Skin Reactions to Rabies Shots in Dogs

State health departments, through municipalities, require that you have your dog vaccinated every three years for rabies. While it is important to prevent rabies, a highly contagious, fatal disease, it is also important to recognize the signs when your dog is having a negative reaction to the vaccine. One negative reaction is a skin disease that can be readily medicated once you obtain a correct diagnosis.

  1. Ischemic Dermatopathy

    • Some dogs develop rabies vaccine-associated ischemic dematopathy, a skin disease caused by an immune system response to the rabies vaccine. The vaccine is injected under the skin, so the reaction takes place in the skin, with symptoms starting at the site of the injection and progressing to other areas of the dog's skin.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of ischemic dematopathy include patches of hair loss (alopecia), crusty skin lesions (sores) or both, which start at the site of the injection, usually between the shoulder blades. The alopecia and lesions may spread to the ear flaps, the face, the tip of the tail, the paw pads and areas over bone such as the knees and elbows. The symptoms may appear one to six months after the injection.

    Prevalence in Small Breeds

    • Rabies vaccine-associated ischemic dermatopathy is seen most often in small terriers, such as rat terriers, and toy breeds, such as bichons and poodles, but it can develop in all breeds. A veterinarian can perform tests in order to diagnose and treat reactions to the rabies vaccine.

    Diagnosis and Treatment

    • Your veterinarian can take samples of the hair and skin near the site of the lesion, and perform a hair test with a special contrast dye that can reveal rabies vaccine antigen -- proof that the vaccine has stayed in the skin and damaged the local skin and hair cells. The treatment is typically a combination of oral prednisone and pentoxyfylline, and an anti-inflammatory ointment to treat the lesions directly.

    Preventing Reoccurrence

    • If your dog does develop a reaction, the Rabies Challenge Fund recommends that your vet should apply to the state health department for an exemption for your dog so that she does not have to have the vaccine. If the exemption is denied, your vet should first obtain the vaccine from a different manufacturer, and second, administer the vaccine as low on the rear leg as possible.