# Lepto vacccination reaction?



## MidasMom (Jun 2, 2010)

Anyone's dog or puppy have a bad reaction to the lepto vaccination? My Graham who is almost five months old had his lepto booster a couple of days ago and had an awful reaction to it. He was fine initially, but when I got him home he laid down in our back room and would not move. He wouldnt even get up and just looked sad and out of sorts. I tried to pick him up and he cried out in pain. I felt horrible! I called the vet and took him back immediately. He has never had a reaction like that before. He was given a steroid shot to calm the reaction and they kept him for a few hours. He still wasnt right when I picked him up. Would barely move, just stand and looked so sad like he just couldnt get comfortable. He wouldnt even come to me. Took him home and he slept the whole rest of day and night. Thankfully he was back to normal by morning. Anyone else have an experience like this? I dont ever want him to have that vaccination again.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Glad your pup is okay today. Dogs can react to any vaccination but most don't. Make sure his reaction is noted on your vet records and don't allow that vaccination again - the reaction could be worse next time.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

As reactions go, that isn't a bad one but, as mentioned above, it could be worse the next time. Was that the only vaccination he received?

Unless lepto is a problem in your area, it really is an optional vaccination anyway.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

One of my puppy owners was talked into it by their vet as they have a cottage. He had a terrible reaction and was quite ill for two days. He will not get that vacc again. As Tahnee said it really is an optional vaccine that is only needed if you are in an area endemic for it. And then you should try to find out which strains are active in your area as they may not even be the ones covered in the most common lepto vaccines.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I am so sorry your puppy had this reaction to the lepto vaccine. My Barkley suffered from a severe lepto infection in Dec. 2005 and after that we began with the lepto vaccines for all of our dogs. We live near a city lake park teeming with wildlife and we do have lepto in our area. None of our dogs have ever reacted to the vaccine. 

Question for those in the know: is it common to vaccinate puppies for this as early as 5 months? One of these days we will be bringing a new puppy into our family crossfing:crossfing) and I always thought I would wait to vaccinate until he/she is a little older and has successfully completed all the required puppy vaccines. Of course, if it's an unusually wet time of the year and the soil is moist, all bets are off because those are the ideal conditions for spreading of the disease.


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## MidasMom (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks all for your input. It was the only vaccination Graham received that day, but I was surprised he reacted to it since he had the first booster for lepto the month before and did not react at all. I only got him the lepto because my vet recommended it since both my goldens go swimming a lot in my parent's ponds and their property is wildlife central. My vet did actually call the vaccine manufacturer and reported Graham's reaction and it is also recorded in his chart. My vet said he would give Graham a steroid injection along with any future vaccinations as to prevent any adverse reactions. I still dont think I will get the vaccination again. I know it could have been way worse, but what my baby went through was enough for this momma.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

At my previous vet, they would only give the lepto vaccine if it was three hours before they closed because the chances of reaction are so much greater than the other.

At my new vet, I have a NO LEPTO written on their records. MacKenzie is going in for her annuals on Monday, and I am going to discuss it with my vet because we live on acreage. If I do decide to give it to her, it will be a separate vaccine from the others at a later date.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

We have a similar reaction with our cat when he gets his feline leukemia shot. He now gets a steroid shot before the vaccine to keep that from happening. 

You might want to discuss having that done the next time? 

I thought that Lepto was part of the distemper vaccine. I didn't realize there was a way to opt out.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Dallas Gold said:


> I am so sorry your puppy had this reaction to the lepto vaccine. My Barkley suffered from a severe lepto infection in Dec. 2005 and after that we began with the lepto vaccines for all of our dogs. We live near a city lake park teeming with wildlife and we do have lepto in our area. None of our dogs have ever reacted to the vaccine.
> 
> Question for those in the know: is it common to vaccinate puppies for this as early as 5 months? One of these days we will be bringing a new puppy into our family crossfing:crossfing) and I always thought I would wait to vaccinate until he/she is a little older and has successfully completed all the required puppy vaccines. Of course, if it's an unusually wet time of the year and the soil is moist, all bets are off because those are the ideal conditions for spreading of the disease.


