Puppy got diarrhea one day after shots

by Kay
(Rochester MN)

My puppy received her 2 distemper shot along with the rabies shot and the next day she came down with diarrhea.

Could this be a reaction to the shot or did she pick up something at the vet? She was watery green stools for 4 days, giving peptobismol and she is eating very little. What should I do


Hi Kay
It's possible that this could be a reaction to the shots, sometimes minor tummy upsets and other symptoms can occur after vaccination. Did she have the same thing happen with the first set?

However, 3 or 4 days is a long time for any reaction to last, usually it's a day or two at most. If her diarrhea is watery, and she's eating /drinking very little, she's in real danger of dehydration. This can be pretty serious for a young puppy.

I'm wondering if she only got the distemper shot and then the rabies, or if she got the DHLPP combination? There's some evidence, that although necessary, vaccinations can on occasion weaken the immune system. The combination vaccines are more likely to do this, especially when live -virus vaccines are used. Occasionally, a vaccination can actually cause the disease it's meant to prevent, or leave a window of opportunity for some other illness to appear.

Of course, as you say, it's also possible that your puppy 'picked up' some infection from another dog or the environment at the veterinarians office. They generally do their best to sanitize and disinfect the rooms etc., but it's sort of like taking your child to the Emergency Room - they'll fix the broken bone/sprain/food poisoning etc, but you may end up with a bout of the flu!

Really, there isn't any way to accurately diagnose what's going on with your puppy, but it's very important that you take her to the veterinarian again as soon as possible. With the contagious dog illnesses, especially in young puppies, immediate diagnosis and treatment is vital. Even dehydration can cause serious problems if not treated. Until you get her to the vet's office, try adding some unflavored pedialyte to her drinking water, it replaces the salts and electrolytes she's losing through the diarrhea.

I wish you and your pup the best of luck, and hope that she's doing much better soon.