Why did my dog have a lump after vaccination?

The need to vaccinate our smaller brothers, in particular dogs, is due to the fact that this procedure in most cases guarantees the prevention of the development of many serious illnesses that can occur in your four-legged friends. These are rabies, enteritis, plague, and other diseases. Animals can react to vaccinations in different ways: for some individuals, injections do not cause much discomfort, while for others they are often accompanied by certain complications.

When a dog develops a lump after vaccination, owners should not worry too much if such a lump does not bother the pet, does not cause him discomfort and does not increase in size. This phenomenon is considered quite common. You just need to make sure that the lump completely resolves within 4 weeks after vaccination.

If the size of the lump has increased and its color has changed, this is a signal that your pet needs to be taken to the veterinary clinic.

Specific reasons

What factors can cause a dog to develop a lump after vaccination?

Unprofessional injection administration. In this case, it is difficult for the solution contained in the ampoule to dissolve. This causes tissue compaction.
Insufficient needle size. With a short needle, the injected veterinary drug enters the subcutaneous layer, which prevents its uniform distribution throughout the tissues.
Problems with the vaccine: poor quality product; medicine stored without proper conditions; injection used after the permissible period; counterfeit drug.
Manifestation of an allergic reaction of the dog’s body to the components of the administered drug. Before carrying out the vaccination procedure, each attending veterinarian must once again check the list of substances to which each specific pet has an individual intolerance.
Damage during puncture of a blood vessel.
The presence of serious diseases in the pet at the time of vaccination.

The above unforgivable mistakes can provoke the formation of purulent foci or abscesses at the injection site in the animal, manifested in the form of lumps or lumps.

Complications after animal vaccination

Vaccination is the introduction into the body of an animal of a drug that protects against infection by rabies, viral and bacterial diseases.
The stability of the body's immunity is achieved by introducing a pure viral culture and strains. Modern vaccinations cause virtually no side effects, but it is worth remembering that bacteria are foreign to the body. Animals may experience complications within 2-3 days after vaccination. It is worth keeping a close eye on your pet after the injection. Domestic animals - dogs, cats - are vaccinated from two months from birth, the procedure is repeated 21 days later, once a year after immunization.

There are several complications after vaccination in cats and dogs:

Allergy (reaction to the drug in the form of salivation, redness, swelling of body parts, tumors, fever, hot head). The animal begins to run actively or feels depressed. An allergic reaction manifests itself within 15 minutes; a good veterinarian will accurately recognize the signs and administer an antihistamine.
Incubator (animal infected at the time of vaccine administration). A sick animal becomes ill after vaccination. Therefore, doctors advise carefully monitoring the animal for several weeks before administering the drug. The animal has not shown signs of anxiety - vaccinate.
Overheating, cooling of the vaccine. Overheated or frozen medicine will not have an effect; the animal may get sick after taking the medicine. It is best to entrust the injection to an experienced veterinarian or clinic that stores the drug in accordance with all the rules.
The appearance of a lump at the injection site. This difficulty is not critical and usually resolves without additional manipulations. The doctor may prescribe a dissolving ointment.
Anaphylactic shock. The most dangerous complication that ends in death. Experienced breeders recommend carrying out the immunization procedure in a clinic and knowing all the pet’s allergic reactions.

The intensity of the animal’s side effects depends on the physical parameters, age, and characteristics of the body. In cubs, post-vaccination complications occur more often, in adults - less often.

A number of simple vaccination rules will reduce the risk of dangerous problems.

The animal must be wormed ten days before vaccination, absolutely healthy.
The doctor is obliged to conduct thermometry and use an antiseptic.
A record of the injection must be made in the animal's passport.
Before vaccination, the animal must be examined (contraindications to the procedure are high fever, exhaustion, acute illnesses, injection with other drugs, helmitis, pregnancy, lactation, recent operations).
After introducing the strain, it is advisable not to take the animal away from the clinic, observe the condition of your furry friend for 15 minutes, and rule out an allergic reaction.
After vaccination, it is not recommended to bathe, catch a cold, or overwork your pet.

Is it possible to feed an animal before vaccination?

There are no strict recommendations regarding feeding before vaccination. But if the animal is prone to motion sickness in transport, the ideal option is not to feed it before the procedure. It is worth remembering that leaving home is stressful for an animal; how the animal will cope with the journey; presence in the clinic is best decided by the owner. If you decide to feed the animal, it is best to give it light food and reduce the portion. The effect of the vaccine itself is not affected by hunger or its absence.

After vaccination, an animal may experience complications - a fact.
But it is worth remembering that complications rarely occur. The dangers of disease and vaccination cannot be compared. It is better to entrust your pet to professional, qualified doctors who will vaccinate the animal correctly. This way, risks are minimized, and your pet will remain healthy and happy. On our website there are more than 3090 veterinary clinics in Moscow for you on our website vaccination of cats vaccination of dogs animal vaccinations

What do you definitely need to pay attention to?

