Have you ever noticed a pet's personality change after a vaccination?

[Tap]

Our dog got a vaccination on Saturday. It was the 2nd shot (1mth apart) for lepto. It may be coincidence, but she has had a few odd behaviors since then. She bit/mouthed my daughter twice (didn't break skin but left welts), threw up 2x on the day following the shot,  seemed edgy a few times, jumped onto the chair to eat food off the table, jumped on my bed (which she hasn't done since the first day here), and a few other seemingly impulsive things. It is almost a week later and she seems to be setting down, but then she does something impulsive again.  Otherwise she seems normal (eating/drinking/sleeping/eyes clear/no noticeable fever/doesn't seem in pain or discomfort).

She is a rehome who has been with us about 2 months. We have raccoons in our neighborhood and I have seen them in the back yard before, so the vaccine is needed. I just don't know if it could be the vax causing the behavior shift, and if it is, will she go back to how she used to act?  Or.....is it just a coincidence and we are just seeing more adjustments in her personality from coming here to stay?

In case it matters she is a 2yo Goldendoodle. She had the vax before, but the previous owners don't remember any prior issues. Any ideas?

[Pen]

Yes.  I have had dogs have bad reactions to vaccinations a couple of times 

 

Call your vet -  

you may end up needing an “alternative minded” vet. 

[Pawz4me]

Lepto is the worst canine vaccination for triggering a reaction. My Shih Tzu reacted to it severely enough--more than what you describe--that the vet and I decided to skip it from now on (lepto reactions are generally more common and more severe in smaller dogs than in larger ones IIRC). I'd call your vet to let him/her know so it can be noted in your dog's file. Mine has a huge sticker on the front of his file that says "NO LEPTO" in red lettering. In his case the vet is really insistent that he never have it again. But because your dog is larger it may be that in the future they'll want to give an injection of a little Benadryl or steroid along with the lepto. That's usually enough to prevent a reaction. The throwing up and the edginess is what would make me suspect a vaccine reaction. When my dog has had them (he reacted to distemper, too) it was similar--lots of shivering/shaking, jumpiness, throwing up and/or nor eating for a couple of days, etc. He already had a history of reacting to things (like various flea/tick products) before he reacted to the lepto vaccine.

Now part of what you may be seeing is her personality emerging. But it really does sound like there may have been a vaccine reaction, and I'd rather be safe than sorry about that. It's really no big deal for them to get some Benadryl or steroid along with a needed vaccine.

[Ausmumof3]

I would assume she’s feeling unwell.

[Carrie12345]

Yes, I feel like my small dog acts weird after just about any vaccination. But I am also aware that I get hyper-aware of everything he does because I get so concerned about him getting vaccinations at his size, so I could be looking for things that aren’t necessarily “true”.
My humans can be a little sensitive (physically, which transfers to personality) after shots, too, so why not an animal who can’t communicate it as clearly?

My cat tends to be a bit extra psycho for 24-48 hours after his thyroid tests, too. The one time they had to draw him twice he was a complete wreck.

[teachermom2834]

My little dog had a bad reaction to whatever shots she got at six months. We got her home and she just went beserk. Running full speed through the house (areas she had never been in before), jumped up on the back of the furniture she had never been on. Her eyes basically looked crazed. She would alternate between sprinting through the house to rolling around on the floor crying. It was really scary. We live close to the very so we took her right back and they gave her benadryl, I think. She calmed down but it was a couple days until she was back to herself. The vet said from now on she needs benadryl with any shots. 

I'm a new pet owner and not anti-vax for my humans so it wasn't on my radar to be worried about a reaction but we sure will be next time. 

[Selkie]

My dogs have always done okay with vaccines, but one of my cats had a reaction when he was a kitten. No long lasting effects, but he was very lethargic and just wanted to sleep for about 24 hours. The vet gives him Benedryl ahead of time now and he has done fine with all of his shots since then.

And one of my horses had a bad (and scary) vaccine reaction in July, so we will need to take precautions with him from here on out, too.

[klmama]

((Tap))  Poor pup.  

Our dog had a reaction to the first rabies vax - vomiting, swollen face, instability, lethargy, intense panting.  She gets a pre-vax shot of antihistamine with all required vaccines now, and some we just skip.  I feel fortunate to have a vet that offered a solution; a friend's dog died from a bad second reaction when the vet didn't take the first reaction seriously enough to offer antihistamine with future shots.

ETA:  It might be a steroid shot. 

Edited September 25, 2020 by klmama

[Terabith]

One of my cats doesn't have a personality change, but he does get very sleepy and clearly doesn't feel well for about 24 hours after any vaccine.  It's very unusual behavior for him, but it's not a permanent change. 

[katilac]

Not really, but it wouldn't surprise me. At almost a week out, I'd be calling the vet.