Lepto is generally a part of the basic puppy shots that are given as early as 8 weeks. You can request that they not give that portion of the shot, as the lepto portion is generally in the liquid portion of the shot, not in the powder portion. I did this with Bug, in advance of her getting her shot, and reminded them again when we went in for the shot. I don't give lepto before 3 months at the earliest.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

MidaMom, do you know which brand of vaccine it was? I have heard of more issues with one brand than I have with another.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

MidasMom said:


> Thanks all for your input. It was the only vaccination Graham received that day, but I was surprised he reacted to it since he had the first booster for lepto the month before and did not react at all. I only got him the lepto because my vet recommended it since both my goldens go swimming a lot in my parent's ponds and their property is wildlife central. My vet did actually call the vaccine manufacturer and reported Graham's reaction and it is also recorded in his chart. My vet said he would give Graham a steroid injection along with any future vaccinations as to prevent any adverse reactions. I still dont think I will get the vaccination again. I know it could have been way worse, but what my baby went through was enough for this momma.


MidasMom, I really understand how scary this whole scenerio was for you. I think the steroid shot is definitely a good idea for future vaccinations.

I am going to play Devil's Advocate for just a second with our own personal experience just so others can know what can happen in a worst case situation, especially if one thinks their dog might be at higher risk for the disease due to his environment or other factors. When our Barkley was suffering from the lepto infection our vet warned us he might not make it and he might have permanent damage. It was one of the two scariest things we experienced with him (the other being his hemangiosarcoma). At the time our vet was not vaccinating because lepto cases were rare, but it turned out Barkley was the first of dozens the clinic saw at that time. We were very fortunate because our vet tested him for the disease on a hunch and went ahead and treated him as if he had it while we awaited the test results. This is because we told her we had hiked with him in a wilderness area just across the street from the clinic a few days before after it rained. That clue led to her hunch and she turned out to be right, but we didn't know it for several days while awaiting the titer results. He survived without any lasting ill effects. It was definitely a nightmare during the crisis, especially since he was hospitalized for so long and our vet was so concerned. I think we ended up spending about $2000 in hospitalization, medications, treatments and lab work during the entire episode. It went on for weeks and we monitored his lab work for months afterwards to make sure he was okay. It makes my heart race to this day to think about how scary the whole situation was for us and how close we came to losing our sweet boy. I never ever want to go through with something like that again if it is at all preventable. 

If I were in your shoes it would be a very tough decision on whether to keep up with the boosters or not....but if your dog is at high risk for a possible contamination (moist soil, moist environment, more rainfall than usual, heavy wildlife, lots of walking or hiking in these areas and other cases in the area) I might consider going ahead and keeping the boosters current with a steroid injection, simply because lepto can be fatal if not promptly diagnosed and treated and the potential for life long adverse consequences is so great.

I forgot to add, to this day we do not walk Toby in the area where we think Barkley contracted the disease and we make sure to wipe his paws with unscented Baby Wipes on days where the soil is moist (and he is current on his vaccine).


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I have a friend whose Golden contracted lepto, and it was much the scenario that Dallas Gold described above. She almost lost her dog, and it was very expensive.

Don't forget that the scenario described above for lepto, also works for blastomycosis, and the locales can change every year depending on weather and soil conditions. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do for blasto except treat it if they do get it.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I have to pipe in here....as a golden owner and a veterinarian. I live in the woods in the Northeast, so not only are my dogs vaccinated for lepto, they are also vaccinated for Lyme... and horror to alot of breeders who believe the rabies vaccine is the cause for all cancers, my pups that I own, are vaccinated against rabies at 3 months of age.

