Puppy got hives after getting 2 shots?

[deborah_r]

We took our puppy to get shots today, the vet said he needed DH-Parvo (I think that's what it was?) and Rabies. Less than 2 hours later he broke out in hives all over his body and his face was all puffy and swollen. Has anyone ever experienced this?

We had to take him to a different vet because ours closed an hour after we were there, and this vet said from now on never let him get more than one shot at a time, and give him Benadryl about 10 minutes before. Poor baby must have been so uncomfortable! He's doing well now, but we need to keep giving him Benadryl through tomorrow, and start giving him the Prednisone pills tomorrow (they gave him some today already).

[carolinamama]

We've never dealt with hives in our dogs. Poor little guy. But I just wanted to warn you - the prednisone will make him thirsty and thus drink more. He will have to go to the bathroom more often. The only time our adult house-trained dog ever had an accident was when he was on prednisone for his allergies. Hope he's feeling better soon.

[infomama]

Yep. One of our boxers had to have benadryl before any shot of parvo. The only good thing is now you know so you can give your pup the dose at home instead of paying five times the cost for a shot of benadryl when you get to the vet. It's worrisome but totally manageable. Now that she is older we pared down her vaccinations greatly. I think we only give her rabies vaccinations along with her monthly Revolution.

[deborah_r]

Yep. One of our boxers had to have benadryl before any shot of parvo. The only good thing is now you know so you can give your pup the dose at home instead of paying five times the cost for a shot of benadryl when you get to the vet. It's worrisome but totally manageable. Now that she is older we pared down her vaccinations greatly. I think we only give her rabies vaccinations along with her monthly Revolution.

Thanks, I need to check my records. I thought he'd already had the parvo before. He's had shots several times already.

[jenstring95]

Our dachshund is also allergic to her shots, either the Parvo or DHLP. Her reaction the second time was much worse than the first time, so just be aware that the reaction may escalate. Maybe schedule the appointment for early in the day so you can go back in case the Benadryl is insufficient? We ended up taking our dog to the doggie ER because Benadryl wasn't enough, and our vet was closed. They gave her a cortisone shot. Anyway, we no longer give her those shots; the vet runs titers every other year to ensure she is still covered. She is 7 years old and hasn't had those shots in over 5 years, but the titers show she is still covered. It's amazing how overvaccinated dogs probably are. (But who wants to take the chance?) Unfotunately, titers are more $$ than shots. Good luck!

[pinkmomagain]

Yup, my little italian greyhound also is allergic to shots. He must do one at a time. I think they give him steroids too and hold him for the day to make sure he doesn't have a bad reaction.

[smilequeen]

Yes, one of our pugs is allergic to a vaccine and had the same type of reaction...broke out in hives and her face swelled up. They split the shots the next year with a pre-med of Benadryl and she was allergic to DHPP or some component of it, so she no longer gets that. It's too risky with her short nasal passages to risk that kind of swelling again. She still swelled up quite a bit with the benadryl.

His new vet wants to test out which component she's allergic too but it sort of scares me to even try.