Schoor- in what way was your puppy sick? Vaccine reactions ARE preventable. The vet can pre-treat with an antihistamine and steroid, administer only one vaccine (not the same as one shot) per visit, and not give her the lepto vaccine if it is not a problem in your area. Distemper and parvo are much worse than vaccine reactions, and not being near other dogs is NOT going to protect her! Parvo lives quite well outside by itself. Maybe not through a harsh Canada winter, but certainly all summer. She probably won't need another distemper or parvo vaccine for several years. I get titers for my dogs and will vaccinate if the level is too low, but not before. You should check on the rabies vaccine in your province. I'm not aware of the rabies laws in Canada. But most places are doing a one year rabies first time, then every 3 years after that. Two2go: ask the vet if the type of Lepto found in your area is included in the Lepto vaccine. In many cases, it is not. And getting vaccinated for the other types will NOT protect your dog if she gets exposed to the Lepto that is found in your area. CNVH: my titers for distemper/parvo vaccine cost about $80. My vet uses Antech diagnostic lab, which is very reliable. I was not aware of any in-house vaccine test kits. There is a test kit for parvo, but that is to detect the virus in the feces of sick dogs, not for vaccine status. GWA- I wouldn't call the vaccine titers "concrete" evidence of protection. We don't know at what antibody level every dog would be protected. We do know that antibody levels and protection do not always correlate; in some cases an undectable antibody level is still protective and in others a sky-high titer doesn't help. That's because of innate immunity, the variation in immune response from individual to individual, and a host of other issues. Titers can be used as a guide, but there is still risk of under and over vaccinating. Here is a link that might be useful: Lepto info

These protocols are not really that new, nor are they Dr. Dodd's- a task force consisting of many distinguished veterinarians produced the guidelines, and Dr. Dodd is NOT one of the authors. The canine protocols first changed in 2003 and were updated in 2006. The feline protocols were first established in 2006. Dr. Richard Ford, one of the authors of the protocols, is one of my teachers, so I am very well familiar with the subject. Here is an article written by Dr. Ford on the subject. Please read specifically the section titled "The AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines and the 3 year vaccine." Oh, and NC State CVM does NOT follow Dr. Dodd's protocols; vaccines are left to the discretion of the veterinarian following a risk assessment for each individual pet. For example, Rotties and Dobes are recommended to return at 20 weeks for a 4th parvo booster due to their extended duration of maternal antibodies, while other breeds are not. Finally the statement that "Once the initial series of puppy or kitten vaccinations and first annual vaccinations are completed, immunity from MLV vaccines persists for life" is NOT true unless your dog or cat only lives to be 7 years old. They duration of immunity is greater than 7 years, but how much greater is unknown. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I do believe in giving credit where credit is due, and Dr. Dodd is NOT an author of the vaccine protocols, nor would NC State use her protocols when we have our own author of the protocols on staff. Finally, it is VERY important to read the section on the "3-year vaccines" because that is NOT what the authors intended. They intend for each dog and cat to be assessed for risk and vaccinated accordingly. Any vet who uses the same vaccine schedule for every dog is being lazy and not doing his/her job correctly, IMVHO. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Ford on the vaccine protocols

I wonder if cortisone cream might help you? Several years ago I had a similar reaction from a flu shot - it wasn't the vaccine itself but apparently I was allergic to a preservative used. Mine got hot, swelled and itched like crazy. I took tylenol for the soreness and used cortisone cream (my doctors recommendations) and it did help. Might be worth a try.

Yay! Glad you are getting the second shot. And always good to be prepared for feeling a little down a day or two after a vaccine if you can. After a strong response to the first, my second was nothing unusual (little arm soreness? I remember the first -- not the second. LOL). I hope you have the same. I strongly encourage anyone who has reservations about a second shot to get it. My feeling is that if you had a strong reaction, you are EXACTLY who benefits most from and may need the vaccine, including the second dose, the most. If you still had a strong immunity to the virus and were likely to hold the virus at bay over the years, it doesn't seem your body would have such a strong response. Seeing my husband's pain for months and my cousin worrying about her husband possibly going blind was enough for me. I'll get a third shot if they ever decide it is needed....