I recently attended a veterinary meeting on vaccine protocols. It was very enlightening and also sponsored by Merial. The vaccines that historically cause vaccine reactions are the killed vaccines, which include bordetella, lepto, lyme, and rabies. The modified live vaccines include distemper/parvo and intranasal kennel cough. The theory behind the killed product causing reactions is because the killed product has all these other proteins in it and that's why the dog reacts to it. That's where Merial comes in... they have made some recombinant vaccines in place of the killed vaccines. Of course, they are also much more expensive

Since I started to vaccinate clients' pets for lepto at 4 months of age or greater, I feel there are alot less reactions. Generally the reactions that get our attention are the swollen faces, hives, and vomiting. The lepto vaccine does seem to sting some dogs.
Historically, pugs, shelties, dachshunds, and schnauzers seem to have the worst reactions.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Merial is the vaccine maker that has been recommended to me. I have heard of a number of reactions to Fort Dodge vaccines-maybe the killed vs recombinant is a large part of the reason.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Thank you Tahnee and Sally's Mom. When the day comes for us to vaccinate a new puppy I will discuss with the vet the appropriate age and order. I guess I'm lucky Toby has no reaction to this vaccine. His vet always asks me to massage the injection site for several minutes after the injection is given. Due to a kennel cough vaccine reaction by Toby several years ago we now give the vaccinations spaced out over the span of several weeks. Barkley's acupuncture vet suggested we do that and it seems to work well for our dogs. 

I'm going to ask about the vaccine manufacturer next time I'm in the clinic.


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## MidasMom (Jun 2, 2010)

Tahnee, the name of the vaccine company is Merial. They have a new lepto vaccination called Lepto 4 Way Recomitek which is supposed to be more effective and last for 15 months. There have been no lepto outbreaks in my area, but my vet recommended the vaccine as more of a precautionary. I live in a subdivsion so the likely hood of my goldens contracting lepto, I think, would be relatively low. However, I do take my guys to my mom's 10 acre property where there is tons of wildlife plus two ponds. I take them there a few times a week. My other concern is that the DHLPP vaccination my guys receive does have the lepto in it so I am not sure why they would need the extra coverage of this new 4 way lepto vaccination. I hate to over vaccinate, but want my guys covered. I would hate to have them get anything and suffer needlessly when I could have prevented it. I am going to have my almost two year old golden, Midas, titered this coming spring as so I dont over vaccinate if he is already immune. Is there a titer for lepto too? If so I will titer both my guys for everything and if they are lacking immunity I will take care of the vaccinations at that time with a nice steroid injection for my Graham.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

A titer to lepto does not indicate immunity. In fact, a dog can get lepto more than once as it can get Lyme disease more than once. So doing a lepto titer wouldn't help the decision on whether to vaccinate or not. The vaccine protects against 4 serovars. There are many more serovars a dog can be exposed to, and the hope is that there is cross reactivity if the dog is vaccinated and exposed to a different serovar. And lepto is zoonotic(which means we can get the disease from the dog)... in fact there is some concern that some dogs can be intermittent shedders after contracting the disease.

Back in 2001, I was merrily vaccinating Golden #2 with all her vaccines(probably 4 or 5 of them) as I had done with her golden housemate for many years. That night I took her to training class and she literally couldn't move. She had such severe myalgia that my normally crazy hyper golden couldn't even jump into heel position. Mind you, she was 5 1/2 years at the time, so I had vaccinated her like that before. Anyway, that modified how my dogs get vaccinated... but those were the days when distemper/parvo was annually and rabies in this state was every 2 years. I still, however, have clients who insist on getting all vaccines at once so they don't have to come back.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

At my clinic we usually start the Lepto vaccine at around 5 months. We typically don't give it at the same time as the other vaccines. We had been using the Pfizer 4-way Lepto for nearly 2 years. We recently switched to the Merial product (since almost everything else we use is Merial), but for only one tray. We had too many reactions (mostly soreness, but at least one swollen muzzle) to continue using the Merial vaccine. We're back to the Pfizer product and once again not seeing reactions even in small dogs.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Selka had a reaction to Lepto vaccine long ago so we didn't get it again for either Selka or Gunner as we didn't do much where they could contact it. It is also like the flu vaccine. There are about four types of Lepto they shoot for and hundreds of types of Lepto out there.
Sasha had a reaction to his first vacs which were by Pfizer. So our vet switched to Merial and we have had no problem on his last two vacs. He also gave Sasha an antihistamine and anti inflammatory before the vaccine .

