Can my puppy die if I improperly administered its 5-in-1 vaccine?

This is definitely true. The diseases that we vaccinate against are very deadly to puppies. I've witnessed whole litters die from vaccine-preventable diseases, so it's definitely a concern. It's also very costly to get them the appropriate veterinary treatment when they get these diseases. It's important that the pup also gets a rabies vaccine when he is four months and 12 months old. Rabies will not only kill the dog, but will kill any people he bites when he is infected. I hope that helps and all is well with the pup.

In general, it will not harm a puppy to have vaccinations twice unless it is a vaccine that the animal has a reaction to. Of course, we don't recommend that you get the vaccines off schedule, but most vaccines are tested so that if they are given at a higher than usual dose, it will not be harmful to the animal. Your pet may be more lethargic, painful at the injection site, etc etc, but in terms of serious side effects, you should be OK as long as there are no actual adverse side effects or reactions to the vaccine itself.

I would consult your veterinarian for the best choice for your dog given his age and lifestyle. We may give a 5 in 1 vaccine more than twice depending on the dog's age at initial vaccination, the labeling of the vaccine, and the vaccine manufacturer's specifications, as well as you dog's lifestyle. In some cases, the vaccines may be split into separate vaccinations (i.e. a Leptosporosis vaccine may be added to the Distemper-Parvo combination or may be given separately in a different injection). Discuss your concerns with your dog's vet as they may have reasons for the schedule they are using.

JackJack won't be fully protected from deadly diseases such as parvo and distemper if he doesn't get this last vaccine, and could come down with one of them leading to serious health problems including possibly death. I do not recommend you skip this last vaccine.

I'm very sorry to hear that this happened! Unfortunately, there is no way to know why the puppies got sick and died unless an autopsy was done on one or more of them, or some testing was done before they passed away. Parvo is certainly one possibility - the incubation period for this virus is 7-10 days, so this means that they were probably exposed sometime before their vet visit and began showing symptoms a few days later. They also could have had distemper, canine herpesvirus, or a severe intestinal parasite burden - all of these can cause death in young puppies as well. I would not expect the vaccine to have had anything to do with this, since it would be extremely uncommon for all of the puppies in a litter to all have a serious vaccine reaction. Serious reactions are quite rare, and normally affected dogs become extremely sick immediately and die within 24 hours - so the timing doesn't really fit either. It's likely that the timing of the vaccine was a coincidence, and the cause of death was an infectious disease or some other unrelated event. Again, I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend's pups.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Muggim. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian today. That is a lot of vomiting in a puppy. The milk will not sit well on his stomach so I would stop offering that in the meantime. A vaccine reaction can cause vomiting, but it typically does not last so long. Was he given a deworming medication at the time of the vaccine? A high parasite burden can cause vomiting as they die off. Either way, he needs to be evaluated to determine the cause of his symptoms and how best to treat him. I hope this information helps!

I do not recommend this. It's your choice, but their health is too important to take risks. Puppies usually are just fine at a clinic, people get their vaccines done all the time with no issues. I have found owners who try to give them at home often do it wrong, rendering the vaccine ineffective. In addition, places that sell vaccines to owners sometimes store the vaccines improperly. leaving them ineffective. I cannot tell you how many dogs I've seen get parvo and distemper who have been vaccinated at home by their owners. It is your choice, but I strongly urge you against it.