Guest SillyDog Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Some of you will recall my posts about my little guy Prancer who's got chronic Ehrlichia canis. (He of the nail-clipping phobia....) Anyway, my regular vet was telling me that his stiff gait, sore joints, somewhat lethargic behavior and less than normal appetite are all because of his aging. He's possible 11-ish. Well, it didn't sit right with me that everything that he was experiencing over the past month was aging. Why couldn't the ehrlichia be the culprit? So, I emailed with Burpdog (thanks ma'am!) and decided to go to a DVM who also practices several modes of alternative medicine. The new vet found that Prancer has a definite problem in his cervical vertebrae and this is probably what's causing some of his symptoms, especially the shoulder twitching. She also agreed with me that the Ehrlichia titer should be re-run and we should also check for Babesia and Ehrlichia equinus. The lab results will be in next week and we'll decide what to do next based on them. She thinks there is some systemmic thing at work making him weaker and stiffer than he ought to be and wants to be sure he ONLY has Ehrlichia canis. She also gave him an accupuncture treatment. He almost fell asleep during it -- he was really zoning. He'll get another treatment next week if he needs it, too. There were three other great things about this visit: 1. it's 30 minutes closer to work & home, 2. he's got great teeth for a greyhound and 3. (the best!!!!) he's probably closer to 9 or 10!!!!!!! Yea! Yes, he's still a senior, and yes it's a guess, but she's looking at him as a fairly young dog yet, not a senior dog who's got maybe another year left! Thank you all for information and encouragement. I'll keep this updated as to his titer results & treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Glad it went well. Were it me, I'd put him on doxy and see if the symptoms subside. The e ewingii doesn't show in a panel. You have to do a PCR. Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyDog Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Glad it went well. Were it me, I'd put him on doxy and see if the symptoms subside. The e ewingii doesn't show in a panel. You have to do a PCR. I asked her if I could do that and she said to wait until we get the titer results. I think she's thinking he's got more than one and will need to be on imizol. Or, maybe she wants to treat the Ehrlichia with imizol. His titer was pretty high.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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