Page 33 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

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Keymaster

Jen,
I am sorry to read this. You must be very worried about this news. I have information for you so you can understand what is happening.

I have been on a tick disease forum since 2007. Any of the many tick diseases can make a dog very sick and often, when one disease is found, there can be other tick diseases or co-infections as well because ticks tend to carry many different diseases. Lyme is not directly related to anemia, but other tick diseases can and will lead to serious anemia. You will often find me here on this forum asking specifically if a vet did a SNAP 4DX+ test right from the start.

If you can find the time, there is a lot of reading you need to do so you can understand Lyme disease, and in general tick diseases. I have a good friend who has developed a complete website devoted to dogs and tick disease. The information is well researched and is kept current. I am going to have you read two pages in particular but when you have time browse the site and read more.

So the first page you should read is the one on Lyme disease.
https://sites.google.com/site/tickbornediseaseindogs/lyme

Please especially read about Lyme nephritis or glomerulonephritis. There is a side bar article on the right side. Protein in the urine is a direct sign of this condition. However, since I have not seen your labs, I don’t know how advanced this is. This particular condition associated with Lyme is not something I like to see on any test. I need to know more about how far advanced it is. Essentially what has happened is the Lyme spirochetes have infected the kidneys and are damaging important cells.

The second page I would like you to read is about treatment. But I am also going to paste the very important information you need to read here so you will have it immediately. I highly recommend that you insist that your vet treat Maggie with this high, prolonged dose. I have experience from many years on the Tick list to know that this is essential to helping her get better. If your vet is reluctant to try this higher dose, then you must convince them or find a vet who will do this for you. Please stay in contact with me and ask questions about what you are reading. I am here to help you with this
My best
patrice

https://sites.google.com/site/tickbornediseaseindogs/treatment
“Doxycycline
A semisynthetic tetracycline, doxycycline is the drug of choice for ehrlichiosis (including Anaplasma phagocytophilum and platys), Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

The dosage we recommend on Tick List is an aggressive one: 5 mg. of doxy per pound of body weight given every 12 hours for 8 weeks. For those who prefer to figure body weight in kilograms, this is approximately the same as 10 mg per kg, the difference being not enough to mention.

This is twice as high as the dose that is generally recommended – and here I should probably remind you that I am not a veterinarian or a medical professional. Well, that’s true. At the same time, I should tell you that your vet is the one to decide what dosage to use. Well, I would concur if your vet is familar with tick-borne disease and knows it inside out. If not, he or she should consult with a colleague who is before deciding on the dosage.

In my opinion and that of everyone on Tick List, to my knowledge, ehrlichiosis and Lyme must be hit hard the first time out, if at all possible, and lower doses and/or shorter treatment times all too often mean recurrence. Unless your dog is one of the few that cannot take doxycycline or take it in this higher dose, my best advice to you is to insist on it. In the experience of a great many of us on Tick-L, each time ehrlichiosis or Lyme recurs, it’s harder to stop or contain it. “

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Patrice

Keymaster

Rachel,
Does Sydney currently have IMHA? Or are you saying she is recovered from a diagnosis a year ago? I am sorry, this isn’t clear to me. Do you need help with this?

If your vet told you this about fleas, he is partially correct, they are a vector for plague. But, really, plague is very rare in the world. It only occurs in certain locations and the carriers are small rodents like mice. The main route of contact is during extreme outdoor activity such as camping and only in some very very specific areas.

There are a few very specific locations in rural and semirural areas in the western United States where plague infections may be found. In 2013 the CDC noted there were 4 human cases and 1 death and in 2014 there were 10 human cases and no deaths. In 2015 there was a single case of a child in Yosemite National Park and 2 in Colorado, both at camping grounds.

In general fleas are an annoyance in the household. Some dogs can develop allergies and are miserable. I would not consider death from fleas bites due to plague to be a concern to most dog owners.

I had very good advice from a breeder. She told me that the route to eliminating fleas from your household is to first start on your environment. That means really getting the yard and surrounding areas flea free. If you just treat your dog, she said, you are attempting to manage that whole area around your house and inside your house with just your treated dog. And if you have neighbors with fleas, you need to involve them in the process as well. Just eliminating them from your own yard doesn’t stop the problem.

Inside the home, you need to be a clean freak. Eggs will be in everything, carpeting, bedding etc. I saw a suggestion once that I liked, put a flea collar in your vacuum bag so that the eggs are killed inside the bag. Washing toys, bedding, furniture etc. is a must on a regular basis.

Some homes are so overrun that owners are no longer able to manage it alone. Unfortunately, this may mean that profession help is needed. Scheduling this while you are away on a vacation seems to be the best solution.

So you can see why the use of a topical is only one of many ways to reduce the population of fleas. I personally would avoid flea medications that are ingested, that is my preference. Some of these ingredients, like IGR’s are currently under scrutiny by the government as to their safety.

I am not sure why your vet told you to avoid certain topicals like Frontline. I have used that successfully on my dogs for many years. In some areas, Frontline may have been less effective, but the tick list I am on has have traced that to using Frontline product that is old and should be treated as expired. From now I use only fresh Frontline that is current for the year I am using it. I buy it from a vendor who maintains records of the dates of purchase of his stock. I carefully follow the instructions on the package concerning the exact weight of the dog, not using it on ill dogs and correctly applying it to the dog.

The advice about not buying over the counter is good and valid. Owners may attempt to use -more- of the product thinking this is better. So they may buy for a large dog and apply it to a small dog. They may not want to spend extra money on a box for a cat too and apply the canine product to the cat, harming the cat. They may cheap out and buy the small dog size for a large dog and then undertreat their dog. They may put in on once in the season and forget to use it again all year, then complain that it doesn’t work. Or they may try to stretch it out to 45 days or two months.

With Frontline they may bath their animal immediately before the application removing all the oils from the oil glands in the skin where the product settles. Then they may bath their dog too frequently, especially with astringent soaps, removing the product prematurely.

I really feel strongly that if an owner needs these kinds of products they should discuss this with their primary vet. Breed, size and health differences really alter the specific needs of a dog. Certain breeds (and mixed breed dogs with these breeds in the mix) do not do well with these products, having serious side effects. A vet will be able to determine this and help these owners find a different solution to protect them.

Finally, in my case, I try to target the things I am most concerned about and realistically have a problem with in my local area. I do protect against heartworm and ticks as both heartworm disease and tick diseases are rampant in my area. I have never experienced flea issues but certain types of worms, including hookworms, are fairly common.

To check your area for the prevalence of tick diseases, heartworm and parasites use this really cool mapping program that is kept current.
http://www.capcvet.org/parasite-prevalence-maps/

If a vet likes a product and friends have had luck, that is one the best ways to chose what you are going to use. Vets are very aware of the success of certain products in an area. They really do want to help you protect your dog. I would be reluctant to revisit a vet that is frightening me with talk about the plague, unless of course that was a factual statement: “We live in an area where plague exists.”
my best
patrice

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