My Pug Scoop (Precious Scoop has passed... )

Patti,
Thank you so much.
I took Archie to the vet Wed. and Friday this past week. I will post about the visits on his thread if not tonight then maybe tomorrow night. Things are not getting any better and I am SO worried about Archie. I love that little guy so, so very much(as I do Raleigh, Gus and Scoop, too) and it is breaking my heart to see this happening and things aren't getting any better after weeks of this going on. The vet he saw on Wed. says that Archie's immune system hasn't caught up yet. It scares me because Scoop's immune system is what failed him. Archie has gone weeks without proper nutrition. How is his immune system supposed to get better? I'm no expert but all of this started after Archie had his rabies shot. Before his shot his stools were perfect. Never had a problem. He did a bit of itching but not near what he is doing now. Tonight he had the runs again. So, so frustrating. I think about Scoop and his problems and it breaks my heart. Now with Archie I am so, so scared. I think about his high white blood cell count he had after his seizure. I think I will ask the vet if she thinks it should be checked again since he is having all of these problems.

Doesn't anyone else think Archie's problems could have been caused from the rabies shot?

Christmas will definitely be hard thinking about Scoop. It will be so nice to see Archie and Gus enjoying their first Christmas. They are going to be spoiled just like a little kid at Christmas. I just wish Archie wasn't having these problems so I wouldn't have to worry about him.

Vicki,
have you mentioned the timing of the rabies shot and Archie's problems to the vet?
I hope that he gets better soon!

Valerie,
Thanks
I mentioned it to the vet on Wed. He doesn't usually see Archie so I said about the seizure the day after the shot and he said-immune system.
I then said to the vet on Friday that this all started after his shot. I don't remember what she said but it was like we can't tell anything like that for sure but she gave me the impression she thought it could be possible.

I was wondering if I should get the phone number for the manufacture of the vaccine and just call and mention to them what is going on. Not that it will do any good but I am so upset over all of this. It makes me cry and worry.

Vicki, you can certainly call the vaccine manufacturer to notify them about Archie's problems, especially the seizure. How is Gus doing now, though? You had mentioned that he had been having some of the other problems the same as Archie, and if so, something else must be involved for him.

Marianne

Vicki:
I feel do bad about Archie as you did not need a sick baby right now. I for one am not ruling out that rabies shot. I believe as others so that all these vaccinations are not a good thing. Some you must have to protect your babies life, and are necessary, but others I question. Tipper had such a bad reaction to a vaccination made by Fort Dodge one time she almost did not make it. The poor little thing, being so itchy and all reminds me of Tipper as a pup. She was so itchy after I brought her home I was sure she must have fleas, and called the breeder. She had nothing but big old allergies and it went on from there. Knowing what I know now I would have never let them dose her with prednisone as we would not be on this journey if it were not for that. Blessings
Patti

Marianne, Gus is eating a regular diet. He still has messy poops off and on. He'll have a messy one or two then they will go back to being pretty good. Then messy, then good. He does itch some but not to the point where it is causing a problem like Archie's.

Archie's vet did call the vaccine manufacturer and report the seizure. I read on a website that Kathy directed me to that rabies vaccine can cause diarrhea, hives(he had hives on Wed.), allergies. Archie was just fine before the vaccine and now things just can't get straightened out. He is still a baby. This shouldn't be happening to him so young! How in the world is his stool problem going to get straightened out?

Patti, On Friday the vet said to me she knows how I feel about steroids so I think she is trying to avoid them but it might come to the point where it can't be avoided. Archie doesn't seem to be after himself as much since he has been on the Benadryl but a new lesion did pop up since Friday.

What was the vaccine for and what kind of reaction did Tipper have from it?

Vicki:
Yes Tipper had a rabies shot. She swelled up so big so fast I had an emergency vets within 8 minutes of my house then and we barely made it. She was starting with anaphylaxis by the time we got there. She had never had this particular vaccine form this company before. She had welts raised up on her as big a sausages, and her skin was so blown up she looked like a pig because she is so pink underneath her fur. I had to throw her in the vets sink in cool water as they got her a shot of epinephrine . Her mouth was swelled twice it's size. Her temperature went so high they told me any higher and she may not make it, I was hysterical, but held myself together and bathed her continuously for about 1/2 an hour in the sink. Finally the temperature started to come down. It was not a good day to say the least. It started within an hour of the vaccination. Hope some how this helps you. I did call the manufacturer and they took the info, but were not to forthcoming with any information as to why this happened or if other dogs reacted like this. Blessings
Patti

Yikes! These stories of reactions to rabies shots are very scary. Thankfully Freckles had her 3 year rabies in 2012 and does not need until 2015. If she is still alive then(at age 16.5 yrs) I will not give her the shot. Just not worth it at that age.

Louise

It sounds to me as though Tipper had an acute allergic reaction to the vaccine itself, just like what happens when people who are sensitive have immediate reactions to medications, or bee stings, or eating peanuts, etc. This can certainly be life-threatening, no doubt about it, and you would want to avoid that vaccine from that point onward. But it is a time-limited reaction. I believe this is a different scenario from what you are worried about with Archie, which is instead that you are afraid the vaccination triggered a long-term abnormality in his immune system.

It is true that this can sometimes happen, and I realize you are probably doubly worried because you don't want Gus to develop problems later on after his vaccination, too. So I am not discounting your worry in any way. But I think your vet is correct that there is really no way to know whether the vaccination is the true source of Archie's current problems. I know there are websites that link vaccinations to virtually any medical problem a dog could ever experience. And since all dogs in the U.S. are theoretically required to be vaccinated against rabies, based on some of those websites, an owner could worry that any medical problem their dog ever develops must surely have been caused by the vaccination.

In Archie's case, it is definitely true that the timing makes the connection seem much more suspicious. But I don't think you will ever be able to determine for certain whether the vaccination is at fault. So I think your vet will be doing the right thing by continuing to search for alternative causes/remedies that may exist. My heart does go out to you when you see these problems in one so young. As I mentioned on your other thread, my own Peg started exhibiting severe seasonal allergies before she was even four months old. Since they only manifest during the winter and she is perfectly fine in the summer, we know they are not food-related or medication-related. And my other dog, Luna, had extended episodes of diarrhea on-and-off during her first nine months, no matter what food we had her on. Fortunately, that finally straightened out for her all by itself (although we did find at one time she had worms which we had to eradicate) and now she seems to have an iron stomach! So even though Archie's allergies may be more of a long-term issue, I'm hoping that his GI problems will ultimately resolve -- and hopefully sooner rather than later.

Marianne

Marianne, It is scary to think about a long-term abnormality in Archie's immune system!! Can anything be done for that?

Gus will be getting his rabies shot when he is 6 months old. The vet said we could wait till then. That will be in January. Hopefully he won't have any problems after he gets his shot. I was originally thinking they both will get neutered after the new year but the vet said not to be in a hurry to get it done. So we will be waiting a while to do that.

I'm glad to hear Luna's diarrhea straightened itself out. I hope and pray Archie's gets better.