Fort Dodge was bought by Merial and my vet thinks the Fort Dodge will be phased out.
I am relieved his vacs are over till age 1. Then we will go to a three year protocol.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Debles said:


> Selka had a reaction to Lepto vaccine long ago so we didn't get it again for either Selka or Gunner as we didn't do much where they could contact it.


Our vet told us that even dogs who are inside dogs and never leave the confines of their back yard are at risk of contracting leptospirosis. All it takes is one infected squirrel or raccoon (or other carrier) to climb over a fence, urinate on wet leaves or wet soil and the family pet to walk in the same area and then lick their paws. It's a scary scenerio. Our vet relayed a story of someone out gardening in their fenced yard who contracted the disease and died. I never asked her for the source of the story, but it definitely got my attention! At the time (Dec. 2005 until spring 2006) there was a mini-epidemic among dogs in my part of town and it prompted the clinic owner to mail a notice to all her clients warning them of the risk. To this day I'm always concerned when we walk on wet soil, leaves or grass now, and Toby is fully vaccinated.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Last night I had my appointment with MacKenzie for her vaccinations and yearly physical.

I have on her charts NO LEPTO, but told the tech that I wanted to discuss with the vet if I should or shouldn't. So they set up the syringe with the Dhpp without the Lepto.

Well she and I had a great conversation. She said that in her years of school and as a vet she has never seen lepto or heard of it in our area BUT she said her partner did see it a couple times when she was in school. She said the risk is very rare, but because it can be passed to humans, if my dog is anywhere near raccoons and other wildlife may urinate, it is very reccommended and because most often it is fatal to the dog. Also the formula that she has, cannot be given alone, I only had the choice of the Dhpp with the lepto or without, so she recommened I make another appt early in the morning in case there are any reactions since they were closing in 45 minutes. 

She said that there are five breeds ( can't remember which ones that are more prone to reactions than the other breeds ) that are more prone to reacting to lepto than the other breeds and goldens were not the ones she listed.

She said that she does not hesitate at all in giving her own dogs the lepto. 

So MacKenzie only got her rabies shot and fetal floatation last night, and a clean bill of health. He abscess looks great! I was pleasantly surprised that the bill was only $35. The exam is free of charge, if they are having vaccines unless the dog is obviously sick coming in and needs the vaccines too.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

cubbysan said:


> Also the formula that she has, cannot be given alone, I only had the choice of the Dhpp with the lepto or without


Just curious how your dog is going to get her second Lepto? Does she have to have another DHLPP? Lepto is a killed vaccine and MUST be boostered 2-4 weeks after the first shot, the first time they are given the vaccine (it's once a year after the initial 2 shot series). I'm also curious if the vet is using one of the newer 4-way vaccines or the "old" 2-way shot?


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

IowaGold said:


> Just curious how your dog is going to get her second Lepto? Does she have to have another DHLPP? Lepto is a killed vaccine and MUST be boostered 2-4 weeks after the first shot, the first time they are given the vaccine (it's once a year after the initial 2 shot series). I'm also curious if the vet is using one of the newer 4-way vaccines or the "old" 2-way shot?


 
She did not say anything about the Lepto being boostered. 

What is meant by 4-way compared to 2-way? I thought she had something about 4-way - but I thought that meant all 4 vaccines together. I know she specifically said she could not get the lepto by itself.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

4-way Lepto protects against 4 strains of Lepto, 2-way is 2 strains. I'd call and ask the vet about the boostering. We only carry the separate Lepto (4-way) because we only do DHPP every 3rd year and would rather give an extra injection every third year rather than an extra vaccine every year.

