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Fever,anorexia,lethargy, Bloodwork Ok-Any Ideas?


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My precious Bob Bob (Bobber) who is normally always ravenous suddenly quit eating anything except highly desired items like raw meat and treats and is not eating much of them. Two days later she spiked a fever of over 104. Vet treated with ketofen/aspirin for fever and amoxicillin yesterday. Extensive bloodwork all A-OK. Currently getting amoxicillin and Etogesic aspirin. Fever down to 102.4 this AM but she wouldn't even eat yogurt for breakfast and still feels bad. Nothing evident on examination. She has never had any issues except anal sacs and ONE time 6 months ago she pretty much refused her food for 2 days but then started eating again and was normal until this incident. At first TBD crosssed my mind but I just read Dr. Cuoto's paper and he said that nowadays only 1-3% of the dogs they test will show positive for any TBD. Do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? Vet says sometimes dogs eat things etc. and a number of things could cause a fever. She is closely watched though and always wears a stool guard muzzle when out so I don't know how she could have eaen anything that would cause it. Fully admit that I am probably over reacting and over concerned but wanted to check to make sure I'm not missing something that could best be caught early before something else happens. I was concerned this AM because she was drinking more water than normal. She is only 4 years old. Any comments/thoughts/ideas/ greatly appreciated by this mother hen!

Edited by racindog
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TBD is what I would think of. I'd get a blood sample off to Protatek asap.

 

At first TBD crosssed my mind but I just read Dr. Cuoto's paper and he said that nowadays only 1-3% of the dogs they test will show positive for any TBD

 

Everyone -- please don't take this as "I shouldn't test my dog", please! I have a feeling many greys are dying undiagnosed. TBDs are still prevelant. Read the tick list.

Diane & The Senior Gang

Burpdog Biscuits

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If she's on antibiotics, she might need something for her stomach. I give 1 regular-strength Pepcid (10 mg famotidine), wait 30-40 minutes, feed meal or substantial snack, THEN give any meds such as antibiotics. She might be drinking extra because her tummy doesn't feel good.

 

I prefer other tick testing options to Protatek. Idexx, Antech, most university vet schools now have the FastPCRs -- if your local Idexx/Antech has it so no shipping $, cost should be competitive with Protatek. They test for more tick diseases/variants, and you should have the results back in a couple days.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest Stargirl

Hi there, I hate it when my dog is sick and you don't know why. I had similar thing with my 4 year old, but she was showing evidence of stiffness, so if yours isn't, and I hope not, it probably isn't related. My dog had a 103+ fever,not hungry, and didn't want to get up out of her bed at all. Blood tests showed everything fine, but you could see that she didn't want to move her neck much...still she jumped in and out of truck to go to vet. I was going to pick her up, but she would have none of that. After 2 episodes of that with medicines of prednisone and antibiotics, she was fine. 3rd time it happened, she went to neurologist for spinal tap and has a combo of meningitis/encephalitis. But I would think your dog would be showing some signs of pain or doing some funny eye blinking if it were something like that. Hope she feels better and the mystery gets solved.

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If she's on antibiotics, she might need something for her stomach. I give 1 regular-strength Pepcid (10 mg famotidine), wait 30-40 minutes, feed meal or substantial snack, THEN give any meds such as antibiotics. She might be drinking extra because her tummy doesn't feel good.

 

I prefer other tick testing options to Protatek. Idexx, Antech, most university vet schools now have the FastPCRs -- if your local Idexx/Antech has it so no shipping $, cost should be competitive with Protatek. They test for more tick diseases/variants, and you should have the results back in a couple days.

 

 

OK I'll go with the Idexx/Antech or whatever I van get them to agree to basically. THANKS FOR TIP ON PEPCID! I'll get some on teh way home for her.

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i would also think TBD. Phoenix had the same symptoms when he was diagnosed with babesia.

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Xavi the galgo and Peter the cat. Missing Iker the galgo ?-Feb.9/19, Treasure (USS Treasure) April 12/01-May 6/13, Phoenix (Hallo Top Son) Dec.14/99-June 4/11 and Loca (Reko Swahili) Oct.9/95 - June 1/09, Allen the boss cat, died late November, 2021, age 19.

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I prefer other tick testing options to Protatek. Idexx, Antech, most university vet schools now have the FastPCRs -- if your local Idexx/Antech has it so no shipping $, cost should be competitive with Protatek

 

Understand I recommend Protatek due to several reasons and one is the recommendation of people who do a lot of tick testing. Just because Ohio State doesn't like Protatek, it's not a reason not to use them. People I know who do a lot of tick testing will not use North Carolina or other labs because they have smile.gif

 

PCR testing is not the end to all ends either as they are not 100% reliable. I am quite disappointed in the possible results/non results.

Edited by Burpdog

Diane & The Senior Gang

Burpdog Biscuits

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All due respect, most folks I know much prefer NCSU or the new fastpanel PCRs. I'd think a fastpanel would be valuable at this point, since pup has good bloodwork and indistinct symptoms.

 

 

ETA: When you send to NCSU, you can get a titer and then PCR to follow if the titer is high. If I really suspected a TBD as opposed to other illness, that's what I would do.

