Dubious Drugs
Written by Pam on July 14, 2015
In this blog I would like to review the core vaccinations and drugs that are necessary for your HGT pup and those that merit more consideration as well as to concentrate on the prevention and alternative medicines to control tick borne diseases.
A young pup through its 16th week of life should be given all of its core vaccinations as well as the one non-core, Bordetella inter-nasal or vaccination that is a good deterrent for kennel cough. After the core vaccinations are done, the dog should be seen annually at your veterinarian’s office. During this annual visit, you should consider a CBC or a total health titer test that will test for certain ailments from one vial of blood and to make sure our HGT puppies are healthy & perfect!
The concentration of this blog will be the insect borne diseases that our dogs can catch from a single bite. There are a number of topical solutions to place on the dog’s coat to help prevent mosquitoes and ticks from biting. There are even more monthly medicated treats to give your dog in attempts to try and prevent heart-worm but there really isn’t anything 100% effective!
Ticks become infected with the bacteria from not only deers but from infected mice and other small animals. For example the diseased tick that is carrying the spirochete bacterium or Lyme disease or possibly Anaplasmosis or maybe even Ehrlichiosis will cause the transmission of this bacteria and it typically requires only a minimum of 24 to 48 hours of tick attachment. I am sure that everyone has heard of these tick borne diseases, but I am not so sure that everyone knows of how one single bite can cause devastation for the human care giver and debilitation for the dog. Some dogs have been biten by a tick and do test positive for Lyme disease without any symptoms. An annual blood work-up will definitely come back with a positive or negative result and treatment will should happen even though no symptoms are visible. These tick borne diseases can manifest themselves as other symptoms – from fever, fatigue, muscle and joint aches to muscle weakness and severe lameness. All of these diseases are absolutely horrible but if caught within a reasonable of time from the initial tick bite, the outcome may be more promising. The dog will need to be put on strong doses of antibiotics like that of doxycicline for 3 to 4 weeks, plus Metacam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to help eliminate the inflammation and discomfort so the dog can function and be whole & happy once again :*) These are medications that I am aware of for the treatment of Lyme’s disease – I write them in this blog so you would have good talking points with your veterinarian if your dog is bitten by a tick and tests positive for Lyme.
From my research I have found that there are some vaccines for Lyme Disease. I need to mention here that I am a proponent of less medicines injected into our dogs and puppies but because this horrific disease has hit very close to home here at HGT, I would certainly entertain learning more about these vaccines for Lyme disease. Further I would want to understand if they are reactive, all the notable side-effects that this vaccine will cause (after the initial injected and possibly in the future) and if it truly works for not only Lyme disease but also for Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis. This is something that I would suggest that you talk to your veterinarian about during your next visit.
This is certainly the time of year when the ticks are out and about. Make sure that you examine your puppy and your dog after a walk, a run in the park or just relaxing on your deck. On our goldens lightly colored coats, it is truly very easy to spot a tick but on the labs darker coats, you will need to spend more time examining your puppy and your dogs – but it is worth every moment! Make sure that you have hydrogen-peroxide and/or rubbing alcohol on hand. If I find a tick, off it comes immediately and then I clean and disinfect the entire area where I located the tick with a gauze square saturated with hydrogen-peroxide. Then dry off any excess liquid so the dog does not lick the infected spot. These homegrown remedies seem to help and put a stop to the localized bacteria. The problem is if the bacteria becomes systemic.
I hope everyone of our HGT families are enjoying your summer – please be safe and enjoy your furry friends by keeping them safe & healthy. Best, Pam