Sick puppy :(

[Tiga's_mom]

As far as I can tell she was kept tied up on the front lawn most of the time. We're going to wait it out tonight as she does seem much better this evening but if she isn't any better tomorrow then x-rays for sure and I'll ask about a tick panel.

[Tiga's_mom]

She is FULL of energy right now. This is the most active she's been in over 24 hours. Such a strange thing. No yelping just wants to run around and play.

[bcnewe2]

I'm joining Julie's broken record. Mick got 2 TBD's at a very young age. Didn't get a diagnosed for at least 3 vets and several months later. By the time he did get diagnosed it had gone on to chronic. PLEASE get a test or better yet just get her on doxy if she gets better then you know you were right. Plus it can wax and wain in symptoms, some days way better than others.

[Tiga's_mom]

She's on antibiotics (amoxil) for the UTI. The vet is closed right now but I will call and ask about that in the morning. I should have thought of it today but I was way too upset to think. They took blood this morning. Not sure if they can use that for the tick panel.

[terrecar]

Do you know where the pup was kept? Could she have been exposed to ticks? I know I sound like a broken record, but it might not hurt to do a tick panel.

J.

 

 

My GSD's sire died of complications from lyme disease (kidney damage if I remember right). He lived with his breeder/owner in PA, which is considered an endemic region. Had he been diagnosed early enough, things could have turned out much differently. With that in mind, I don't think you sound like a broken record at all. Hate to see a dog die from an otherwise treatable illness.

[Tiga's_mom]

We're actually waiting to hear back about a tick we found on Tiga a few weeks ago to see if it was a carrier so lyme is definitely on our minds. Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope we can get this all sorted soon.

[gcv-border]

We're actually waiting to hear back about a tick we found on Tiga a few weeks ago to see if it was a carrier so lyme is definitely on our minds. Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope we can get this all sorted soon.

Are you waiting to hear if the tick was carrying the Lyme spirochete? or are you waiting to hear if the tick is of the type that carries the Lyme organism? Where I live (VA) and where I used to live (NJ), there are no state funds for testing ticks for Borrelia (Lyme). In the beginning of the 'outbreak' (years ago), the states were testing ticks submitted by residents in an attempt to track the incidence of disease-carrying ticks, but with the lack of funds and the preponderance of Lyme-carrying ticks, it is no longer feasible.

 

Amoxicillin can be used to treat Lyme. Although I think Doxycycline is the drug of choice, my vet will prescribe amoxi if the dog experiences stomach upset when taking doxy.

 

If she was already on amoxi, I would be surprised that the symptoms she is showing are due to Lyme, but then again, she is a puppy, and their systems can sometimes act differently from an adult's. I definitely agree with testing for Lyme.

 

I hope she continues to improve.

 

Jovi

[Tiga's_mom]

What a difference in her tonight. She's back to being a nippy wild puppy tonight. Hard to keep her quiet. She hasn't yelped in hours and definitely has her appetite back. I'm not convinced she's ok. We'll be keeping a very very close eye on her.

[Tiga's_mom]

Are you waiting to hear if the tick was carrying the Lyme spirochete? or are you waiting to hear if the tick is of the type that carries the Lyme organism? Where I live (VA) and where I used to live (NJ), there are no state funds for testing ticks for Borrelia (Lyme). In the beginning of the 'outbreak' (years ago), the states were testing ticks submitted by residents in an attempt to track the incidence of disease-carrying ticks, but with the lack of funds and the preponderance of Lyme-carrying ticks, it is no longer feasible.

 

Amoxicillin can be used to treat Lyme. Although I think Doxycycline is the drug of choice, my vet will prescribe amoxi if the dog experiences stomach upset when taking doxy.

 

If she was already on amoxi, I would be surprised that the symptoms she is showing are due to Lyme, but then again, she is a puppy, and their systems can sometimes act differently from an adult's. I definitely agree with testing for Lyme.

 

I hope she continues to improve.

 

Jovi

 

 

We went away for a night and he stayed with a friend. When we got back he had a tick on him. It was removed and sent for testing. We know that it is a type that carries it but it had to be sent to a different lab to see if it actually carried lyme. This was before we got Annie. He hasn't really had any symptoms. So we wait. We should have the results back soon though.

