she will be due for another rabies, she will be 10 and retired from flyball, so she won't be out and about quite as much as she is now.

Barb.. as always,


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## Raziel

Im so sorry this happend to you!


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## BJDimock

Just be sure to double check with the state!
Local aco in Ct will recognize the rabies waver, but if the vaccine is expired, the victim has the right to choose the dogs fate, titer or no!


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## Raziel

I just dont understand that!
Even IF the dog was vaccinated it could still have rabies.
AND they have shots for people.
Right?


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## LisaT

> Originally Posted By: BJDimockSadly, there are people who look for lawsuits when there aren't any.


yes, sad but true


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