Some of my regular readers may remember last summer when Poco our new Chihuahua puppy had a severe reaction to his Distemper shot. After being home for a few hours he was rushed back to the animal hospital, limp and face swollen beyond recognition. There he was given injections of Prednisone and Benadryl followed with oral Benadryl for several days. For the remainder of his puppy shots he had to be pre-medicated with Benadryl injections 15 minutes prior to the vaccination, and he did fine. This is not unusual for small breeds.
Now here we are a year later and it’s time for for his check up and shots. I take him in yesterday afternoon and he’s a healthy healthy happy little guy that everyone loves there. We’ve boarded him a couple of times and they let him follow Katie, his favorite tech around as she works. Even the Doctor comes in and chuckles how much he adores Katie.
So what happened yesterday? As usual he was pre-medicated with Benadryl and then given several boosters for Distemper, Bordetella, and Rabies. On top of that for the first time he was given topical Advantix for fleas and ticks since he is going hiking next weekend in Maryland and staying in a wooded area. I bring him home from the Vet’s and he yelps going up the stairs and starts acting strange. At bedtime I give him a dose of children’s Benadryl and hope he’ll be back to his old rambunctious self in the morning.
This morning he could hardly stand, I carried him outside and sat him in the grass, he tried to stand, he goes in circles, nipping at his back legs, he finally pees and sits down in the grass, wouldn’t even walk inside, I carried him. He won’t eat, drink, walk and is very lethargic. By afternoon I am back at the Animal Hospital with a dog that is clearly having a reaction. I’ve also Googled Advantix side effects and am a bit concerned given Poco’s past history to reactions.
At the Vet’s he has a temp of 103 which is a little elevated for a dog, he has a complete examination and when placed on the floor has a very difficult time walking, he goes in circles, his one hind leg sticks out. He is unable to walk to me standing 5 feet away. This is clearly NOT the same dog the Doctor saw 24 hours ago. I question the Advantix and am told most dogs do not have a problem with it. Since Poco had so many boosters yesterday who can say what is the culprit? All I know my perfectly healthy Chihuahua can hardly walk today! He was given an injection of Prednisone and oral tablets 2.5 mg which I start tonight and continue in varying doses for many days.
As of tonight he won’t walk, I bring him water and coax him to eat bites of food as he’s huddled in his blanket, twitching. I am very worried and hope tomorrow after tonight’s dose of Prednisone there will be improvement.
Elaine,
This is so sad to hear. I’m sure your worried beyond belief. We believe that there is to much vaccinations and such for animals, of course they are rarely around other dogs. We have 3 dogs and can’t remember when they were last given shots. One of are pups, who is now 7 had seizures after getting vacinations when he was a pup.
He’s obviously ok now. All our dogs have lived a full life without the normal course of vaccines they push for pets. We also had a neighbor that didn’t believe in all the vaccines. Seems like there is risk involved either way.
I’m sure he’ll be ok after his body adjusts. My thoughts are with you and your beloved friend.
I am sorry to hear about Poco’s problems. I wonder if we aren’t over medicating our animals as much as we are ourselves. I have described my self as a ‘medical minimalist.’ What is needed when needed and not before. I know the vaccinations can prevent costly and life threatening problems but my animals have so little exposure to the outside that I question the efficacy. I stopped taking my cats to the vet about twelve years ago after a bad experience. One of the cats went totally ballistic at the vet clinic–before any treatment or vaccination. He had never done anything like this before and was, usually, a very mellow animal. They couldn’t give him his shots because his temperature was elevated because of his agitation. They gave me a sedative to give him the next morning before bringing him in. But, although I followed the directions to the letter, the sedative did not work on him as it should have. He was extremely agitated and bit me and two other people before the vet, handling him with heavy gloves, gave him his shot anyway and hoped the vaccinations would be effective. A half hour after getting him home the sedative finally took effect and the poor boy staggered around like a drunk, crying. All I could do was hold him and pet him until the effects wore off. None of my cats have seen a vet since and, since they are now 17 (2) and 15, I expect they will quietly kick off in their sleep.
I hope Poco will be okay! The poor little guy. Keep us updated as to his progress. We send hugs and sloppy kisses.
We too have had our ups and downs with flea/tick meds. Where we live, they are simply mandatory. Fleas are everywhere, and ticks are out at my husband’s job site, and we do take Elwood there.
But Frontline, which we used to use, no longer seems to work, so we have experimented with different medications–it is so scary, I know.
I have heard other bad stories about Advantix, however I know some people swear by it.
Ugh! Poor doggy! Time to find a new vet.
Oh Elaine, I am so sorry you and little Poco are going through this. Please keep us updated on how he is doing. You both are in my thoughts and prayers!
(((((((Hugs))))))))
Elain I too am so sorry to here about poco’s problems, I do hope the meds work out fine for him. please keep us posted on how he is coming along……..hugs for the little guy.
Sorry to hear about Poco. It’s amazing these vets can pump so much medication into tiny chihuahua at one time and then actually scratch their heads when the poor little thing has a reaction. I agree with the rest…keep him away from the all these annual meds from now on. Not your fault of course but these vets and their over medicating has gone way beyond the point of. If Poco gets fleas sometime in the future, the old time flea bath/dip still works wonders.
Lots of love, cuddling and nursing will get Poco back on his feet.
Sending lots of good thoughts your way.
Thank you all for your good wishes and concern, it means a lot! Poco thanks you too
I hate it when animals are tortured in the names of vaccines.
A few weeks back every goddamned street dogs were vaccinated so that they wont cause rabies. But it so happened that a dog bit the person. Taking this case in matter they started to poison the dogs.
I would like to quote another instant.
In our college they were shooting the dogs. yes! Shooting them! One dog was sleeping under the shade of the tree. And I happened to see the guy pump bullet in the dogs head. I felt like crying, shooting the guy. Why this injustice for animals?
Mostly pets don’t bite but still its wise to vaccinate our pets regularly.