# Bald spot/small lump 2 months after vaccination?



## Brando86 (Feb 27, 2012)

Hello all, this is my first post on this forum! As the title states, my maltese has developed a bald spot/very small lump exactly 2 months after her vaccination. She is 4 years old, and has had a vaccination every year, but this more recent time she developed a lump one day after the shot was given. A month or so passed and the lump disappeared, but now she has lost the hair in the area where the vaccination was given, and what I presume should be called a small lump has popped up. The small "lump" actually feels more like hard skin, or what I would think was scar tissue if it was on my body. My pup is acting normal (still playing with our other dog/chasing cats, and the spot is not painful to her at all), and I have checked her ears, paws, and mouth attempting to find other reactions, but everything else seems normal. 

I did have her in to my Vet this past Friday and she dismissed the possibility of anything serious, but did note that my maltese will no longer be subject to rabies vaccinations in the future. I have attached a picture of the bald spot, and I suppose i'm looking for a little piece of mind. For what its worth, I also have a mini-dachshund that was vaccinated at the same time, and he did not have a bad reaction. Has anyone had this happen before?










Thanks:thumbsup:


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Last year, when my Laurel got her rabies shot, she also developed a lump. It showed up a couple of weeks after the shot was given. The lump was pea sized and rolled around under the skin. I took her back to the vet and he determined that itbwas a reaction to the shot. It took a couple months to completely disappear. There was no hair loss. Welcome to SM and I hope everything turns out OK for your little one.


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## RudyRoo (Jun 24, 2011)

Welcome to SM! I think that it does sound like a reaction from the shot, and I'm glad that your vet recognized that and will provide documentation that your baby does not have to get the annual vaccinations. Make sure you get that in writing, just in case you ever have to provide documentation to anyone in the future. I would keep a very close eye on her and take her in if she starts to have any clinical symptoms or behavior changes. I am no expert, but I think that a lump and skin irritation (including some hair loss) are common after vaccinations, so I wouldn't worry too much if your vet is aware of the problem. 

I hope you stick around SM!


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## Brando86 (Feb 27, 2012)

Thank you for the replies! I plan to keep a close eye on it and will also pass the information on to my wife since she is home a lot more than I am. I also plan to stick around and do a lot of reading...I can never know too much about my pup:biggrin:


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Please look in your book & see what company/name brand the rabies vaccine is---it used to be that Ft. Dodge had this reaction more than others. 
Was this the only vaccine given that day---no other worm or medications? Just looking here for a cross-reaction.
The hair may or may not grow back---I have seen both happen.


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## lydiatug (Feb 21, 2012)

My maltese also got a lump from one of her earlier rabies vaccinations, but no bald spot. I had it surgically removed when she was about 3 years old & biopsied and it was due to the rabies vacc. My Yorkie (2 1/2 yrs old) did not have the lump, but does have a bald spot there as well. In 1 1/2 years it has not grown back and seems to be getting slowly larger. If that happens, they can do a skin scrape to determine if the cause is definitely the vacc. or another issue. I just wish they would develope vaccines specifically for smaller dogs, and a new protocol for minimal vaccinations. My yorkie can no longer have any vaccinations due to an anaphylactic reaction to the last one.


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## puppy lover (Dec 25, 2007)

There's a lot of good info about vaccines on this sight.
Truth4Dogs
It's a good sign she's acting normally, but still a warning sign of a potentially worse reaction next time. You may want to consider doing titers in place of all vaccines, sometimes it's not the vaccine but the preservatives and/or adjuvants that cause problems.


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