My puppy is on cephalexin. Can he get his distemper vaccine?

Antibiotics would not affect the immune system’s ability to respond to a vaccine. If he has a significant infection there might be some concern but if he’s been on the antibiotics for a little while and does not have a fever the vaccines should be effective.

Unfortunately, it takes up to 2 weeks for a vaccination to be effective, so vaccinating the exposed puppies after exposure, will not help protect them from their previous exposure, but may help protect them against future exposure. I am including more information about distemper below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952099 Since distemper is very contagious, I would not recommend having the exposed puppies around any other dogs if they are potentially contagious. You can call your local VetCo clinic to determine if they are able to accommodate the puppies in a safe manner, so that other dogs are not exposed. You can find your local location here. https://www.vetcoclinics.com/services-and-clinics/clinic-locations-and-schedules/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I would strongly recommend taking her right away back to your vet, antibiotics alone are definitely not enough when a dog is vomiting, she needs an injection to stop the vomiting to start with, otherwise no oral medications can be given. cephlaxin is also known for increasing vomiting, she needs a different antibiotic such as Metrogyl or Amoxicillin. i would also recommend a blood test at the very least.

Most unvaccinated, adult dogs can receive a vaccination for distemper once they are, healthy, normal and not ill. She will need two vaccines given 3 weeks apart to set the proper immunity levels. Unless she has an ongoing chronic condition like an autoimmune condition or a blood borne parasite, most pets will not be immune compromised in general but I cannot answer that question for you without knowing her full history. I recommend to call the veterinarian who took care of Chutki last year and ask if she is immune compromised in anyway. Make sure to ask if it is safe to vaccinate her. Chutki's hair loss could be several things including allergies, endocrine disease, parasites, hormonal changes, poor diet or the normal twice yearly shedding of the coat. The only way to figure out the cause is to have her examined by your veterinarian. You can rule out parasites by using an oral medication like Simparica. There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for dogs, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing her diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Having her spayed can also help to regulate her hormones. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Yes, you can definitely give the oral antibiotics and apply the dermalone ointment at the same time. I would apply the ointment 2-3 times a day for at least the next 7 days and finish the entire course of antibiotic (give with food). Something else that can help is bathing every 2-3 days for 2 weeks with a medicated antibacterial shampoo such as Malaseb (available on chewy.com and petco.com), although your vet probably has a similar medicated shampoo that you can pick up from their office today leave the suds on for 5-10 min prior to rinse to allow the medicated shampoo bto have the greatest effect. Purchasing a probiotic from your vet as well can help prevent diarrhea from the cephalexin. Good luck!

You can give any puppy a vaccine as long as their temperature is normal and they are not actively sick. However, you do run the risk of vaccinating a puppy who already has been exposed, but just hasn't had a full display of symptoms yet. This is an unfortunate situation to be in. Eye mucous is not a clear sign of distemper, but instead it would entail the full scope of the disease which is lethargy, not eating, fever, upper airway infection symptoms, etc. I would suggest getting a vet involved to do a full exam on these puppies first to determine which are not healthy enough for vaccination, and then try to isolate the sick ones to hopefully help prevent the entire litter from catching it. Hopefully you can save a few of these puppies. Treatment for distemiper is costly and very rarely will result in survival. It is just a terrible disease and I hope the best for your pups as they try to get through this. Best wishes and take care.

If he is regularly vaccinated you should not be worried about distemper and the signs you noticed are probably due to another cause (possibly upper respiratory tract infection of other source). If the antibiotics are not helping a check up would be needed anyway. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.