[juliepoudrier]

Let's not forget that there are more tick diseases than just Lyme (RMSF, ehrlichia, Anaplasmosis, Bartonella, Babesia, to name a few), and often dogs will have co-infections. I'd probably test just to be sure, but of course one diagnostic clue for at least some tick diseases is if the dog gets better relatively quickly with appropriate treatment.

 

J.

[Tiga's_mom]

Do the rest of the TBD's share similar symptoms to lyme?

[Jim Kling]

I would just point out that getting a second opinion doesn't have anything to do with how good your vet is. The best vets don't know everything, and they haven't experienced everything.

 

A second opinion gives you another perspective from a vet who may have different training and experience, or may simply see something that your first vet didn't notice.

 

I wish you very good luck.

 

 

Jim

 

 

I spoke to an er vet last night. We're in a pretty small place and the vet we use is the best in the area. I trust them. We've been going there with Tiga for 8 years. I've been looking up teething symptoms and that sounds like it's a possibility. We don't really know how old she is. The guy that gave her to us said she was 12 weeks at the time (last Sunday) but she's pretty big compared to what Tiga was at that age. I haven't seen any teeth though and no blood. The vet did have a good look at her gums and teeth and didn't mention that. He suggested we could have x-rays but we decided to hold off until we get the blood results. He said he didn't think it was skeletal as she didn't react to any of his manipulations.

[Tiga's_mom]

My head is just spinning. She went from barely able to move for over 24 hours with no appetite to the Tasmanian devil all evening. Every time she comes out of the crate she wants to play with Tiga or chew on things she's not supposed to or she wants to be outside. Then she wants to chew up sticks or chew on rocks or eat grass. She's also itching like crazy again. There's not much yelping (a little seems to be around head or chest maybe?)but she cries a bit when crated especially if she's scratching. She was zooming around and not acting sick at all (except the itching). Her appetite is back 10 fold. She wanted to go for a walk but I thought that was too much. She pooped and she's finally settled down in her crate after some itching and crying. She's also super nippy again. Basically she's back to where she was before. I've done a little clicker training this evening too to try to get her tired. It's really been one extreme to the other.

[Tiga's_mom]

Sorry double post. I hate typing on touch screens.

[mbc1963]

Just an FYI:

 

My friend's pup got Lyme and it progressed so fast it looked like a sudden, acute illness: extreme diarrhea and near paralysis due to pain over a mere 36 hours.

 

If this is Lyme, the improvement you see could be the amoxicillin doing its work. But I think the treatment for Lyme is much longer than typical for other illnesses. If this is Lyme, she'll need much more time.

 

Good luck!

 

Mary

[bcnewe2]

Yes to treat TBD's you need a much longer course of meds.

Did I read where she was on an oral steroid? That could be your Tasmanian devil dog is coming from.

Gald she is doing better.

[Tiga's_mom]

She was on an oral steroid. We gave her 1 dose on Friday and no more. She went crazy and even peed herself while she was laying down twice. No more of that. I'll figure out the itching another way. This morning she seems completely normal again. Normal appetite and energy. No yelping either. We're watching her like a hawk though. First signs of anything abnormal and back to the vet we go.

 

Thank you all again. If she does start feeling crappy again, I know what to ask for at the vet. Everyone is just as helpful as I remember. I never thought I'd own a puppy again. I'll keep you all updated. For now, everything is calm.

[Alchemist]

The sudden improvement, along with the other symptoms, is certainly making me lean toward a TBD, though I'm not a vet. On the itching... is there any chance she could be allergic to the amoxicillin?

 

I had a cat who was prescribed amoxicillin when his gums bled a bit after his teeth were cleaned. He started to scratch at his ears like mad - had them bloody in a matter of a day or two. I was afraid that he'd picked up ear mites while at the vet's. It turned out to be just an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin.

 

As others have said, tick-borne diseases require a long course of doxycycline (best given with food, and if you've ever taken some on an empty stomach yourself, you'll know how very true this is). Hopefully the bloodwork will come back soon and help resolve things. But if I were you I'd mention the itching to your vet. Some allergic reactions are mild, others can get worse with continued exposure.

[MaryP]

Tammy, my puppy had swallowed a string. It went from the back of his throat all the way to his large intestines. They originally treated him with antibiotics, thinking it was probably a TBD. He didn't show the classic signs of an obstruction because he was still able to drink and occasionally eat. I wasn't happy with that diagnosis and kept bringing him back in. He was not eating much and was losing a lot of weight. He was depressed and obviously not feeling well. He did not have a fever. Finally, my vet decided to do exploratory surgery because they couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's when they discovered the string. If they hadn't done the exploratory surgery, and just waited a week or so to see if the antibiotics worked, the string would likely have killed him.

