Anaplasmosis

[CrazyLabs]

Brought my 8 year old Lab to the vet today to get a hematoma in his ear taken care of. He was due for his shots anyway, so we rolled it all into one big appointment (read $$$). The vet told me it would be a couple of hours. They were starting with a little blood work and would then do the procedure, so I left the vet office and headed for home.

Halfway home, the vet tech called and said that she needed to discuss Max's test results. Turns out he tested positive for Anaplasmosis. It's a deer tick transmitted disease that affects dogs similar to Lyme's disease. They have to send the bloodwork to an outside lab, so we won't know if there is any kidney or liver damage until later tomorrow, but you can guess that we won't be sleeping much tonight.

Doing a little more research tonight, the Lyme's disease vaccination does not prevent Anaplasmosis, and as of right now, there is no vaccination at all. But you can bet that we are thanking our lucky stars tonight that the whole ear hematoma came about. If it hadn't, I don't know when the next time he would have been in to see the vet.

The test results that we received today pointed at a slight positive, which hopefully means that this was either caught right away, or he is only a carrier. In which case, he wouldn't show any symptoms and would not likely get sick.

But we are sending up good thoughts tonight and hoping for good news tomorrow.

[water rat]

my girl had this two years ago and has been fine since,usually a month of doxycyclene and you'll be good to go.the antibiotic Is a strong one,I remember having to keep her mello for about a half hour after her taking the med,otherwise she would throw up!

good luck.

[brittman]

If your vet is running the most up-to-date blood test (primarily looking for heartworm) they will also see evidence of anaplasmosis (if dog is infected) each spring when they run the annual blood test.

My dog tested positive and went on antibiotic treatment. She is fine other than just getting older.

One thing I learned is don't get lazy on tick prevention in the fall - plenty of "other" diseases out there. Prevention is not just vaccination. Try keep the ticks off in the first place and inspect dog when you get home.

[CrazyLabs]

We got the results back from the vet and they said that everything looks normal. So they said that a slight positive on the initial heartworm test could mean that he is carrying the disease, but it is not affecting him. They didn't give him anything to treat it, just said to watch for any symptoms until his next heartworm test. I'm not sure how I feel about that one, but that's why they get paid the big bucks, right?

Is anyone using the 12 month heartworm preventative that also has the tick stuff added in? It costs quite a bit more, but after this, I'm wondering if it's the right thing to do. Our dogs get the Frontline spring-fall, so I was thinking that it's a bit overkill.

[MuleShack]

Is anyone using the 12 month heartworm preventative that also has the tick stuff added in? It costs quite a bit more, but after this, I'm wondering if it's the right thing to do. Our dogs get the Frontline spring-fall, so I was thinking that it's a bit overkill.

Our vet started our Pup on Sentinel Flavor Tabs which kills the heart worm. They also control adult hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum), and remove and control roundworms (ascarids - Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina) and whipworms (Trichuris vulpis). In addition, Sentinel Flavor Tabs break the flea life cycle.

They also gave us the stuff in the tube that you put on the back shoulders...similiar to K9 advantix for Tick and Mosquito protection.

I do agree that checking the dog for ticks after being out is still the best prevention.