Guest jjanne Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hi - I'm new here and have already found very valuable information across this site - thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences, it really does help us newbies. Anyway, we adopted our second greyhound, Connie about six weeks ago (our first, Johnny, crossed last October). Connie is 8 1/2 and had been living in Alabama all her life. She had been in a home down there for most of her life and due to health issues with her previous owner, somehow hitched a ride with a batch of track dogs to Maine. She has settled in very well with us and we love her like crazy! She's very bouncy, energetic and interested in everything. When we adopted her however, the placement service told us she tested positive for Erlychia - a tick-borne disease common in the south. She has been on Doxycycline ever since we brought her home and the vet has checked her blood twice and said the cells are still showing signs of the disease. She has an appointment tomorrow for another blood test. Hopefully she will have improved. I have done some research online about this topic but haven't talked with anyone else that has dealt with Erlychia. Does anyone have anything to share about their experiences with this? I would appreciate any info. Thanks! Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamsmom Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Ivy had Erlichea, babesiosis, anasplasmosis, and was heartworm positive. We were on doxy for about 6 months and then off for 4 months and then back on for another 6 weeks. In the begining she was really tired and we had to encourage her to eat. The second go around she had no signs other than the blood test. She is now very bouncy and energetic. Good luck to you. It's a long process but it can be overcome Quote ~Beth, with a crazy mixed crew of misfits.~ Forever and Always missing and loving Steak, Carmen, Ivy, Isis, and Madi.Don't cry because it's ended, Smile because it happened.Before you judge me, try to keep an open mind, not everyone likes your taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greybookends Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 The most common treatment for Erlichia is high doses of doxy for at least 30 days. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobelvr Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My Stosh has been treated for it several times. He was diagnosed when he came into rescue at a little over 2 years old. He shows no symptoms but his snap test always comes back positive. The vet has done some other labwork instead but I don't remember what anymore. We don't treat based on the snap test. He has had a couple of episodes of acute edema from the knee down on just one front leg which responded to a course of antibiotics. In my mind(and only my mind) this is some how related to the ehrlichia because we've never been able to determine another cause. Another thing I've noticed is his breath has always smelled a bit different those times when we treated him. He's had a lot of doxy in his lifetime. He is now 9 years old and very healthy looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zombrie Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 My GSD and my dad both had it. It made them both very, very sick. After the doxy, they were both fine. Hard to say with the dog though because she has had Ehrlicha as well as lyme (7 times), Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Anaplasmosis (all while on tick preventatives ). Needless to say she is a mess and in constant pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyhoundgirl1 Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Our girl, Malley, came to us with erlychia nearly 5 yrs ago. She was treated with 2 rounds of doxy, and now she is tested every yr along with her other tests. She's been fine, so don't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BrianRke Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Diamond has tested positive for Erlychia but she has never shown any symptoms. We did a course of Doxy a couple years ago. The vet told me she may still test positive long after the treatment. She has her annual exam next Tuesday, so I will have them check it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My Diamond almost died of it before I adopted her. She was transferred from the kennel to a foster home where she was nursed for several months. I didn't see her or know much other than that when I adopted her. I do know the insurance company refused to insure her because they said she was prone to neurological disorders and cancers because of the disease. Well..............yeah, she got cancer at age 12! Osteo. Look how many greys have OS. She was the healthiest of my 4 pack until the cancer hit. So, the insurance company goofed big time on that. Anyway....once she recovered from Ehrlichia she had no health issues for most of her life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Joining the tick list would be good How is your vet diagnosing the disease? Are you sending the tick panel to Protatek? Has she been tested for babesia? The normal treatment for erlichia is 5mg per # of body weight twice a day. So a 60# dog would receive 300mg twice a day. Is she getting the correct dose? I have information on this if you want to email me, I'll send it to you. Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HoundyGirl Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 My first grey was Erhlichia positive. Unfortunately he was 9-ish by the time it was caught -- he'd been with me a year at that point. We treated with doxy, but it never really went away. It seemed to cause joint inflammation and pain for him. He lived til 13-ish and had a good quality of life, even with having to take pain meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jjanne Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks for all the good information! Connie went to the vet yesterday and had her blood taken for a "CBS Comprehensive Idexx". Previous tests were read by the vet but he wanted this one sent to an outside lab so we won't have the results until Wednesday. She is not showing any signs of being sick or even slightly unhealthy at all so I am hopeful this test will show improvement. She is on 300mg of Doxicycline and weighs 57 pounds so that looks like the correct dose. Her original diagnosis was at the shelter upon arrival in Maine - the paperwork says she had an Iddex Snap 4DX test. They started her on the Doxi there. When we got her to our vet a few days after the adoption, he did the initial blood test to see how far the disease had progressed. Her blood cells showed some abnormalities so we have been continuing with the Doxi. Thus, she's been on the meds for about 8 weeks at this point. I am grateful that she is happy and energetic. Hopefully the Doxi will keep this thing in check and eventually clear it. Thanks again for the info - hugs to all your houndies! Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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