any ideas?

[4ever doodles]

Hey guys.... one of our puppy parents called today. They recently got back from vacationing in Georgia. Stone mountain area, I think. Their pup ( 7 months, all shots) starting acting lethargic and developed a fever ( 105) the emergency clinic started her on an anti inflammatory and antibiotic. She seemed to bounce back for about 12 hours. Then the fever came back. Now the fever will drop a bit if she is on a iv, and spike as soon as she comes off the drip. The vet and the specialists are stumped. So my question is this... if any of you are in the Ga area, have you heard of any outbreaks of anything? Something that the vets here in Fl would not normally think of? She has no intestinal issues, no respiratory issues and only a slightly high white blood cell count.

[KingstonTodd]

Lime disease would be my first guess if you were in the north. Are ticks an issue in Ga?

[Lucky Me]

How about this dog flu that is going around, or fox-tail in the ear like Jac went through....

[4ever doodles]

Well, Lyme was my first guess. The vets said no. Dog flu was also suggested, but that was a no as well.The respiratory tests all cam back fine. I have no idea what Fox tails are, but I'm looking it up now! Thanks for all the ideas...

[Jac]

The foxtail issue that Judi mentioned really got my dog down...only it was because it caused a systemic infection.

He had a temp of 104-105 and when they gave him IV antibiotics he got better, but the next day, after being home and on oral antibiotics, he got bad again...very lethargic...very. I was so afraid.

First I took him to the vet because of the lethargy, then, while at the vet, (my dog had marked the bushes outside) a drop of urine went on the floor. It looked orange to me so I asked the vet, she said it looked fine but she took a sample. She came back an said that his urine had a high blood count, so they treated him for bladder infection but they also did an ultrasound, found his prostrate enlarged, said that the infection was likely prostrate that spilled over into his bladder. Sent him home after giving him a shot of antibiotics. Next day we rushed him to the emergency vet hospital and a different vet checked him...they could not find an enlarged prostrate! His lymph nodes at his stomach were enlarged...they did a bunch of ultrasound exams and asparated his lymph nodes, found a ton of bacteria in the lymph nodes, said he had a bad stomach infection but couldn't identify it.

They'd give him IV and antibiotics, he'd get better and come home...then back again. His fever would spike the day after coming home. (He went to the first vet twice and the vet hospital 3 times!)

We almost lost him. I finally took him and said, "Keep him here until this infection has been treated enough to be gone!" They kept him a week...finally he was able to come home, but the vet said that they never knew what was wrong with him. I had asked them to check his ears for foxtails, they found one but said "I don't think that was the cause." But they couldn't find anything else!

So, it could be something, a tooth, an ear infection, stomach...anything...that is causing a systemic infection. In our case, it was so bad that his stomach could not absorb the oral antibiotics and that is why he got worse...it would not have cleared up without the week-long stay at the hospital, with IVs.

I hope all is well...please keep us posted. I remember how terrified I was...

Oh, another thing...what has he been eating? Melamine in dog food and treats cause these types of symptoms, kidney failure...tell them to keep him hydrated (IV) and to treat with mega doses of antibacteria...even if they don't know what it is!

[KingstonTodd]

Any updates?

[4ever doodles]

Well, her fever never really went down and she developed stiffness in her neck and spine. Since she was getting progressively worse, even with treatment, they did a spinal tap on her yesterday. It came back cloudy. So at this point they are expecting her tick panel to come back positive for Rocky mountain spotted fever that they believe has now turned into meningitis. They hope to get the results back today as to whether it is viral or bacterial to confirm this diagnosis. As scary as it sounds it is wonderful news that they found something. At least they are no longer shooting in the dark, they can now target her illness. They hope for a full recovery. This poor doodle needs some major prayers - so does her family. They are just beside themselves with worry. Thank you everyone for your ideas and posts!

[MaxandMe]

oh my gosh, so sorry to hear this and i had just submitted a ditto to TODD's and asked if the tick could do this.
I wondered if rocky mt spotted fever could be in GA.

I sure hope thy're able to help this doodle

[4ever doodles]

I have to say... it was an aye opener for me. I knew ticks could cause problems... but I never realized how many tick born illnesses were out there! Once we started researching it was pretty disturbing!

[Jac]

Oh, the poor baby! I will certainly add this family and their Doodle to my prayers...

It is heart breaking to go through something like this. I am glad that they have a diagnosis, but I am not happy with the possiblitiy of some of the diseases...I hope all is well. Please do let us know what happens.

[M&Tdoodles]

Took all the dogs for a run by the beach a few days ago, and now I am finding ticks in their coats, I pulled off one yesterday under Monets left eye, and one from Kelsey's neck tonight..
Pulled one off my arm 2 days ago, Tom pulled 2 off his arm, yesterday Urggggg!!!!!!
We really were so cooped up all winter and then with all the rain we got this Spring, we had to go out and run the dogs when the day was sunny and warm but is it worth it/

I haven't put any Frontline on yet but I guess we should....I really hate to put chemicals on their skin with all I have been reading on here....reactions,skin issues,rashes, ....But we have used it before without issues...
Oh well..I can say it was worth the run ..Kelsey went swimming the entire walk along the shore with a huge smile on her face and Finnegan actually jumped in the water too. She is only 1 yr old and we didn't realize she liked the ocean..its great to see them swimming...Kelsey would swim all day if we allowed. She saw ducks , geese sitting on rocks and was swimming toward them when Tom screamed" Kelsey get back"...and she turned around...and began to swim back to shore...

Monet loved it too but didn't entirely immerse herself in the water, she is more prissy. Kozmo is the poodle and supposedly the water dog bred for such things as hunting and swimming couldn't go near the water, he hung back with us on the rocks..

[Methew]

When ever you have to fly to any other territory and your dog have some behavior and shyness problem then please tell to those people who have this problem that either they can take their dogs with them or not or any other solution ?