Here's a link to the AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/VaccineGuidelines06Revised.pdf. Lepto is discussed on page 8.

When first brought the 4-way Lepto in, we asked the vaccine manufacturer if dogs that had previously been vaccinated with a 2-way vaccine needed to start the initial 2 dose series. The answer was yes, even adult dogs who had previously been vaccinated with the "old" Lepto vaccine need to do the 2 dose initial series because the strains do not cross protect.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

IowaGold said:


> 4-way Lepto protects against 4 strains of Lepto, 2-way is 2 strains. I'd call and ask the vet about the boostering. We only carry the separate Lepto (4-way) because we only do DHPP every 3rd year and would rather give an extra injection every third year rather than an extra vaccine every year.
> 
> Here's a link to the AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/VaccineGuidelines06Revised.pdf. Lepto is discussed on page 8.
> 
> When first brought the 4-way Lepto in, we asked the vaccine manufacturer if dogs that had previously been vaccinated with a 2-way vaccine needed to start the initial 2 dose series. The answer was yes, even adult dogs who had previously been vaccinated with the "old" Lepto vaccine need to do the 2 dose initial series because the strains do not cross protect.


I looked back at Mackenzie's puppy shots that the rescue gave here - one had the lepto, one didn't, the third set she had with me with no lepto. I am wondering if she thought she had it twice last year. I will definitely send an e-mail and ask her.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

IowaGold said:


> Just curious how your dog is going to get her second Lepto? Does she have to have another DHLPP? Lepto is a killed vaccine and MUST be boostered 2-4 weeks after the first shot, the first time they are given the vaccine (it's once a year after the initial 2 shot series). I'm also curious if the vet is using one of the newer 4-way vaccines or the "old" 2-way shot?


How do you know which vaccine they had? Are they both called Dhlpp?


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

You'd have to ask the vet who gave the shot. Technically they would both be DHLPP.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

DHLPP is not the brand of the vaccine, but rather an acronym for the diseases the vaccination protects against. DHLPP is the most common-(D)distemper, (H)hepatitis, (L) leptospirosis, (P)parainfluenza and (P)parvovirus.

There are a number of different vaccine manufacturers, such as Pfizer, Fort Dodge and Merial.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

cubbysan said:


> Last night I had my appointment with MacKenzie for her vaccinations and yearly physical.
> 
> I have on her charts NO LEPTO, but told the tech that I wanted to discuss with the vet if I should or shouldn't. So they set up the syringe with the Dhpp without the Lepto.
> 
> ...


We always wait about 2-3 weeks after the rabies vaccination to get the other vaccinations our dogs might need. This was recommended to us by our acupuncture vet. She had a detailed explanation about how the dog's immune system reacts to the rabies vaccine and causes allergic reactions in allergy prone dogs. Our Barkley had severe allergies so we took her at her word and spaced all of them out, with our conventional vet's blessing. We figured his system could handle the vaccinations better if we spaced them out. We carried that practice over to Toby even though he does not have any allergies.


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## felginator (Aug 19, 2011)

My 13 week-old puppy, Cooper, is having a very similar reaction to the lepto vaccine right now. He was very lethargic and sore the first night and now he is suffering from diarrhea. I told the vet about his reaction today and they told me to keep a close eye on him tonight and tomorrow in case the diarrhea doesn't go away. His energy has improved drastically since the night he got the shot, but we are still suffering through the tummy troubles.

I'm going to have to seriously consider whether or not he should continue to get this vaccine in the future.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

My KayCee had no problem with uppy shots or first set of annual vax, but almost lost her after the 2ed set and my vet was 99.99% sure it was the lepto. Because we came so close to losing her our vet said no more vax for Kase except law required rabies. and even with that he bucked our city law and only gave her rbies vax every 3 years.

There has only been one reported case of lepto in this area. I have not used the lepto since KayCee's reaction. HOWEVER I have always said if we got a hurricane I would get the lepto before retuning to the coast because of contaminated water.


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