If the seals after the injection in your four-legged friend are accompanied by inflammation, be sure to show the dog to the treating veterinarian for subsequent treatment of the above pathologies. Caring owners should pay attention to the following warning signs.

Increasing the size of the seal.
Pain in the injection area.
Discomfort caused by the appearance of a lump.
Redness of the injection site, as well as its infiltration.
Purulent discharge from the cone.
Deterioration of the pet's general condition.
Loss of appetite in a dog.
Apathy.
Temperature increase.

The above symptoms are considered pathological post-injection manifestations that require monitoring by the attending veterinarian and the appointment of appropriate therapy aimed at their elimination.

Loving owners should pay attention that after the rabies vaccination the dog’s lump will ache a little for approximately 10-14 days, after which it must resolve and disappear without a trace.

Preventive actions

Preventing the occurrence of bumps after vaccination and other injections is quite simple if you follow the simple rules listed below.

Before administering the injection, dog owners will need to calm their pet as much as possible.
Use only sterile syringes suitable for injections in animals.
The approximate injection site is pre-treated with an antiseptic solution.
The veterinarian should not touch the dog's fur with the needle.
The medicine should be administered carefully and slowly.

If a dog still develops a lump after vaccination or another injection, dog owners do not have to worry right away. First, you should evaluate the condition of the lump, its pain, as well as the presence or absence of pathological discharge from the newly formed compaction.

Bumps that do not increase in size and do not cause discomfort to the dog will disappear without a trace on their own over time, and therefore there is no need to worry about their presence.

Only seals that threaten the health and normal functioning of a pet require the help of highly qualified aibolit specialists. Therefore, with any alarming manifestation from the newly formed lump, you must immediately visit the veterinary clinic.

Causes of bumps on the withers

It makes sense to wait a few days if after the injection a bump appears on the dog’s withers. If there is no inflammatory process, then there is no need to worry.

If redness or pain appears on palpation, it is recommended to consult a veterinarian, as your pet may require anti-inflammatory ointments.

Particular attention should be paid to a pet that has passed the 10-year mark. When identifying the animal and palpating the formation, the veterinarian must exclude the following options:

Abscess

It can form due to inflammation of the hair follicle, penetration of a foreign body under the skin, or vaccination.

A distinctive feature is a soft, predominantly red cone with a clearly visible shaft. Very often appears on the withers after injections. But it is usually localized in the groin, limbs and muzzle.

Abscesses are always painful during puberty. Therefore, many experts do not wait for the abscess to burst on its own, but open it with their own hands or take the pet to the veterinarian for this procedure in a hospital setting.

The abscess must be opened, cleaned of purulent masses, treated with an antiseptic and ointment applied. Access to the damaged area is limited so that the animal does not lick the wound or eat the medicine from the compress. Healing occurs within 3-10 days.

Papilloma

The chances that a lump on a dog's withers can turn into a papilloma are very high because these formations can appear on different parts of the body.

This is especially true for smooth-haired breeds (bulldogs, staffords, pugs, etc.), which have a predisposition to the formation of warts from an early age. For example, in English bulldogs, papillomas are most often localized on the chin, in pugs - on the eyelids, in sharpeis - throughout the body.

There is a chance that the papilloma will develop into a malignant neoplasm, but it is so insignificant that it is not considered a reason to remove the tumor.

The option of removal is considered only in cases where the papilloma causes discomfort to the animal (eyelid, lip, ear) or is constantly injured (limbs). Today, these growths are removed using laser or cryodestruction.

Bites

A lump on a dog's withers may be a common flea or other insect bite. In some breeds, flea saliva causes a severe allergic reaction that results in pea-sized red bumps all over the body.

A distinctive feature of flea dermatitis is a terrible itching that provokes the pet to itch. The most correct solution would be to treat all animals living in the house twice within a month (every 14 days), which are applied to the withers.

Also, don’t forget about mosquitoes, flies and gadflies, whose bites leave dense nodules on the skin. During the active season, they can easily cause lumps in different parts of the body in your pet.

Allergy

It can also cause a severe bump on the withers of a dog at any age. In this part of the body, contact dermatitis is more common, and food allergies are less common. We already mentioned flea dermatitis above.

If symptoms appear after walking through the forest or tall grass, then there is a high probability that some kind of weed or plant pollen is causing the animal's allergy (most often it is ragweed).

Neoplasms

According to statistics, benign tumors are most often found in animals under the age of 10 years, then the option of malignant neoplasms is considered.

The most common benign tumors are lipomas, which can reach significant sizes. They are removed without capturing healthy tissue, since they never metastasize to internal organs.

With malignant tumors the situation is much more complicated, since they are usually found in old animals at stages when they are already ulcerated.

The chances that the tumor does not metastasize to regional lymph nodes and internal organs are minimal. In such cases, a thorough diagnosis is required, including biopsy, histology, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, palpation and radiography of regional lymph nodes. Even in the absence of metastases, the prognosis of malignant tumors is always cautious.

Finally, I would like to remind you once again that if a dog has a bump on its withers after vaccination, then this is considered acceptable. In some cases, this compaction may take several months.