Why is my 8-week-old puppy itchy after his first vaccinations?

Poor guy. It sounds like he may be having a mild reaction to the vaccine. I would contact your vet to get him an antihistamine shot to help relieve the itch. He may also benefit from oral allergy medication for a few days until things subside. If you can't get him in right away, you can try an over the counter pet formulated aloe based or oatmeal based shampoo (one with Diphenhydramine is best if available) to help alleviate some of the irritation. Also as a general rule of thumb, giving pet formulated fish oils can help provide a natural anti-inflammatory effect on the skin in dogs. Best wishes moving foward with Brinks care.

A swollen face, swollen lips, red eyes, severe itching or difficulty breathing may all be symptoms of a vaccine reaction. An antihistamine, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), can be given but only under the advice of your veterinary. Legally, we are prohibited from recommending you medicate her in the absence of a physical exam and a VPCR (veterinarian-patient-client relationship). If her symptoms persist or worsen, have her examined by your veterinarian or at the nearest veterinary ER.

Hi and thanks for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach this afternoon! If the rash had appeared 24 hours after the vaccines, it is most likely not a reaction to the vaccines. Typically reactions to vaccines are vomiting, diarrhea, hives all over the skin and swelling of the face or paws within 24 hours after vaccine administration. The rash could be caused by a flea allergy especially if the rash is around his tail region and Kilo is not on any flea preventative. Fleas like to hang out around the tail region, so this may be a possibility. It only takes one flea to induce a flea allergy. The rash could also be caused by a bacterial infection which can be common in puppies to have. My advice is to get Kilo on a flea preventative product from your veterinarian and use a mild cleansing cloth around the rash a few times daily. If it doesn't improve in a few days or gets worse, I would see your veterinarian- Kilo may need to receive antibiotics. Thanks so much for posting and best wishes to you!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. You can consider a medicated shampoo you can get at your local pet store containing chlorhexidine which may help with a mild superficial infection. You may use this twice weekly. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m so sorry to hear about Titan. He definitely should see his vet with itching that severe. A mite or severe allergy are first on my list. Allergies commonly appear at age 2-4 but can develope at any time. If that is the case, they are usually environmental but if you’ve switched food or added a new treat in the last few weeks, that could be a cause too. Finally, new shampoo, change in laundry soap, etc can also cause this to flare up. Treatment varies depending on cause but may include medicated shampoo, or oral medications, and addressing underlying allergies of needed. It is also possible that this is due to mites, ringworm, or an auto-immune problem. Bottom line is, all of these things require a vet visit and prescription medications to treat so head on in as soon as you can. Best of luck to you and Titan!

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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.

Hello, thank you for your question about Norman. Based on the symptoms you are describing it sounds like Norman is having an allergic reaction. If he received his vaccinations on Thursday, it is unlikely that he is just now having a reaction to the vaccine. Most reactions occur within 24 hours after vaccination. However, some small dogs can be more sensitive when receiving multiple vaccinations. Based on what you've listed, the Lepto vaccine is the one that is most likely to cause a reaction because of the vaccine formulation. It is possible that there is something else leading to the reaction - such as something in his environment (insect, spider, etc). If he continues to have swollen and itchy eyes in spite of the Benadryl I would recommend having him seen by a veterinarian so that they can administer injectable medications to help with this reaction. Hope this helps, good luck!