Sick Dog

[Neeranam]

My dog was sick a few days ago – wouldn’t eat and vomiting. I took him(golden retriever) to the vet who took his blood. When I got the results, the vet said that he had to take some pills for Blood parasites. These are antibiotics. I thought that antiiotics don’t work on parasites? Anyways, there were some other pills too. The vet didn’t know what was wrong – she started trying to confuse me with technical talk on white blood cells but stopped when I told her I used to work analyzing blood. The pills(large blue ones) are working – the dog is well. She said that if they work, to go back in 2 weeks for another two week suppy. The name of the medicine was not on the packet. These pills are a ridiculous price. Does anyone know the name? If the dog is better, do we have to get another two weeks suppy?

[elfe]

thankfully the pills worked on your dog! as you described dog was vomitting and not eating it surprises me the pills stayed in the dog.

bloodparasites are transmitted by ticks. there are different bloodparasites, e. canis, babesia and others. the parasites eat the red blood cells and causing many illnesses and symptoms, but mostly always tiredness, pale gums.

the only big dark blue pills i know are cephalexine, an antibiotic used also for skin diseases or wound healing. but there are many kinds and brands of pills, so don't know. for babesia it would be doxycycline which has to be given for 21 days the least to eradicate the bloodparasite.

ask your vet again which bloodparasite your dog has got, there are tests to find out.

pills are usually cheaper in pharmacies than at vets. make sure you get the right concentration for your dogs weight.

give iron/multimineral and -vitamin supplements and raw meat and bones.

most importantly keep your dog tick free.

hope your golden gets better soon!

[Slip]

My dog had blood parasites whn he was a pup- they're nasty. He had a 5 day supply of medication (I don't know what) but still ended up in the vet for a week on a drip.

You could always get a second opinion if you're unsure but IMO just make sure you nail them apparently it can be fatal.

[Nienke]

There are several kinds of bloodparasites. The most common ones are two different strings of the tick disease Erhliciosis canis, babesia, heartworm and something transmitted by flies, which got a difficult name that I keep on forgetting).

The E.canis parsties are pretty difficult to find under the microscope. More too often the test says negative, while the dog shows all the symptoms of the disease. What the vet usually does is making a full blood test: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, kidney and liver and teh SNAP test. One string shows on the SNAP test (and often also through the blood test), and the other only through the blood test.

Babesia caes I haven't had yet, thank goodness.

For all abovementioned tick diseases the vets give doxycycline (= antibiotic or AB), which sometimes come in small flat, round white pills with yellow in it. But I've also seen them as light large blue pills and dark blue capsule.

IME, when a dog is positive for E.canis he will get treatment for 6 to 8 weeks. I'm not 100% sure why (the forum vets, Bambina or mangotogo) can fill this in better than I). I assume because these parasites has dorm periods, during which the AB's don't work. It is, however, hard to tell when such a period occurs.

After the start of the treatment there is usually a quick recovery visible in the dog. hwoever, it is very important to continue the treatment for the period as mentioned above.

Example: a while ago a customer dog was positive for E.canis. He received one month treatment. Within two months the symptoms reoccured. Most dogs I've had under treatment that received two months treatment were well.

However, this does not mean that the disease can't pop up again. It can be that the dog is chronic, meaning the parasites have entered the bone marrow, where the AB's can't reach them anymore, or the dog can be reinfested.

As the AB's only do their job when the parasties are in the blood stream, I always advise dog owners to have a SNAP test and blood test done every half a year. In this way, the disease can be caught in the acute phase, and easily cured with the AB's.

Nienke

[Neeranam]

Great advise - thanks!

[bina]

the low platelet count anemia etc would be the clue for the tick diseases; doxicillin is the treatment, and at least a month... the disease is somewhat similar to 'lymes' disease in humans in that is can be non symptomatic until triggered by another illness or operation. one of the more known symptoms is a sudden limp or non clotting of cuts (bleeds more then would be normal)...

we dont do the snap cause its super expensive and the vet brings from france each time; we rely on blood work, symptoms and areas that have prevalant ticks and tick fever have been showing up...

[BambinA]

IME, when a dog is positive for E.canis he will get treatment for 6 to 8 weeks. I'm not 100% sure why

this link explains why some dogs need need many day for DC therapy

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=105010

[Nienke]

IME, when a dog is positive for E.canis he will get treatment for 6 to 8 weeks. I'm not 100% sure why

this link explains why some dogs need need many day for DC therapy

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere...gi?artid=105010

Thanks Bambina.

[Etrigan]

Neeranam

My dog has exactly the same problem and was given the same meds. To be honest, it is a huge relief knowing what was making him ill, as now we can help him on the mend.

I wasn't aware he would be on meds for the next 6 - 8 weeks though!