Recent Lyme Vaccination for my Sheltie.. Big Bump at site!

[drunkmike]

My 6mo old female Sheltie recently got her last Lyme vaccination about 3 days ago and she was very odd for a day. Sleepy and she would not let me get near her. I'm assuming it was from her being scared of the male doctor that gave her the shot. We left her alone and after a day of rest, she came back to normal. She is very hyper, playing as usual and eating fine again but she has a pretty decent sized lump on her side right at her ribs were the injection was given. Is this normal even a few days after the shot was given? It does not seem to bother her unless you mess with it alot and she has been acting normal. Its much larger then the lumps she had from her other shots (she has been getting shots every 1-2 weeks to get caught up on all of her puppy shots and this was the final one for the year) so that is what has got me worried.

Should I just leave it alone for a while and see what happens? Like I said it does not seem to bother her, but it is alot bigger then the other ones and it is kinda hard.. I don't want to worry myself to death or take her back into the vet again for a unnessicary visit as she is scared to death of him after all the shots in the past few weeks and I would like to give her a rest..

What do you think?

[davet]

it is not unusual but just call the vet and tell him/her that it is there and he/she will probably tell you just to watch it..Its called an induration and never causes a problem but just let your vet know in case it gets worse....which I doubt it will,,get worse that is..

[Traci]

Call the vet and alert him to this. Also ask him why he gives shots in the rib area.

Did she receive any other injections at the time? Sometimes, other injections like cortisone or antibiotic injections can cause tissue inflammation and cause lumps as well, rule that out.

[drunkmike]

Yes she does get a cortizone shot before every shot now ever since the incident with Baxter.

The only reason I can think of for the shot in the rib area was that she has been through shots on almost a weekly / biweekly basis for as long as I can remember (I'm sure you know how many shots are involved for new pups!) so her hind end could get a little break. I did not even think to ask why he was giving it to her there.. I guess I figured he is the doc,.. and I hate when people second guess me at my job!

Is it completely unheard of for her to get a shot up that far?

[drunkmike]

also how long should I keep an eye on it? I mean obviously I'm going to watch it until its gone but how long before I should start worrying about it? I have read somewhere that after a rabies shot a pup could have a bump for 4-5 weeks!

[davet]

as long as it stay hard and about the same size,maylast for a week or so, but if it gety soft and squshie then get it checked...could be an abscess forming,,,but a rare occursion..is that a good word???

[drunkmike]

is it supposed to be more on her skin.. Like if you pull her skin around it away it comes with it, or should it be on the internals?

I hope that makes sense lol..

I was feeling around to see if it had gotten any smaller or not and it definately is on the skin to where if you tug the skin around it the "lump" comes with it.. Normal?

[Traci]

What you're describing is a sub-cutaneous lump, common with some injections....it occurs because tissues are agrivated when a substance is injected under the skin. It would be doubly cause for worry if the lump were attached to a muscle.

Do you mean she actually recieved a cortisone shot with the vaccination, or was it a shot of benedryl, the two are different things. I've never heard of benedryl causing inflammation at the injection site, but I know that cortisone can. The vaccine it self can cause that too.

Watch the lump for 3 weeks post vaccination date. If the lump does not recede, or enlarges, get pup to your vet immediately for a re-evaluation.

Puppy boosters should be given every 4 weeks, spaced apart though would explain the every two week thing you're talking about (DHPPV and Parvo shots on one day, two weeks later a lyme, etc), and so on.

Ask the vet what his reasoning is for the injections at the rib area. Injections ideally should be given over the interscap region (shoulder, as forward to the front leg as possible), or hind hip region (again, as forward as possible to the leg). Cortisone or benedryl or any other sub-q injections could be given over the interscap (or scruff area in dogs). Some injections require injection into the muscle.

[drunkmike]

What you're describing is a sub-cutaneous lump, common with some injections....it occurs because tissues are agrivated when a substance is injected under the skin. It would be doubly cause for worry if the lump were attached to a muscle.

Do you mean she actually recieved a cortisone shot with the vaccination, or was it a shot of benedryl, the two are different things. I've never heard of benedryl causing inflammation at the injection site, but I know that cortisone can. The vaccine it self can cause that too.

Watch the lump for 3 weeks post vaccination date. If the lump does not recede, or enlarges, get pup to your vet immediately for a re-evaluation.

Puppy boosters should be given every 4 weeks, spaced apart though would explain the every two week thing you're talking about (DHPPV and Parvo shots on one day, two weeks later a lyme, etc), and so on.

Ask the vet what his reasoning is for the injections at the rib area. Injections ideally should be given over the interscap region (shoulder, as forward to the front leg as possible), or hind hip region (again, as forward as possible to the leg). Cortisone or benedryl or any other sub-q injections could be given over the interscap (or scruff area in dogs). Some injections require injection into the muscle.

I'm sorry Traci, she actually gets a benadryl shot before every shot after what happened to my poor Baxter. I definately don't want to go through that again. I have just finally got him back to normal only to find out that he is probably going to have to have one of his very back teeth extracted because of really bad gingivitus and his tooth is rotten looking.

Of course I'm only assuming the worse on this as we have not met with the vet dentist yet. This was something that I knew was going to happen sooner or later (even with weekly brushings with him).. I guess strays come with a batch of problems huh!? Oh well atleast he is back to good health minus his mouth. Maybe I will get lucky and his tooth wont have to be removed and we can find another route. We shall see!

[drunkmike]

Also I forgot to mention, the lump is more towards the front of her leg.. I guess I was a bit off when I mentioned her "rib" area.. I'm an electrician not a doctor so I really am not too sure on the build of the pup! LOL Its definately on her side, but its right behind her front right leg on her side.. If that helps any!