Side Effects of Pet Vaccines: A Closer Look

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Combination Vaccines
Posted by Jamie (Lake Worth , Fl) on 10/20/2008

Nancy, first let me offer condolences for your beloved companion.It is tragic to loose a dear friend. Are you sure it was the vaccinations, and not pet food? Remember not too long ago it was a big awful mess with the pet food industry?

I have a little Chihuahua he was a puppy, and getting his puppy shots. He probably weighed about 3 or 4 pounds. I noticed after his second set of shots on his hind quarter it was swollen. He ended up having a big red bump, eventually lost all the hair. It was almost a year before any of the hair started growing back. The vet never admitted it was from any vaccinations. Although it was the site of the injection.

At 2 years of age I had to take him to an allergist. Separate from his regular vet Whom by the way I had changed, I wasn't happy with his original one. The allergist inquired about his bald spot. I told them what had happened he said "He not only lost his hair feel this." I put my fingers on his bald spot and could feel a dip, and indentation. The little guy lost muscle mass as well. He will never regrow his hair, he is 3 1/2 years old now. I guess they should not have given him the vaccination cocktail. I am also on the fence with vaccinations. Are they necessary? Do they do more harm than good? As a responsible and loving pet owner you want to do the right thing.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Christopher (Vancouver, WA) on 10/20/2008

Bodhi, our 4mth old long-haired dachshund went in for his last parvo-multi shot, and his first ever rabies shot (in hip) on 10/15/08. He was tired and slept for a day, but bounded back to normal on the second day. Early in the morning on 10/18/08, Bodhi had no muscle control or tension from his midsection back; total hind quarter paralysis. Within an hour he began vomiting yellow foam (7 times in two hours). He slowly began to regain some strength by hour three. The emergency vet was certain it was the rabies vaccine, and suggested the shot was given too early (Washington law requires the first shot by six months). Bodhi still has periodic quivering spells, especially when he is sitting still, but mostly he has his control and temperament back.
Pfizer, "Rabdomun", killed virus, 1ml. (single dosage), no batch number. SN#S724897A, Exp. 7/17/09.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Nancy (Mesa, AZ) on 10/19/2008

Pet Death from Vaccinations

Homey was a mix breed of approximately 102 pounds that was 10 years old. He went for a checkup the beginning of February 2008 and was given a clean bill of health. They also gave him the 3 yr Rabies, Corona and DLPP shots.

In March he was becoming lethargic, didn't want to play ball, didn't want to go for walks and it was quite unusual since he always did. The middle of April he started drooling a lot, wouldn't eat, had sever diarrhea and vomiting and his entire hind end didn't even support him for going to the bathroom.

Took him back to the vet and they ran bloodwork and said he was fine and put him on a different diet including two different antibiotics (why he needed them if nothing was wrong...I don't know). That didn't help so we took him to a holistic doctor to see if he could help find out what was wrong. At the time we had no clue it may have been related to the vaccinations. One week after seeing the holistic doctor, he passed away. I am devastated, as this wonderful family member was always in the best of health, taken care of as you would a child and stayed in the backyard as our guardian.

Not much more to say other than after reading information on your website, thanks so much for the insight. I wish I would have known this before they vaccinated and killed him.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Kyle (Austin, TX) on 10/18/2008

vaccination of puppy

my poodle and bichapoo were both vaccinated for distemper and rabies, per state requirements in Texas. The bichapoo lost all her fur, developed ulcers in her mouth, and her eyes became dull. I tried to talk the vet out of it, since I'd recently learned that all dogs get the same dose of these vaccines, from tiny to large. The dose is the same. I needed the rabies to get her accepted on a plane and at the groomer.

I am now giving her raw meat diet, a homeopathic remedy for vaccinations, liver support (milk thistle) and a mushroom for immune boosting. I found an honest vet in Falcon Colorado who admits the problem and has the remedies.

I will never again have my dogs vaccinated. Now I have learned that heavy metals are in the vaccine as well.

This is criminal in my opinion. The vets make a lot of money on vaccinations, and some have admitted that we over vaccinate. One time will last a dog's lifetime.

It's all about money.

I feel terrible for having my precious healthy puppy's life almost destroyed for listening to the FDA requirements.

We must keep talking about this and change it. It is animal cruelty at it's worst.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Shaelyn (Los Angeles, CA) on 10/15/2008

I have a 5 year old shar-pei. A year ago he received his booster shots for DHLP and within a few days had severe pain in his back and hind legs. This transferred into a couple episodes of shar-pei fever which in total lasted over a month until he was back to normal.

The vet initially prescribed Tramadol for pain relief and then I migrated him to some homeopathic remedies.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Juli (Canfield, OH USA) on 10/12/2008

My 6 yr old female lab received booster vaccines on 10/2/08 also. She has been digging and scratching at herself ever since. The original reason we took her in was because she was scratching herself a bit. They said she had fleas, which she did, but she wasn't scratching herself until she bled and she wasn't losing hair and weight. I took her back in and they gave her a steroid shot. Now her eyes are dialated and she is lethargic. How long before this shot wears off. Should I contact the vet again? Maybe there is a really bad batch of vaccine going around, like bad cat food from China?


