My dog has anaplasmosis, but her back leg lameness isn't improving.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Even if Chloe is non-symptomatic, I would recommend following through with the treatment, as Minocycline is not harmful and it is best to treat and assume the infection has been treated. This is regular practice and is done quite often. There is a confirmatory test for Anaplasmosis called a PCR. I would discuss this with your vet if you would like to help confirm an active infection. The test used in clinics typically detects antibodies, so if Chloe was exposed to Anaplasma previously and the infection resolved on its own, her body likely developed antibodies against Anaplasma and will be detected on the antibody test for years to come. So the snap test used in clinics does not confirm an active infection, just that the animal has circulating antibodies to Anaplasma, which could indicate an active infection or a previous infection. The PCR is generally an expensive test to confirm ($200-300) versus putting the animal on an antibiotic and treat for several weeks. I would discuss this further with your veterinarian if you would like to investigate further but if it was my dog, I would do the course of Minocycline and consider it treated after the course is finished. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Poor girl. Yes this tick infection can definitely cause anorexia (decreased appetite) amongst other problems such as fever, lameness, vomiting, etc. Terramycin IV is not commonly used in veterinary medicine and so I cannot say that I would use this as my first line of treatment.I would simply put Ghontu on Doxycycline oral for this type of infection, steroids and perhaps a recovery food such as Hill's Recovery, Hill's A/D, or liquid Rebound. The Rantac can also help with nausea so that is fine to continue. Please forgive me but you will have to describe what DNS stands for, since this is not a common abbreviation or known drug that we use here in the U.S. Feel free to repost with the definition of medicine spelled out. Also the Conciplex is Vit B which should be continued as long as she is not eating well. I do hope that your fur baby feels better soon! I would possibly consider having her hospitalized in the next day or two if she does not improve with at home care. I wish you all the best moving forward! Take care.

Hi Dave! Sorry to here that Cocoa isn't feeling so great! There are lots of different reasons to cause hind limb lameness in dogs. The most common ones include traumatic injuries, joint infections, tick borne diseases, neural disorders, and certain cancers. In the area that I practice, I generally consider all hind limb to be considered a result of a traumatic injury or lyme disease until proven otherwise. I would recommend having Cocoa examined thoroughly by a vet, having her temperature taken (which you can easily do at home), check for Lyme, and make sure that she is actually neurologically sound. Based on the pain response that the vet gets in the hind leg, he/she may want to obtain x rays of the leg. The most common leg injury in dogs in the hind end is the tear of the cruciate ligament. Anyway, I would try to get her over there sometime soon after the holiday weekend. In the meantime, I know it's hard to watch her be in pain, but I would hold off on giving anything like aspirin or ibuprofen. This will interfere with the vet's ability to prescribe other drugs that can be used long term. Hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Generally I will treat for 4-6 weeks with Doxycycline and then send out an anaplasmosis PCR to see if the patient is still positive. The test used in most vet clinics is a simple snap test that detects circulating antibodies to the anaplasma. It is likely that Molly will be positive on this snap test for years to come. This does not mean she is actively infected, just that she has had previous exposure to the infection. If you want to confirm she is negative after treatment, then a PCR test would be the test to run. Generally after successful treatment, I do not see any health complications. No annual testing is needed but a PCR might be something to consider running for the first 12 months every 6 months after treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

Anaplasmosis is transmitted by ticks, however what you're describing to me sounds like a "hot spot" (acute moist dermatitis), likely secondary to flea infestation. Fleas and ticks are usually combatted with one product, such as Frontline. Revolution, or Advantix, so I'm going to assume that if Eddie had ticks he could have fleas as well. I think it is possible your vet missed the spot you're referring to, however if he discussed tick prevention with you and started Eddie on a good tick preventive then that should take care of any fleas as well. However, hot spots typically need antibiotics and usually steroids, although I'd likely avoid that in Eddie's case, since they depress the immune system, which he certainly needs to fight the anaplasmosis. It's likely your vet put him on doxycycline for the anaplasmosis, but since it doesn't have great efficacy against skin infections I would definitely call your vet back and discuss this spot, and see if he wants to get Eddie on cephalexin or another antibiotic for the hot spot. Shaving and cleaning are appropriate treatments as well, and usually we want to fit them with an e-collar, to keep them from continuing to chew.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Max! Most dogs with Lyme improve on doxycycline with in 3 days and STAY better. They don't relapse on meds. The most common reason for initially doing well on the doxycycline and then getting worse again is immune mediated polyarthopathy. That is treated with immunosuppressants like prednisone. I would get a second opinion. I wish Max a speedy recovery!

Hello, sorry to hear about Maicah. It sounds like she may be dealing less likely with an infectious disease and more likely with an inflammatory disease. On her bloodwork her white blood cells, which are the first responders to an infection are in the normal range, hence why I would be less suspicious of something infectious. Her red blood cells are decreased, which could occur from a chronic inflammation, loss of red blood cells, and potentially destruction of red blood cells. On the other hand, if she has erlichia this could cause joint pain and anemia. However, you tend to see other changes in the bloodwork which are not shown in the pictures you posted. Doxycycline for 3 weeks should treat an erlichia that could be present. A snap test or a PCR for erlichia could confirm this diagnosis. The weakness in her hind end could be associated with a primary orthopedic disease or neurologic disease. Some neurologic diseases in poodles can arise from degenerative inflammatory diseases. An orthopedic and neurologic examination could test for these. X-rays could also outline a primary orthopedic issue or be suggestive of a neurologic issue as well. In summary, Maicah should be thoroughly evaluated for a primary orthopedic or neurologic issue. I am a little less concerned about the erlichia at this moment due to the lack of changes in her blood, however she should have a snap test or PCR performed to confirm this. Her albumin is elevated which could be an error from the machine or she could be dehydrated. If this is an inflammatory disease, the prednisone she was prescribed may help. I hope this helps and best of luck!