Has your dog ever had a reaction to the rabies shot?

@bonbon664 (3466)
Canada
February 6, 2007 7:02pm CST
We have a rescue dog that we're fostering, and the dog had a terrible reaction to the rabies shot. The area where he got the shot was very painful, and he yelped everytime he moved up and down the stairs. He had awful diarrhea, and was running a fever. We immediately took him to the vet (not the one where he got the shot), we got anti inflammatory, and pain killers. Apparently this dog had rabies shots before without any problem. Has anybody else had this problem with their dogs and their shots? Thanks
2 people like this
9 responses
• United States
7 Feb 07
Just wait till the poor doggy gets the bordetella shot. That one is awful! my poor puppy screamed and cried for a good 5 minutes or so after that one. It stings and burns.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
9 Feb 07
Yeah, all my own dogs have that, and they didn't like that at all.
@Melizzy (1381)
• United States
7 Feb 07
My now deceased elder dog Kennedy had a bad reaction once. His was in the form of a massive cyst that had to be removed. Sounds like the dog has something a little more going on. Did they shoot him between the shoulder blades or the hind legs? After his cyst, Kennedy had to get his shots on his hind quarters.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
9 Feb 07
Apparently the shot was in the hip. He's fine now. He's got no fever, and no pain in his leg. His diarrhea is gone as well. I''m glad it all worked out.
• United States
9 Feb 07
I have had it with my dogs and my cats. I only have cats now though, and I will not give it to them anymore. They run a fever and get listless and vomit. They are indoors, so they are okay without them, the vet said it was okay. They get all their other shots though.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Not with a dog but a Siamese we had developed the same problem. Shots every year with no problem and then when he was 7 he itched like crazy and lost all his fur around the injection site. The vet said it was a reaction to the rabies vaccine, gave us some ointment and said to keep him from scratching it. We had to make him wear a "doggy sweater" for almost 2 weeks after his shot. You never saw a more pi**ed off cat than he was when we put it on him. The same thing happened again the next time. The vet says it is an allergic reaction to something in the vaccine and just like any allergy, it can start at any age.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
7 Feb 07
Wow, that's a drag. He doesn't seem to be itchy, and his pain seems to be improving. Unfortunately we have to give the dogs the shots, so, I guess we just have to hope for the best.
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
7 Feb 07
My neighbour has a dog and I never heard her say anything about her reaction to rabies shot. We have a cat and she doesn't have reaction to rabies shot either. Maybe this time he is just not in a good condition to take it. Did the vet perform regular check to his urine and blood before giving the rabbies shot? Usually that's what my vet did. Hope your dog is OK
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
7 Feb 07
Yeah, I hope so too. Since we're just fostering the dog. The dog was in very good health prior to the shot. The good news is he seems to be getting better. He's not yelping every time he goes up the stairs now.
• United States
7 Apr 09
our dogs were spayed last week and had their rabie shot also. one dog is back to normal the other dog is very lethargic and had snapped at the other dog and growls and snaps at us whenevere we try to pick her up. I am calling the vet today. She was such a pleasant dog before her surgery and shot.
@maru_047in (1007)
• India
7 Feb 07
no it has not happened to my dog as such and it is very strong and healthy until now and we take it to vet every time in a year to make sure that the rabies is given to our dog such that we ll not be in any sort of trouble as our dog is very furious and it has around 15 victims until now so it is must the reaction which your dog is facing is due to some other reason you checked it out or else might be due to the Outdated ones or such check it out if it is so they he must be punished.
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
7 Feb 07
One of my cats had a severe reaction to his vaccinations. He became very lethargic and wouldn't eat or move. I rushed him back to the vet and they gave him a steroid shot. Now, when he gets his booster shots, they always give him the steroid at the same time, just to be safe. I think animals are just like people in this, each one is different and you never know which animal will have a reaction until it happens. I hope your foster feels better very soon. BTW: Kudos to you for fostering a rescue animal!
• Philippines
7 Feb 07
my dog had no problems with his anti-rabies shot. though he had mild fever as an after-effect of the shot, but that's all. nothing unforeseen reactions so far... i hope your dog will be OK soon.