Important warning: tick-borne parasites in dogs

[isanbirder]

All dog-owners here are familiar with the dog tick, a nasty little crittur which they pick off their pets from time to time (if they don't, it probably means they don't exercise their dogs enough). For my first almost four years here, I admit I didn't take them too seriously; there were never many, and I just took them as one of the downsides of living in the sticks. I treated my dogs with Frontline, Heartgard, and more recently Ivermec. I never had even a minor infestation in the house until recently,

A few weeks ago, my GSX went off his food, and started getting very lethargic. He rallied and I thought he was recovering by himself, but then he got worse again, so finally I took him to the vet in Buriram. A blood test showed very low red blood cell count, a badly over-strained liver, and blood parasites which were causing the problems. The parasites caused a condition called erlichiosis. A month on pills, and he has apparently recovered.

Then my toy poodle started to show the same symptoms. Yesterday the same diagnosis, so another month of pill-pushing.... and don't the dogs hate it!

My two other small poodle-type dogs don't show any symptoms yet, but have to go in for blood tests as soon as possible. They may just not be showing any symptoms yet.

The worse-case scenario is that I could lose all four dogs; even the GSX could relapse.

So be warned. Take ticks seriously. One bite from an infected tick can cause erlichiosis.

[taurus]

 Yeah Quite right Isanbirder, I have spent quite some time in South Africa were they have a  big problem with what they call "tick fever" in Dogs, however the Vets there have a unique way of tick prevention ,behind every Vets is a large bath which is full of a brew which smells like "sheep dip", they give you a rubber pinafore for protection  ,and you just totally immerse your dog in the brew for seconds which kills everything and costs about 40 baht in our money   , most caring owners such as yourself take their mutts there every month to repeat the treatment ,as the old adage goes "prevention is better than cure" 

[mxyzptlk]

All dog-owners here are familiar with the dog tick, a nasty little crittur which they pick off their pets from time to time (if they don't, it probably means they don't exercise their dogs enough). For my first almost four years here, I admit I didn't take them too seriously; there were never many, and I just took them as one of the downsides of living in the sticks. I treated my dogs with Frontline, Heartgard, and more recently Ivermec. I never had even a minor infestation in the house until recently,

A few weeks ago, my GSX went off his food, and started getting very lethargic. He rallied and I thought he was recovering by himself, but then he got worse again, so finally I took him to the vet in Buriram. A blood test showed very low red blood cell count, a badly over-strained liver, and blood parasites which were causing the problems. The parasites caused a condition called erlichiosis. A month on pills, and he has apparently recovered.

Then my toy poodle started to show the same symptoms. Yesterday the same diagnosis, so another month of pill-pushing.... and don't the dogs hate it!

My two other small poodle-type dogs don't show any symptoms yet, but have to go in for blood tests as soon as possible. They may just not be showing any symptoms yet.

The worse-case scenario is that I could lose all four dogs; even the GSX could relapse.

So be warned. Take ticks seriously. One bite from an infected tick can cause erlichiosis.

Before seeing this post, I had 2 non productive visits to a local vet. After reading this post, I took my number 1 dog to the vets in the centre of Nang Rong, and within 10 minutes of taking the blood test, he informed me that my dog had parasites in his blood & a fever caused by a bite from an infected tick. My dog got 2 injections and some tablets to take for a fortnight. After the fortnight, I have to take him back for one more injection. Then he should be OK. Many thanks for the valuable info from your post  isanbirder...

[nookiebear]

CoCo wants to know if it affects 2 legged dogs too!!

[isanbirder]

The main thing, mxyzptlk, is to keep your dog as clear of ticks as possible.  This means monthly injections or pills of Ivermec, or use Frontline or Detick, and keeping the bedding clean.

[mxyzptlk]

ok Thanks for the injection/pill info isanbirder. As for keeping the bedding clean....my 5 dogs are free dogs in that they come & go as they please and don't have fixed places to sleep...