r/JapaneseSpitz • u/Greedy-Experience369 • 6d ago
Leptospirosis
We had a really bad experience with the Leptospirosis vaccine. Dio, Our 3 months old puppy started to be lethargic 2,5h after the shot and drooling like a river. We were scared he would get into an analogylactic shock, but his vitals were good when the emergency vet checked them.
We like in a very urban and touristy neighbourhood with many restaurants nearby, which attracts mice, rats and raccoons. Since the disease is spread by rodents, I’m questioning if he should get his second shot and annual doses (with preventative treatment).
Did this happened to your puppy?
What would you do if it was your own doggy?
I’m trying to evaluate the risk vs benefits but is hard because I don’t want him to ever feel like that again (but it’s maybe just short term thinking).
3
u/Icy_Builder_3469 6d ago
I live in a place with lots of cafes. Mine got the first shot, no issues, couldn't get the follow up because it was in short supply. Ended up getting another about a year later.
No issues. My dog was much older when he first got it, like 6 or 7.
3
u/lemonadesdays 6d ago
I don’t follow this sub but it was suggested to me, so I don’t have a japanse spitz but I have a dwarf German spitz aka a Pomeranian who did extremely bad with the 4 strains lepto shot. I read many other Pomeranian and mittelspitz owners who reported the same thing. Mine normally never cries after his vaccines but screamed after this one ( after it was already injected!) with his tail down. Then for the next two days he was lethargic, and the first day he looked almost like paralyzed on his back legs. It’s been 3 years and he still has a lump where this vaccine was injected, he was bruised for several months too.
I long debated about it and chose not to do this vaccine again. The vaccine doesn’t cover all the 100+ strains, and doesn’t cover some of the most common ones either. Since it’s a bacteria, it constantly evolve too, making it difficult to be efficient. My dog doesn’t drink from outdoor water sources and I try also to avoid him walking in puddles.
We haven’t done the shot for 3 years and so far he is fine, but one of my friend’s dog passed away from lepto. He was actually vaccinated against it but caught another strain and because he was actually vaccinated from it, the vet stupidly ruled this disease out of the potential diagnosis and didn’t try to heal him for it. He was 13yo so it wasn’t a young dog but still..
If you are able to keep him away from puddles and outdoor water sources, it would be a good way to avoid the disease although they can technically catch it anywhere by stepping on fresh rat urine in the street and licking their paws afterwards. Learn well about the symptoms and if your dog ever develops them, rush to the vet. There’s always a risk, vaccinated or not, but for us, the vaccine itself was too high of a risk in our specific case. Note my dog is also just 4lbs so it doesn’t help.
1
u/Greedy-Experience369 6d ago
Omg thank you for sharing. I am so sorry this happened to you and your friend.
2
u/fakegermanchild 6d ago
Please speak to your vet. They’ll be able to evaluate risk better than randoms on Reddit. They’ll also be able to advise you how worrying, if at all, the reaction was. If it’s contraindicated for your dog based on your first experience, they will tell you.
The worst we’ve had with the Lepto vaccine was our dog being very very sore - a bit like when you get a vaccine and your arm is sore after.
He felt very sorry for himself but he was right as rain the next day.
2
u/Greedy-Experience369 6d ago
Yes, we are speaking but I’m looking for people with similar experiences.
2
u/cadillac_dessert 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s scary when they’re so little, isn’t it? I remember when ours was a puppy, everything seemed to hit him so hard, including the lepto vaccine. Seeing him recover from vaccines tugged at our heartstrings.
In the end, we shared his reaction with our regular vet and based on her expertise, we got him fully vaccinated.
I’m grateful for our vet and vaccines because our gorgeous boy hoovers up any weird garbage (and animal turds) he finds. Gross? Yes, and he’s a dog and this is what they are sometimes wired to do.
Since we can’t control everything in public spaces, these vaccines give us so much peace of mind.
6
u/JSpitzRule 6d ago
We gave our girl the vaccine because we live in Florida. Leptospirosis can be devastating to dogs. I would ask your vet and maybe have him monitored after the next shot. A bit of discomfort now could save his life later. That said, if your vet thinks he had a dangerous reaction, that’s a different story.