Lameness caused by leptospirosis vaccine

[danyelle r]

Hello,

My puppy walter is 17 weeks old. he had his first set of shots (parvo, distemper, adenovirus) when he was younger and still with the breeder. We took him to get his second set now that he is older than 16 weeks and the vet suggested adding the lepto to the vaccination. it is actually becoming more common in my area and so they have started recommending it.

However, the next day in the morning (the shot was in the late evening) he had a very high fever, he was lethargic and wouldn't eat or stand. we took him to the vet right away and they gave him Benadryl and a shot of something else to bring down his temperature. the fever came down to normal and they sent him home with us, and told us to bring him back if he didn't get better in a couple days. by the next day we started eating and peeing normally, however, he now has a severe limp. he won't put weight on his front left leg. I have read that lameness is a very rare adverse reaction to the vaccinations, however I cannot find any more information that that. I don't know what possible treatments are or what to do to help him.

we have an appointment with our vet for tomorrow, but I am wondering if anyone has heard of this happening before?

[Jen]

A few years ago they started recommending that vaccination where I live...I did not get it for my dogs but my mother in laws best friend had both of her dogs done and one of them died from the vaccine. Her dog passed away the same day she had the vaccine...very scary.

[Trish]

I'm pretty sure that lepto comes from a dog drinking from water that has been contaminated by rodent urine.. I don't have a mouse problem, and my dogs will never be drinking from anything that a rodent has peed in, so I don't get the vaccine for my dogs.. too many adverse reactions to the vaccine. It's my understanding that it is a fairly easy thing to treat, and you're better off treating them for the lepto than vaccinating against it.

So sorry to hear that little Walter isn't feeling well. Since my dogs have never had the vaccinations, I don't have any advice to give, but hopefully Walter is better soon, and you will know not to have him get the vaccine next time. The only thing my dogs are vaccinated for besides their initial rounds of puppy shots when they were young, is their rabies, and what is required for them to attend daycare. Anything else is pretty much over kill in my opinion.

[danyelle r]

Hello,

Walter is doing much better, we saw they vet twice on the weekend, he had a full work up with x-rays and bloodwork. they think it is imuno - arthritis in his shoulder which is causing him to limp. this is a documented but extremely rare reaction to the vaccination. right now he is on antibiotics and pain medication and he is doing much better. if his limp does not go away in 1 week we will be putting him on a steroid anti-inflamitory which should completely get rid of the limp. (though we are waiting on this because it is a risky treatment for a puppy).

Trish: I wanted to clarify about the leptospirosis. Lepto is not spread through Rodent urine. it is spread through any urine, which includes all wild animals and any non-vaccinated dogs. if a dog pees on a side walk and then your dog sniffs it, your dog can get leptospirosis. if it is not prevalent in your area, they do not suggest this vaccine (because it has a slightly higher rate of adverse effects) but in my area, they have been seeing this disease more and more which is why I was recommended to give my puppy this vaccine. Lepto is a very serious disease that can completely shut down a dog's kidney and liver and the disease can be spread to humans as well.

anyway, I just wanted to put a little update that Walter is doing much better.

[fran and dari]

I am sorry to hear that your dog has had an adverse reaction to this vaccine..But I must agree with Trish and have refused the Vaccine for my dog..Most people I know have also refused the vaccine because of the many side effects..

The most common cause of transmission is a dog drinking from water that has been contaminated by rodent urine..or even Livestock urine..
http://www.2ndchance.info/leptospirosis.htm
Dogs that spend most of thier lives in the field ; hunting dogs and the like are at way greater risk than companion dogs like ours, who are mostly couch potatoes.
We each must weigh the risk of the Vaccine with its dangers and the off chance of our dogs contracting the disease..

I