Should I worry about a needle-induced hematoma in the neck on my puppy?

I visited the vet today, and they gave my 6-month-old standard poodle, Elton, an anti-nausea shot in his neck. As they were giving the shot, he wiggled/jumped and the vet said it caused a hematoma. They gave me Simlicef to give him for 7 days as a preventative for infection. The vet made it sound like he should be okay in a week or so. They also said to avoid a collar but that his harness is okay. He is also taking prednisone twice daily for an allergic reaction he had (this is the original reason I brought him to the vet.) I am seeking a second opinion and want to know if this is cause for concern. Is there anything I should look out for?

Hello - I'm afraid that theres a lot that I am no clear about here.  Why was Elton having an anti nausea injection in the first place?  What is the steroid for?  What sort of infection were they hoping to prevent?  Furthermore, is his blood clotting normally?  How big is the heamatoma? - (might the unexpected heamatoma from a jump during a routine sub-cut injection be linked to clotting problems?)  From this distance, without a history, I cannot understand how these events fit together.  It sounds to be as though you need to ask some very precise questions of your vet eg what the clinical signs are at the moment /  whether blood clotting is as expected?  What would the easiest / most efficient way to explain all of the symptoms be, what other possible diagnoses (differentials) would also explain what you are seeing, and how best to start ruling some of these out.  In general, when the neck is sore for any reason, a harness can be a good substitute for a collar. However, I am not clear as to what is happening so, as ever, if any new symptoms are developing or getting worse since your vet last saw them, it may be worth speaking to them or your emergency vet for peace of mind.

Hello, I'm sorry, I don't think I really understand this. Why had Elton been given an anti-nausea shot in the first place? How are steroids used? What kind of disease were they attempting to prevent? Does he also clot his blood normally? The size of the heamatoma. Could clotting problems be linked to the unexpected heamatoma that resulted after a jump during a routine sub-cut injection?

Hi I've been thinking some more about this.  As well as giving the anti-nausea injection, did the vets take a blood sample, or is it possible that the anti nausea injection went iv?   Alternatively, was a catheter placed in the neck eg in case of deterioration?  In any of these cases, an IV (intravenous) injection would be involved. It is not uncommon for a heamatoma to come up after an iv injection in the neck, especially if the puppy wriggled off the needle while it was being taken.  Obviously veterinary staff tend to be very well trained in holding their patients in uch a way that they dont wriggle during an injection, but everyone ends up with a heamatoma sometimes.  They rarely cause a problem; however, if clotting may have been an issue, its definitely worthwhile having tests.