 

Then, he had A LOT of complications after the first surgery (episodes of screaming pain, not eating, exhaustion, excessive drainage from the incision), and again, I kept bringing him back. Finally, they did a second surgery to look for any additional string, flushed out his gut, and placed some patches over the incision sites on his intestines. He spent several days at the vet on I.V.'s and antibiotics. Whatever they did with the second surgery worked and two weeks later, he was cleared to resume normal activities. But, it was my persistence and determination that they keep looking that saved his life. I'm sure of it.

[Tiga's_mom]

The itching started before the amoxi. That's why he gave us the Vanectyl P for but I stopped that. I'm hoping the fish oil and topical treatment will help that. Also having her switched to a good food as well. I think there's also a chance it could be either environmental or the parasites or the dryer sheets that I used on the towel and blanket. Could also be food related. She acting just like Tiga did when we were going through food allergies with him.

 

I just spoke with the vet again. He said she tested negative for all TBD's! So that's a relief. They're not very common around here I guess. The most common being Lyme but even that is fairly rare.

 

For now, we're going to continue watching her and if she shows signs again we're immediately back for x-rays but since she's eating and pooping normally and has her energy back he feels she's on the mend. He said that basically coming from where she did, eating crappy food, probably kept outside most of the time, no shots, not a great coat and FULL of parasites was hard on her. Then her whole world was changed, getting pills and shots and a new home, new dog companion, new owners and a whole new routine can play into it. Also he feels there's a chance it could be soft tissue damage from playing (she did take a little tumble one day but we didn't really think too much of it at the time). Our orders are to take it a bit easy for a few days and back in if there's any changes. I feel better after talking to him and seeing how she is doing.

 

Mary, I'm glad your puppy ended up ok. I asked about an obstruction but he doesn't feel that's what it is. We have eyes on her at all times and she does like to chew but she doesn't really try to eat things. I won't rule it out completely but I don't think that's it. I hope I'm doing the right thing by waiting it out.

[bcnewe2]

Just an fyi, you can test neg. for tbd's and still have them. Same with lots of tests. If the amoxi is working i'd be inclined to ask for a longer treatment regime just to be safe.

[Tiga's_mom]

How long do you suggest? She was prescribed 3x/day for 10 days.

[Sasha's Mom]

My Zoe came down with a TBD last fall. The onset was dramatic - one day we were going on 5 mile runs, and the next she wanted to turn back after less than 1/4 mile, didn't want to eat, and starting hiding.

 

I knew something was wrong but didn't know what. On the second trip to the vet, we talked about TBD and decided to try empirically treating with doxy as I live in a wooded area and had spotted a tick walking across the couch the week before. (ew. I hate ticks!) The vet said that she'd turn around about day 3 if it were a TBD, and her recovery was nearly as dramatic as the onset.

 

The treatment for TBD is indeed much longer than a standard course of antibiotics. In humans, doxy is the drug of choice, but we use amoxil in children and those who can't take doxy.

[PSmitty]

Glad to read that she's doing better. Scary!

[bcnewe2]

I don't want to tell you a time table from memory but way longer than 10 days.

FWIW, We didn't get the tbd's from our own area, I had Mick out for a weekend in KY and he got a tick on his front paw. That was the culprit from what we can tell. And it wasn't from a known TBD area. He got Rocky Mountain and Lyme at the same time.

Do some research or join Tick-L where you'll get more information than you ever want to know about TBD's.

 

Glad she's doing so well.

I don't freak out if we get ticks. I freak out if I notice any sort of symptoms. When we lived in AR I swear we went through a period where I was picking over 50 ticks off the dogs each night. No one ever suffered from them at that time. But then the LGD got Lyme or something like it, intermitent lameness that we could never find a source so we treated with Doxy and he got better.

 

It's ugly but I can't imagine sending off a tick (like someone mentioned on this thread I think) just becuase I found it on my dog unless I knew I was in a strong TBD area and then I'd probably just opt to treat with Doxy instead of long waiting tests and the margin for error. No offence meant to the person who did that, I just couldn't afford to do that with all the ticks we run into. I just tick check every night and pick anything off. Same with the 2 legged people here.