Has anyone had a dog who had a reaction to a rabies inoculation?

One of my pet buyers contacted me with news that her 18 month old male had a reaction of "a lump about the size of a quarter on his leg". The inoculation was ~ 3 weeks ago and she, being concerned, took the dog to the vet's for a biopsy. Her vet told her that there were normal cells but some looked abnormal and recommended another biopsy to be sent to a specialist.

Of course, the owner is very worried now and wonders if this is something serious.

Considering that the "lump" is in the location where the inoculation was given, I am betting that it is a result of the rabies vaccine. This dog had a smaller lump as a reaction to his regular adult shot that was previously given that eventually went away.

However, I have never experienced what she is describing with any of my dogs where there is a lump for 3 weeks so I am wondering if anyone has a similar story to share or any comments to offer????

The owner will certainly not get absolute answers from a specialist before Christmas and it would be nice to share additional information with her.

I had a Jack Russell terrier that used to get large lump on the site of his rabies vaccine, and his were usually fairly hard, tender for the first few weeks and lasted about 3 months. no wonder he hated geting shots!!

Yes, I had a minpin who got a lump the size of "him" after his rabies, too. Same thing, lasted about 3 months.

I am curious. I have never seen or heard of a rabies shot given in a dog's leg.

Read the article in the current lab quarterly about cancer at vaccination sites, it is very sobering.
I hope your puppy is OK

My old guy had scar tissue the size of the palm of my hand when the vet jabbed him in tissue and injescted rabies instead of into muscle............I always massage site of any injection immediately, now........massaging the site to break it up can still be effective. My guy lived happily to 12.5, no cancer, just the huge lump of scar tissue.......

many friends have called me with same report after injection and massaged it away........some have done biopsy to find it was "scar tissue".......

Always best to let a vet check of course, but unfortunately is common....

had a Doberman who got injected in side and huge lump(golf ball size) formed and never receded...there went his show career! He is 10 and no cancer.........

what a fiasco!

Kris Christine is the co-founder of the Rabies Challenge Fund, and she successfully had her state's rabies laws changed after her Labrador developed injection site sarcoma from rabies vaccines. Google her name or Rabies Challenge Fund to get information.
Injection site sarcomas are more common in cats, but it is seen in dogs as well.

My lab developed a lump that felt like a fatty tumor about the size of a marble at the injection site in 2002 (8 weeks old whelped 2/2/02.) It went away or dissolved in two to three weeks.

On 11/1/08 Ozzie was vaccinated again, he had a severe reaction in which he vomited 13 times all in the house while we were away.

On 12/6/08 Ozzie did not eat that day and appeared very lethargic, later that afternoon he appeared to be unstable and nearly fell over in his crate. We took him to a nearby animal hospital they recommended a blood test. Blood test revealed a red blood cell count of 10%, normal is 45-65% he was suffering from life threatening anemia. We were referred to Purdue University for blood transfusions. At Purdue he was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) which they believe was triggered by his 11/1/08 vaccination. Ozzie received two blood transfusions on 12/7/08. They brought his rbc count up to 15% they had hoped for over 25% with one transfusion. He was released to go home on 12/12/08. With lots of TLC his rbc count had risen to 25% by 12/16/08. The morning of 12/19/08 was the best Ozzie had looked since becoming ill. However, that afternoon he stopped eating and began vomiting partially digested blood. They thought this was due to the harsh immunosuppressants (steroids) he was taking. 12/20/08 6am brought Ozzie to primary vet to have blood test rbc count had once again dropped to 15%. Referred back to Purdue for blood transfusions. Ultrasound revealed Ozzie was bleeding into his abdomen. We were advised that he would probably need two more transfusions to somewhat stabilize him and he would still be in grave danger. So after two weeks of emotional torture and $4000.00 we opted for euthanasia because for the first time Ozzie appeared to be in discomfort. Ozzie was being autopsied on 12/22/08, if anyone is interested I will post the results.

R.I.P. Ozzie, the best dog I have ever had.

I'm so sorry to hear about Ozzie, I hope it wasn't the vaccination. I would be interested in hearing your results when you get them. Is there any state that will accept an antibody titer instead of the rabies vaccine? My dog had a marble sized lump that lasted about 3 weeks after her one year booster. Vet said it was normal. I'm worried about her next rabies vaccination in a few years. I hate vaccines and worry every time they are given.

God speed Ozzie and may God Bless you and get you through this difficult time.

Thanks for the kind words. I will post the results of his autopsy when I get them. All of the IMHA studies that I have seen do not show a correlation between IMHA and vaccinations, however four vets at Purdue seem to be pretty confident that that is the case with Ozzie given his history. The vet overseeing Ozzies care wrote the chapter on IMHA and she is considered one of the top five vets in the US for IMHA. They see IMHA cases on a pretty frequent basis being that they are one of the few places that have the blood available to treat these dogs. Their experience shows that many of these dogs come down with IHMA 1-2 months post vaccination.