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Perry Update

4K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  Mikki 
#1 ·
So... I'm a bad mommy (ok, maybe not - but I really have to learn to put 2 and 2 together!). A few weeks ago I mentioned that Perry had an accident (peed) in the house (3x in a couple of hours). Then he did the same the next weekend. So, I figured, bad me - didn't let him out fast enough (though the boy has the bladder control of a champion - can go 20+ hours when we're traveling without needing to pee!) Also, Perry vomits - he always has, I switched him to a water bottle instead of a bowl in part because he vomits. It didn't stop it but it certainly reduced it significantly. Third thing, last weekend/ Monday of last week I thought I saw blood on the couch - but I checked him over and didn't find anything so figured I was mistaken.

Now, mind you - these were all days apart and I didn't put the three things together since all had other (individually) explanations.

Fast forward to last Thursday - I had to go out of town for 2 nights for work - hubby came with me so Perry was being watched by my housekeeper (she doesn't live in, but she stays at the house when we're out of town for short trips). Thursday morning I get a call that she's called the vet, who is now at the house, because Perry was vomiting and had blood in his poop. Vet gave him a bunch of meds (for nausea, antibiotics, a few other things) and took a blood sample. Even at that point he wasn't acting obviously sick (still running around, drinking, eating). Friday the blood test came back - he's got a bacterial infection AND tick fever (the African sort-of equivalent of Lyme's but can be more dangerous). I haven't been giving him his advantix treatment every month because I've never found a tick on him (the landlord's dog who lived with us used to get ticks sometimes when she would go outside of the yard wandering - but I've never found one in the yard). In this case I check him often and never found a tick on him either. So, guess we'll go back to doing the advantix more often even though I've never seen a tick because one obviously bit him.

He seems fine - running around as usual, eating and drinking as usual, but of course when he was diagnosed I put the three things together - hmm, maybe the peeing in the house was a symptom of the infection... the vomiting, I guess, wasn't his usual vomiting, and I guess that was blood I'd seen on the couch (even though I hadn't noticed it in his poop - but then again I don't inspect his poop very closely as long as it seems to be coming out normal). He's on 3 different meds (and seriously, if medicine companies know you need to cut them up, they should make it easier!) but doesn't seem to be having any problems. I need to check with the vet to see if he needs to get re-tested after he finishes his meds, especially for the tick fever!!

So, that's our drama this week :) It's tough when your pup gets sick but is totally not acting sick so you don't even realize it!!! On the positive side of things, it's good to know (in an example when we were actually not too far away), that my housekeeper is keeping such a close eye on him (even checking out his poop!) and calling the vet immediately without waiting to check in with me first (which is exactly what I told her to do - any concerns, call the vet and then call me). This is even more impressive when you understand that Uganda is not an inside-pet-dog sort of culture.


And on a completely different note - after 3 years of never humping anything, Perry has now decided that his opposum (which used to be his favorite toy to chew on and "kill") is his new favorite hump-toy!
 
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#5 ·
housekeeper



I have to admit that I've worried/ wondered what would happen if something was wrong with him and I wasn't home. When we go to Addis we don't always have a phone that works there and so I worry that if she can't reach me, what will happen. So now I know - and don't have to worry about it.

The thing is (and the reason I think I didn't catch it) Perry has been completely normal the whole time. I guess Thursday he was actually having some diarrhea and was a little less energetic, but otherwise he hasn't acted sick or off at all this whole time (makes it harder to realize something's wrong!)
 
#10 ·
I’ve had the same experience with DS, he’s been sick most of his life so he never complains, and he has reflux so throwing up doesn’t mean anything! Sometimes everything just makes more sense in hindsight when you know there’s an infection and it was probably brewing. But the good thing about that, at least to me, is it means he wasn’t terribly miserable! So he’ll just feel better from here on out. It’s comforting to know you can count on the people around you when you can’t be there.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Reminder Heart Meds are important not to forget, too. I'm wondering even if you give them flea and tick meds on a routine basis, the tick or flea has to bite the dog before it dies. So, I'm wondering if an infected Tick bits a dog will the dog get sick? Or, does the tick med offer protection against infected tics or fleas? Hummmm....

And .... this is good reminder if your dog is behaving differently such as starting to pee in the house and more frequently, that probably means something is going on. When Patti went into Heat she peed constantly and had several accidents in the house. As soon as she was over her period ... things went back to normal.
 
#19 ·
Perry update 2



I do give Perry his heart worm meds every month, just that I haven't been doing the tick meds... will start giving them regularly now too.

So, update - Perry had his repeat blood test last week and all is good - completely clean.