Edited by Batmom

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Definitely check for TBD's. We've been happy with Protatek, but whatever.

 

To you and everyone else:

 

You don't need to care about the 97-99% of dogs that may not have a TBD. You only need to care about YOURS. A small chance is not the same as no chance. Big difference. One of ours was in that 1-3%, and I'm ashamed of how many years we didn't have him tested for it. We thought, "Oh, it's probably not that." Well, it was.

 

Best wishes for your pup's recovery, whatever it turns out to be. :grouphug

Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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Everybody THANKS so much for your input!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just made the appointment to get her tested. Vet insisted on using his lab but I will watch closely and make sure she gets tested properly to the best of my ability. THANKS again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Vet insisted on using his lab but I will watch closely and make sure she gets tested properly to the best of my ability.

As long as you're comfortable with his decision, that's OK. But it's your dog & your money & you get to insist on where the test is done. smile.gif

 

Very best wishes for your Bob Bob. goodluck.gif

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Deirdre with Conor (Daring Pocobueno), Keeva (Kiowa Mimi Mona), & kittehs Gemma & robthomas.

Our beloved angels Faolin & Liath, & kittehs Mona & Caesar. Remembering Bobby, Doc McCoy, & Chip McGrath.

"He feeds you, pets you, adores you, collects your poop in a bag. There's only one explanation: you are a hairy little god." Nick Galifinakis

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Everybody THANKS so much for your input!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just made the appointment to get her tested. Vet insisted on using his lab but I will watch closely and make sure she gets tested properly to the best of my ability. THANKS again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Also note that it may be wise to start treatment for TBDs for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it's going to take time to get the results back; while not without their side-effects, the meds for TBDs aren't prohibitively expensive. The second is that tests aren't 100%; a false negative is always a possibility. The third is that there are sentiments to the effect there may be one or more TBDs that don't show up on PCR because they haven't been pinned down yet.

 

Similarly, while IDEXX and Antech are the big names in veterinary testing- both have stock tickers, they're so large- they're not on the "bleeding edge" of tickborne diseases. For that, there's ProtaTek (right here in Chandler, AZ, in fact), and NCSU... I think I'm forgetting someone in there. Your vet will probably be using IDEXX, and while there's nothing wrong with that, the company isn't in the TBD business. So- a positive TBD test from IDEXX would be useful, but a negative test may be viewed with some skepticism in the face of creepy, obscure symptoms of unknown origin. From this, a negative test with no other obvious cause of symptoms and no improvement may be a good reason to start treatment.

 

Make sense? Or did I just make things worse?

 

Where did Bob Bob come from, and race? Some areas are tick hotspots.

Coco (Maze Cocodrillo)

Minerva (Kid's Snipper)

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Guest multigrey

Don't mean to get in the middle of any difference of opinions regarding tick disease....but for whatever it's worth, Greyhound Adoptions of Florida has been doing tick testing for well over 10 years now. We always are willing to try new labs and new forms of testing.

 

My comfort level stays with Protatek. Dr. Holland is almost always available to talk to me personally rather than insisting on talking to my vet. I like this. It's "my" dog and I know what I see as far as behavior and demeanor....that's just as important as a tube of serum in a lab. We may discus the rest of the dog's bloodwork which sometimes is extremely important....whatever it is, it has worked well for hundreds and hundreds of dogs that have come through our adoption program over the years.

 

I can't even begin to tell you how many dogs have these vague symptoms that cannot seem to be diagnosed as any particular issue. It's amazing to find the dog is positive for one or more tick diseases, treated accordingly and made healthy once again.

 

You came to the right place to be able to read so many different opinions on the same subject. Sending wishes for a proper diagnosis and easy treatment!!

 

oh....wanted to add: I overnight the blood/serum to Protatek and have the results the next day before they close. I NEVER got that sort of service from any of the other labs.

Edited by multigrey
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"It's "my" dog and I know what I see as far as behavior and demeanor....that's just as important as a tube of serum in a lab"

...and if I may add, if I'm the one paying the bill, then please do as I ask or I will go somewhere else.

 

The quote in bold is one of life's "truisms" and after almost losing one of mine because I caved to my "former" Vet's advice, you can bet your sweet bippy that it's my-way-or-the-highway since then. I am open to discussion and a free exchange of ideas or information, but when a Vet insists on doing something for no good reason other than their "comfort", I'm outta there!

 

Don't mean to rant or hijack this thread because there is excellent advice being given. Unless your Vet is or has been a track Vet, worked at OSU with Dr. Couto, Jean Dodds or Dr. Suzanne Stack, I would go with what's being said by others who know way more than I will ever know!

Please keep us posted about Bobber. I hope it's "nothing" or an easy-to-fix "something".

 

Linda, Mom to Fuzz, Barkley, and the felines Miss Kitty, Simon and Joseph.Waiting at The Bridge: Alex, Josh, Harley, Nikki, Beemer, Anna, Frank, Rachel, my heart & soul, Suze and the best boy ever, Dalton.<p>

:candle ....for all those hounds that are sick, hurt, lost or waiting for their forever homes. SENIORS ROCK :rivethead

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