Twinmom Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 My precious 6 month old golden retriever has a tick borne disease...don't know which one yet. He is running a low grade fever, is lethargic, had yeasty ears (got cleaning meds) and is limping pretty badly in his right front leg. The doctor started him on doxycycline and an anti-inflammatory. Poor little guy...well, big guy at 60 lbs, but so sad! A friend in my neighborhood had to put down her elderly dog after he contracted something similar...I am so scared for my little sweetie! Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice or ideas on what will turn this around for him? Is our treatment protocol enough? Such scary stuff online! TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 If it is lyme, your dog can still live a good life, do you know how early it has been caught? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 The good news is that Vets treat Lyme better and more seriously than people doctors, I hope he will be ok. The treatment he is on is pretty standard, hope you see improvement soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 My precious 6 month old golden retriever has a tick borne disease...don't know which one yet. He is running a low grade fever, is lethargic, had yeasty ears (got cleaning meds) and is limping pretty badly in his right front leg. The doctor started him on doxycycline and an anti-inflammatory. Poor little guy...well, big guy at 60 lbs, but so sad! A friend in my neighborhood had to put down her elderly dog after he contracted something similar...I am so scared for my little sweetie! Does anyone have experience with this? Any advice or ideas on what will turn this around for him? Is our treatment protocol enough? Such scary stuff online! TIA! First, are they sure it is a tick disease? In an older dog those symptoms would say tick to me, but in a puppy there are other possibilities, including panosteiitis and hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD). Both involve bone pain and fever and occur in young dogs about the age of your puppy. Pano would be my bet, in a dog that age, unless there was some bloodwork to indicate tick. http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/musculoskeletal/c_multi_panosteitis#.UXfGLLU3tCY http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dehod.html#b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Oh, and if it is a tick disease I've seen lots, and most dogs do very well. Usually though we do bloodwork on them periodically, but otherwise they do well. Sometimes they have replapses and have to be treated again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I'd get him on a probiotic supplement to help prevent stomach upset from the doxy. Give it a couple of hours after each dose of doxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 He has had some bloodwork that did not indicate a rise in white blood cell count but did indicate some other things (I'm confused...) that would lead the doctor to suspect a tick borne illness but good overall health. I think he may be looking at other bone related issues as well, but suspecting tick. My guess is that he is not 100% sure at this point because I do remember him saying something to the effect of "we are treating both..." His lameness is significantly worse this morning. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Could he have been bitten by a snake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 No, but that's a good idea! He could barely walk yesterday, so I took him in again. They x-rayed his leg and there was nothing visibly wrong, so they are convinced now it is a tick disease. He is perking up on the antibiotics, so that's good. Doc says we caught it early and he should be okay. I certainly hope so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Here in Eastern Australia we have paralysis ticks. They can kill a dog very quickly. basically the paralysis paralysis all the muscles in the dog, first symptom seen is the dog going weak in the hind legs, walking sort of drunk. then they start vomiting and have trouble breathing then they die. the early that the treatment starts the higher the chance of survival. I don't know if there are paralysis ticks anywhere else in the world or if they are limited to Eastern Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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