How do I know if my dog's vaccine injection site is infected?

It sounds like Coco is having a local vaccine reaction. You should contact your vet and see if they want to examine him or if they would be able to prescribe medications, and if they agree it’s a vaccine reaction they might recommend medication prior to vaccines in the future. I doubt it’s related to the trouble giving the vaccine - it’s pretty common for the needle to slip out when giving injections to wiggly dogs and cats.

It certainly is possible to see swellings at injection sites, but 2.5 weeks later is a longer period of time than we will commonly see before a swelling will appear. If there is any possibility that Emmett was bit or injured at that location, I would certainly be worried that it could be an infection at that site (despite the antibiotics). If the swelling is getting larger, I would recommend having your veterinarian examine it. If it is a swelling from one of the injections, it should gradually get smaller and should not be painful. If it is not going away, is getting larger or is painful, it should be examined. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you very much for your question. What you were most likely experiencing is an injection site reaction. D’s can sometimes go away within 24 to 48 hours for these can stay for months. Sometimes these reactions can also be painful and elicit other immune responses such as difficulty breathing, etc. My best advice is to contact the veterinary clinic that administered the injections and tell them what you are experiencing. What most likely will happen is that they may want to re-examine your animal and possibly give you some topical or oral or injectable medication to offset the inflammation. Generally, these appointments do not cost anything and be makers of the vaccine take care of the costs associated. But this all depends on the veterinarian and the clinic involved. So I Urge you to call the veterinary clinic and schedule an appointment as soon as possible to get this lump checked out. We really appreciate you using our service. I hope I have helped.

It is possible that the injection site is hurting a bit. We inject about 1cc under the skin and sometimes a dog reacts a bit sensitive to the vaccine. This is just a temporary effect and the pain should go away within 48 hours. Sometimes there is a swelling and that should also go away within about 48 hours. If the pain and/or swelling persists you will have to take Guss to a vet to have it examined, as in very rare cases the pet can get an injection abscess that would then need to be lanced,

You are welcome! That deworming medication is just fine. Max needs the Nobivac DHPPi combination shot. You should give him one now, and another shot four weeks after the first so he's fully vaccinated. Then he will need another booster of it in a year. Yes, you can deworm him now too. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Panda's spay incision does appear to be red and a little swollen. Swelling at a spay site can be due to a variety of reasons, including infection, inflammation from a reaction to the suture material, or over-activity after her procedure, among others. I would recommend Panda be seen by her regular veterinarian to have the swelling evaluated, and start any medications (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory) that she may need. In the meantime, I would recommend icing the area as well. Good luck!

This may be tender from the injection, and then again it may be that he remembered that the injection was uncomfortable or hurt. I suggest you mention this to the vet when you take him for the next round of vaccinations so the vet can examine the injection site and determine whether there is a problem. It will alert the vet also that your dog may be a little bit sensitive.