[Mollie'sMum]

Hello there, We recently took on Mollie a 9 week old puppy who is full of life. My parents breed her and were not able to complete her sale after she got unwell after vaccinations. She rapidly lost weight and had loose stools. Her appetite was almost non existent. After taking back to the vet they sold us special biscuits for gastro. She didn't touch the biscuits. It was at this stage that I started to also care for her. I noticed that she ate warmed up raw meat and now a week on she only likes to eat meat that has been cooked. I have read a lot about vaccinosis which is what I think she may have as she was the runt of the litter. I have treated her with a naturopath product called thuja which was recommended to me off of a forum I read she also has other supplements. She has responded well to this and has a WAY bigger appetite now and her stools are getting better also. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with vaccinosis and how long it took for pup to get better/eat normal. Also does this mean vaccines are a no go after the last round had such terrible side effects?

 

[Gabica]

glad your beautiful pup is doing better and yes vaccines can have side effects unfortunately, not just for runt of the litter (btw i would take a runt with this look any day). also glad the thuja works, i have used that at a recent afoxolaner (flea and tick preventive here in the US) reaction and it seem to have helped.
By any chance you pup got administered several vaccines at the same time?
My boys don`t deal well with bordatella vaccine and i also separated all of their puppy shots, even though it means many vet trips for the first several months. also later on when it comes to big vaccines like lepto-parvo and rabies, they get separated.

one of the other advice i have received is that a lot of their reactions are similar of the sight hounds` (given the breed`s history it is understandable). reversible local anesthesia like dexdormitor is known to be dangerous for them too, unfortunately many vets don`t know/forget when making a decision... not for your pup now, but something to remember for later on.

 

[Mollie'sMum]

Thank you for your feedback, glad to know I'm not the only one who has experienced this. Yes she had a vaccine that covered about five things at once. The vets here don't seem to think it's an issue and believe that vaccinosis is only severe immediate response rather than what we are experiencing which was delayed by a day or two and ongoing for weeks after. Here's hoping that the worst is over now. Luckily in New Zealand dog vaccination is still optional and I won't be going down this path again.

We are still unsure how long it will take to return her back to her pre vaccine diet but have the theory that any food intake at the moment is better than no food intake. So we will continue to boil lamb chops and chicken breasts and bacon until she's back into her other food. Do you think she is only wanting cooked food as raw food and biscuits is too hard on her digestive system which would be rather tender after been so sick? Any advice around healing her gut at this point?

Thanks 😊

 

[Gabica]

i thought so regarding the multiple vaccines at the same time. can you titer her to see whether she is protected? it is becoming more and more common here in the US, although many vets obviously do not welcome it.

regarding diet, yes, it could well easily be, in my experience when they are not feeling well, anything raw is less desirable than usually. if you can give her doggy proof bone broth with her food, that usually helps a lot, in my experience both with the healing and the appetite. you can also try low fat kefir or raw goat milk if you have access to those. we have in the US a product called esbilac powder, it is a good probiotics for puppies, i had great experience with it.
try and add some boiled eggs and see how she reacts. another tender tummy idea are cooked baby carrots in the bone broth, just as cooked and peeled sweet potato. obviously this list all should be one at a time, see the reaction before adding more, sorry if i am stating the obvious. my dogs don`t like rice, but for upset tummy i sometimes boil the brown rice and just give the rice water to their food.
if it continues for a while, i would also add calcium supplement, the cooked meat is great, but especially at her age she needs the calcium.

let us know how she does, different vaccines are a lot to deal with, even for an adult dog, poor pretty babe.

 

[Mollie'sMum]

Awesome thanks for all your knowledge. Will let you know how she goes ☺

 

[texasred]

I fostered a Vizsla, and his stomach became very upset a couple of day after his first vaccinations. This went on for a week and a half, to two weeks. I even had the vet recheck his stool to rule out giardia and coccidia.
I did not put it together, as being caused by the vaccination. A month later he received his boosters, and 3 days later we were dealing with diarrhea for the next two weeks. That's when I was able to put it together. I even had the vets test a 3rd stool sample, just to make sure.