RMSF in dog

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
My 70lb labradoodle that never stops playing was lethargic on Friday night and had trouble standing. We thought he injured a leg or his back. I took him to the vet first thing Saturday. He needs a little help standing up but can move once he is standing. The vet did a physical exam and took his temperature and was shocked when it said 105.1. That immediately made her think of a tick borne illness. She did a blood test for Lyme and a few others but everything was negative.

She ran a full blood panel and his white blood count was elevated and his platelets were below normal. Thankfully all organ function is normal. She thinks is is most likely ROcky Mountain Spotted Feer and
gave us a 14 day course of Doxycyclene. He has a strong appetite and is drinking a bunch of water so she is not too worried. He’s had two doses now so hoping he will show some improvement later today.
 
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Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
We had a Dog years ago that came down with tick fever also. After a round of antibiotics he was fine...Good luck with your Dog..
 
beard&bow

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I had the same thing back in the summer, along with the shingles. We caught it in time, thank the Lord. Still get tired petty early in the day. And still lick my crotch in occasion. Good luck with your Dog. Glad you were able to catch it and get him treated in time!
 
aya28ga

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Dogs can get a lot of the same tick-borne illnesses as people can. Last summer my young active dog suddenly started acting like an old one, couldn't walk easily, climb steps, acted like every joint was hurting. Vet diagnosed it as Ehrlichia, one of the diseases spread by ticks. A 10 day course of antibiotics and he was good as new.
 
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nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Had one that got it about 10 years ago. At that time I had no idea a dog could get it. She also ran a real high fever. She lost a lot of weight but recovered. Took quite a while.
 
bowhuntingrook

bowhuntingrook

Old Mossy Horns
Do you guys give your dogs flea/tick treatments? Advantix or Frontline? Just curious how much of a risk it is with these
 
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nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
bowhuntingrook said:
Do you guys give your dogs flea/tick treatments? Advantix or Frontline? Just curious how much of a risk it is with these
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Yep, year 'round. But all the preventives in the world doesn't stop the majority of the ticks from biting. The damage is done then.

I seldom if ever see a tick attached on any of my dogs. My old dog that stays in the house is light colored and of course I check him several times a day. He goes in and out and I probably find a half dozen ticks on him a year and may find one or two attached in a years time. They would be dead in hours but of course I am not going to leave them on them. He is allergic to fleas and I can't remember when I have found one on him. My dogs in kennels I don't remember when I have found a flea or tick on them.
 
BigBow

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
beard&bow said:
I had the same thing back in the summer, along with the shingles. We caught it in time, thank the Lord. Still get tired petty early in the day. And still lick my crotch in occasion. Good luck with your Dog. Glad you were able to catch it and get him treated in time!
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Whaaaat?
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
nccatfisher said:
Yep, year 'round. But all the preventives in the world doesn't stop the majority of the ticks from biting. The damage is done then.

I seldom if ever see a tick attached on any of my dogs. My old dog that stays in the house is light colored and of course I check him several times a day. He goes in and out and I probably find a half dozen ticks on him a year and may find one or two attached in a years time. They would be dead in hours but of course I am not going to leave them on them. He is allergic to fleas and I can't remember when I have found one on him. My dogs in kennels I don't remember when I have found a flea or tick on them.
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Wish the drugs prevented the bite. I guess they help reduce the chances of disease being spread since they might not hang on for very long.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
He's not really doing any better today. I'm about to call the vet to see if they want to do anything else. :(
 
Eric Revo

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Poor feller....I hate this for him and the rest of the family. Do they do a titer on dogs like they do on humans?
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Eric Revo said:
Poor feller....I hate this for him and the rest of the family. Do they do a titer on dogs like they do on humans?
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Taking him back in 30 minutes. They can test for this and another but it takes a couple weeks for it to show up on the tests.
 
Eric Revo

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
GSOHunter said:
Taking him back in 30 minutes. They can test for this and another but it takes a couple weeks for it to show up on the tests.
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yes, that's what I was wondering. They started the meds on me when I went to the hospital...the titer didn't come back for a couple of weeks.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
redbow said:
Kinda late in the year for RMSF isn't it?
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Ticks are out year round. He may have also picked one up when we were down in Florida for thanksgiving.

Took him to the vet last night. His fever was only 104 this time. They did an x-ray of his stomach just to rule out him eating something strange and having a partial blockage. They gave him some anti-inflammatory's and fluids. He was running around the house a couple hours later. Now I am having trouble keeping him from exerting himself. lol
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
Glad your Dog is feeling better after the Vet visit, hope he continues to recover quickly..Yes Ticks are out year round, I have gotten them off me after going into the Croatan National Forest in cold weather many times..
 
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