Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Rabies Shots and Chihuahuas
Chihuahuas seem to come in different sizes these days. Many people love the tiny tiny ones but that's not always the best. If they are too small, they can have many health problems. A chihuahua has to be big enough to at least see so you don't step on them, at least in my opinion. However, I do have 2 chihuahuas who are fairly small in size, perhaps you would call them petite. They have good sized bodies but their little legs and feet are small. If you have chihuahuas, of course, you must take them to have their yearly rabies shots. I think that my vet has chosen to shorten the dose a little because they are so small. Chihuahuas can also have reactions to rabies shots, such as the case with one of mine, who swelled up so large, face and all, that it was scarey to say the least. In this case, we took him back to the vet immediately and found out that from now on, before he gets his yearly rabies shot, we have to give him a tiny amount of children's liquid benedryl. Please don't go and give this to your chis without checking with your vet first. You have to know how much to give them and your vet is the one who can let you know how much.
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Today I took my 4.8lb female chichihua to PetsMart to get her rabie shots. I asked the nurse before the shot was given to her if she could have a reaction to it she said no. She said she would just be tired. After the Dr. gave her the shot we were leaving and as I looked down my dog fell to the floor. I rushed her back in and my dog almost died..They had her on a breathing machine and had a line in her neck..The Dr. was very rude to me I was so mad I wanted to slap him. I want something done about this..Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.Sheila Sweeten
wow. that must have been so scary. i dont think i would ever go to pet smart to get shots done... they didnt even know what kind of food to give my dog... they arent vets.. its retail. maybe next time make sure to go to a good vet...i would always get shots a two weeks apart...that way you can make sure to know which one gave them the reaction....and it is too much for little dogs to do all that at once!! im wondering if petsmart gave your dog a large shot as well.. anyhow hope the dog is doing great now! i have a 4 month old chihuaha named oliver and i love him to peices !! take care!
Hi! Same thing happened to our chihuahuas (not at petsmart but our vet) .. after her very first puppy shots, within a couple minutes my lil lucylu started breaking out in bumps and having difficulty breathing.. they rushed to save her.. she is fine now.. about an hour after lucylu (still at the vets) had her emergency, we had gone home with our other chi Frenchibean and we looked over at her and she looked like a sharpei swollen but breathing ok.. we rushed her to the nearest vet who gave her a shot.. she is ok now too. That day was so expensive (but worth every penny for our chi's).. and scary! They think it was the rabies shot..We now need to spend 150$ per chi for there shots and they stay all day .. they monitor them. Pick a good vet.. these lil chihuahuas are so worth it.
Wow, that is something that chihuahuas can have such a reaction to the rabies shot.
Ah i'm getting my chi a rabies vaccine tomorrow he's 5 lbs 8 ounces I am so nervous as I always am when I bring him to the vet but hopefully everything will go good.. it's not petsmart, so maybe...
My new chi, Bella, has gone through all her series of shots, and never had a reaction, until the last set of shots--and this time it was the diaphymhydrine shot(the one before the shots) that made her react. I just don't know why. So glad the shots are all over for now.
My 3lb chi Bella was fine with her puppy shots. When she turned a year and needed her shots again including the rabies she had a reaction. She was fine at first and then her whole face swelled up. We took her back to the vets and they gave her a shot to help with this reaction. That was 2 months ago. This morning one side of her face started to swell up. We have no idea why but took her to the vet. He said it was an allergic reaction to something but we have no idea to what, we are very careful with food on the floor, bees etc. Has anyone else had this before?
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This is upsetting to me because I have 4 chihuahuas and for years I've argued that a tiny dog should not get the same dosage as a 99 lb dog. Plus hopefully any owners with small chihuahuas are close by their dogs when outside. Small dogs can be killed too easily by children, larger animals and birds of prey. If they where ever bitten by a rabid animal they would be most likely be killed. Chihuahuas travel so well you can take them anywhere, thus never have to worry about boarding.There is no reason I can see for taking a chance hurting my 4 to 6 lb dogs health by giving them that large dosage vaccine. Furthermore what I have read while researching this subject is that, animals should never receive combination shots or any other shot the same time a rabies shot is given.
Patricia is exactly right. If interested you can go to Truth4dogs and read the article about vaccination risks for small dogs...very informative and should be required reading for all owners of small dogs. We need to be informed in order to make the best decisions for our little guys/gals.
Our chi is 13. We had the vet administer the kennel cough vaccine (required for any over night stay at the vet hospital) (and he will be going to have a poss cancerous mole removed). Anyway, along with that, the destemper and rabies shot was administered. 3 days later, the following side affects were showing; bump at rabies injection site, limping, holding his leg up, crying when picked up, panting, fever, depression. These are all normal per our vet, but next time around, make sure the vet explains everything about the vaccinations, and only do one at a time. Plus consider giving less amount of it.
After my chihuahua got her rabies shot, she ended up with a hairless patch at the site of the shot. Further research suggests that this might be cutaneous vasculitis, a little known reaction (often misdiagnosed) to the rabies vaccine.
I just got back from the vet where I had rushed my Chihuahua thinking the had contracted mange or developed skin cancer because of the sudden appearance of a hairless patch with dark skin underneath. I was also informed by the vet that this was a reaction to the rabies shot he had in late October. It took this long for the reaction to be noticeable. The vet did a skin scraping just to be sure it was not another skin disease, but it was not. I was told the fur will probably never grow back there and the skin will never return to the old color. I was also told to be sure to mention this at all future shots so they can give the shot at the same place so he doesn't have these patches all over his body. This was his first 3 year rabies shot and apparently it was too much for him, and he is a larger Chi, about 10 lbs. I am very sad and annoyed and think they should give some warnings about this. Maybe they need the smaller dose every year instead of the three year dose. Just thought I'd share this information with you.
My chihuahua is here with me on an iv right now, due to a reaction to the vaccine, pretty sure it was the rabies vaccine but he was also given another vaccine at the same time! The vet should have given the shots at separate times and possibly given the rabies shot in smaller doses! Can't believe my puppy could have died! The worse part was I had to wait for an appointment before the vet would see him while he was reacting! Another vet refused to see him because there were no appointments! I'll be researching my vet much better! What a scare!!
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