BUT - the silly bugger has started to limp/ not use his back leg AGAIN! The last time this happened the ortho said that it was his cruciate ligament and put him on crate rest (it was the 2nd time it had happened in the space of 6 months - the time before that was also crate rest while we were here in Kampala, the 2nd time we saw an ortho in the US). He healed up fine, it seemed, after that, but she said if it happened again she would want to do surgery - 3rd time is definitely NOT the charm! So, this will be the 3rd time :(

Good news and bad news at the same time - this is right before we have another trip to the US (3 weeks so Perry will come with us) so good timing to try to see the ortho again (if we can get a quick appointment since we're only there 3 weeks) - but if surgery is needed I don't know if we can get it done and the right follow ups done in 3 weeks.

So question for those who have gone through the surgery -- what was the vet follow up like after the surgery - when/ how often/ what did they do during the follow up visits/ etc.?
 
#14 ·
Deer ticks are in our area. I have found a tick on Scout's head a few times. The tick has to be attached more than 36 hours to transmit disease. I give my two NexGard. There was some information here about the medications adverse side effects. I asked the vet about seizures. He said it has happened, but it is rare. Because Scout and Truffles have been on it for a few years without any side effects I have continued to give it once a month to protect them.
 
#15 ·
The purpose of flea and tick meds is to kill the tick before it has time to transmit a disease. There are many tick diseases and some are transmitted faster than others. In our area, Ehrlicia is epidemic and it can be transmitted in three hours. There are many dogs in our area that test positive for Ehrlicia who are on preventatives. My own Mia is Ehrlicia positive. This means she was bitten by a tick with Ehrlicia and her immune system mounted a defense against it. She does not have the disease. I don’t think there is any preventative that will kill a tick in three hours. Therefore, I use topical preventatives and do frequent tick checks. I also keep her hair short and run a flea comb through her every day.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I'm sorry to hear Perry is having a leg problem Melissa. It has been two years since Scout's ACL surgeries so I don't remember all the details. He had surgery in the morning and stayed overnight on an IV Fentanyl drip. We went to see him during the night and he was able to stand. The next day we met with the surgeon and she explained what was done. The surgical assistant reviewed activity and medication instructions with us. I was surprised to see Scout walk normally down the hall to us! He needed to be crated or could sit need to us if on a short leash for eight weeks. We had to carry him outside to potty. We followed the instructions to the letter! The first week he was pretty uncomfortable and would whimper. He was on an antibiotic for a week. I gave him Tramdol and an NSAID for pain and Acepromazine to keep him sedated. I applied cool packs to the incision for a few days and then warm packs. He had a two week post-op visit with the surgeon and the staples were removed. I didn't see the exam. I'm sure they have seen some get anxious watching. �� She said he could now go on a very short walk, but needed six more weeks of crating. Scout had another recheck at four or six weeks. Eight weeks was his last post-op visit with the surgeon. He was good to go. �� Unfortunately a few weeks later he started limping on his other leg. This time the ACL ruptured, but the meniscus was not torn. Poor Scout had eight more weeks of crating. I'm grateful he had a wonderful surgeon and has made a full recovery. He runs like crazy now! I'll be thinking of you and Perry.
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#22 ·
I'm sorry to hear Perry is having a leg problem Melissa. It has been two years since Scout's ACL surgeries so I don't remember all the details. He had surgery in the morning and stayed overnight on an IV Fentanyl drip. We went to see him during the night and he was able to stand. The next day we met with the surgeon and she explained what was done. The surgical assistant reviewed activity and medication instructions with us. I was surprised to see Scout walk normally down the hall to us! He needed to be crated or could sit need to us if on a short leash for eight weeks. We had to carry him outside to potty. We followed the instructions to the letter! The first week he was pretty uncomfortable and would whimper. He was on an antibiotic for a week. I gave him Tramdol and an NSAID for pain and Acepromazine to keep him sedated. I applied cool packs to the incision for a few days and then warm packs. He had a two week post-op visit with the surgeon and the staples were removed. I didn't see the exam. I'm sure they have seen some get anxious watching. �� She said he could now go on a very short walk, but needed six more weeks of crating. Scout had another recheck at four or six weeks. Eight weeks was his last post-op visit with the surgeon. He was good to go. �� Unfortunately a few weeks later he started limping on his other leg. This time the ACL ruptured, but the meniscus was not torn. Poor Scout had eight more weeks of crating. I'm grateful he had a wonderful surgeon and has made a full recovery. He runs like crazy now! I'll be thinking of you and Perry.
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Wow! I'd have to really think about putting a dog through that type of surgery? Tough! decision. What does a surgery like that cost?
 
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