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Jae (Miami, FL, USA) on 10/10/2008

I've got a 9 wk old male Australian Cattle Dog who received his 2nd set of puppy shots this morning. He'd been playful all day, then come dinner time he barely ate anything and seemed very out of it. He's since had diahrea for the past couple of hours and has thrown up twice. He's now sleeping but we're keeping a close eye on him.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Diana (Huachuca City, AZ) on 10/07/2008

Parvo: I got 2 boxer puppies on Wed took them in for their first shots on Thursday, one immediately got very sick, bloody stools and not eating. The puppy was not any better on Sat morning, so ran it to the emergency vet, all I heard was it has Parvo, even after the test came back negative on both puppies the vet still said it had Parvo. I ask several time could it be a reaction to the shot, they just looked at me dumbfounded like how dare i ask a stupid question. The vet wanted $400 up front to treat my puppy for Parvo, I did not have a good feeling about this, so I took the puppies home, started them on TechMix k9 Restart and Live Bac, on Sunday we saw a marked improvement and today the puppy looks and act like nothing happened.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Sherri (DFW, Texas) on 10/06/2008

2.5 yr. old Miniature Schnauzer rec'd annual shots for the first time since puppy shots as I know they are bad for them from being told that by several country veternarians. Within 1 week, he was lethargic, vomiting yellow foam uncontrollably, continuous panting, brick hard abdomen, low grade fever, bloody diarhea, his whole body seemed sore to the touch as he acted like an abused dog would when you would reach for him. He had pus pimples all over his neck and back that would pop easily and smell horrible with clear green liquid. I took him to emergency clinic and they left him on IV overnight. His blood counts told them nothing was wrong. Xrays showed only slightly inflammed intestines. They gave bland diet, antibiotics, steroids and panalog ointment for skin. He did require 2 rounds of antibiotics to completely cure the skin bumps. His skin color went from pink to almost black on his back. Doctors would not admit it was from shots. I talked to a holistic vet that sold me colostrum capsules and told me to also get probotics. My dog is now 5 yrs. old. He had to have shots again recently to get neutered and he has had no reactions. My dog since recovery has been functioning at 80-90% of his pre vaccine activity level and ability.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Jacqueline (Oxon Hill, VA) on 10/05/2008

Trembling, Lethargic dog: Last week I took my 10 year Pom in for shots before we left the vets he fell down and had rapid heart beat. The vet immediately gave him a shot of benadryl, which seemed to help. However, he has been laying around, not eating, shivering. We have taken him back to the vet, who says he can't find anything. Does anyone have any advice??


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Lori Wallender (Minocqua, Wisconsin) on 10/04/2008

My dog Bruiser is a pit bull Terrier mix (chow chow) He is the most gentle dog I had ever come in contact with. Bruiser had his three year vaccinations on September 18th. VX-Canine DP 3 year, Leptospirosis, and Lyme vaccaine. Two weeks later he is lethargic, very depressed, mopes around, is drooling from the right side of his mouth, seems spooked, yelps for reason unknown and when I push on parts of his back, his muscles begin to tremble. I don't want to take him back to the vet because they lied to me about Lyme's he supposedly had and said that the tests they charged me for showed he is negative. They charged me over $200 that day when they quoted me much much less. Has anyone else gone through similar symptoms with their dog after annual shots? Thanks, Lori


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Gloria (Chula Vista Ca., CA) on 09/29/2008

My dog had the DA2LP/ Parvo /Corona/ Bordetella shots yesterday and he seemed more like he wanted to be alone yesterday and after 24 hours his right eye is closing and is red and he can't hardly open the eye. We rub it and it won't help at all.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Melissa (Scottsale, AZ) on 09/27/2008

My cat developed cancer after his annual (not rabies) vaccines! He was diagnosed with Vaccine-associated Sarcoma (VAS), which is likely a byproduct of the suspension that is used to deliver the vaccine. Luckily, we noticed the lump on his haunch where he was vaccinnated within 2 months. We are very fortunate that we had the financial means and access to a pet cancer center for his care: $10,000 over 4 months. Our oncologist is still amazed at how well he's doing -- it's been almost 2 years now, and no reoccurance. Surviving VAS is very rare; it's very, very aggressive and most cats only live 1-2 years even with treatment. Needless to say, none of our 5 older, indoor-only kitties will be vaccinated ever again!! Yahoo has a great feline VAS support group forum for information and interaction with other affected families.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Linda (Waynesburg, PA) on 09/27/2008

DHLPPC Annual: My 2 year old Westie had one bout of severe diarrhea an severe shaking. Vet gave him 25mg Benadryl. He's fine now. He has never had a reaction to anything before, has never been sick.


Combination Vaccines
Posted by Danielle (Vandergrift , PA) on 09/23/2008

I just had a kitten to the vet today. I have only had her since Thursday, She had fleas so I had them treated, and to the vet today, she received her shots both felovax IV and calicivax and rabies vaccine. She seemed fine when I got her home, then I had to work. Well I got home a little while ago went to pick her up and she was making horrible noises at me and just seemed like she was in a lot of pain. She wasn't walking correctly, and she just wanted to lay there. I am so very upset. My brother tragically passed away on the 13th, and this was his cat, I would really hate to loose her, i would be devastated. I have 3 dogs and never experienced this until now.



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