FYI, Fatal Tick Bite in Dogs

[EddieWalker]

We had a big scare this morning. One of our dogs,. Raiden, was lame this morning in his back legs. We noticed that he had trouble getting up on our wood floor yesterday, but thought it was more funny that his feet kept slipping and never thought that there might be a problem. That was a HUGE MISTAKE that could have led to his death!!!!

Tick Paralysis in Dogs | petMD

We took Raiden in to the vet and he did a full exam, including an x ray of his spine and hips. The x ray showed that everything was good. The vet feels it's tick paralysis caused by the saliva in some ticks. The paralysis acts quickly over a couple of days and starts with his balance and legs. Then it works into his internal organs, and they dog dies. From what we are learning, it happens in days!!!!

The Vet gave him huge amounts of steroids and antibiotics this morning. Now, several hours later, he seems to be responding and is now able to sit up and even stand a little. He is still very shaky and he went back down right after getting up, but we are encouraged that the medicine is working.

This shook me up and I wanted to share with everyone in case you ever notice your dog losing his balance and/or quickly goes lame. There is very little time to act once this happens!!!!

 

[zzvyb6]

Did the Vet find a tick or tick bite site ? I give mine anti-tick preventative (Frontline and there is also a cheaper version at Costco under their own brand name). I use a tick comb on them frequently and do find them. Actually, I find them on ME in the Summer and Fall.

I read and have been told that soldiers returning from Irag and Afganistan have been using Frontline on themselves because of all the fleas and ticks there AND they have had some bad reactions to it.

So, BOTLO for bugs on your pets and yourselves. Sounds like there is now a dog version of Lyme disease.

 

[EddieWalker]

We have found ticks on both of our dogs ever since we have lived here and never did anything more then remove the tick. We've tried a few different things to keep ticks off of them, but found that none of them are 100%. Karen found a tick on him two weeks ago, but didn't find one when she looked this morning. Then while at the vet, I was petting him and felt a tick in the thick hair on the front of his neck. This pretty much confirmed it being tick paralysis. He has all of the symptoms listed on the link. We just didn't realize he was suffering from it until it was almost too late. We both feel that if we had not gone to the vet today, he probably would not have lived to tomorrow.

 

[kcflhrc]

Hope he gets well soon. He is obviously an adult dog but I have seen Bee Stings do weird things to pups. It really screws them up. Have never heard of this tick paralysis.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you. He is an Akita and he just turned one year old a week ago. He is 89.5 pounds and considered show quality having beat several top 20 adult Akitas at the shows he's been entered into. Showing him is a hobby of my wife, but that will end the day we think his health is in danger.

Raiden is the one in back




Raiden with a judge and his handler after winning 2 points at a show

 

[kcflhrc]

Man, he is beautiful. Get well soon Raiden

 

[Ed of all trades]

It can also effect humans. One of my old neighbors from central Va had something very much like that. He could not walk or feed himself for a while and had a bunch of other problems. The Doc's said it was from a tick bite so I assume it was the same thing. Ed

 

[BoylermanCT]

Ticks are going to be very bad here in the Northeast. Winter has been so mild that they will come out in Spring with a vengeance. Just had to bury my 10 year old dog today. She got limes disease from a tick when she was a puppy, and this compromised her system and she died from kidney disease. She was a Schipperke, and they norrmally live to be 15-16, so she was robbed of 5-6 good years because of the ticks. But I am thankful for the mild winter today, as I could have never buried her in a normal winter without a backhoe. Was able to dig down 36" with just a shovel.

Glad Raiden is back on the mend, hopefully he will make a full recovery.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sorry for your loss. This is different then lyme disease. This affects his muscles and paralyses them. If the meds do not work, it will continue to spread until he is unable to breath or his heart stops. Death happens in a few days to a week. Since posting this on Facebook and Texas Hunting, I've been informed of this happening to others. They thought their dog just needed some rest, or they where going to bring him in on Monday instead of right away.

From what we've learned so far, it's a female tick with eggs that causes this. They have something in their saliva that causes the reaction. We've found a total of 3 ticks in our other akita, but still just the one in Raiden. Removing the tick is very important. The longer it is attached, the more poison they get and the worse the symptoms become. Giving them something that kills ticks is supposed to stop this, but finding them and removing them is still the best.

What does everyone use to spray for ticks in your yard?

 

[mkr7734]

Wow that is good information to know. Never though about it but we used to always use the tick drops when we had the dogs. I have not been able to bring myself to get another dog since we lost our last one of 14 years.
That is one of the problems living in a warm climate all year around. Nothing ever dies when it comes to bugs.
Hoping Raiden get well soon.