Akay Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hi everyone I took my dog to the vet this morning with laboured breathing/grunting sound and a tick was found on him. The vet said it was a big tick and he graded the symptoms at 2.5. What's the prognosis here? I know it varies from dog to dog, but what are people's experiences? The only symptoms he was showing was the breathing and this was brought out greatly because I took him to the dog park, which is a good thing (I think) because the breathing symptoms he had been displaying at home were difficult to tell if they were abnormal or normal because he does make funny grunting sounds a lot normally. I'm just hoping that the severely laboured breathing was distress after being at the dog park and it being a warm day, rather than it being a rapid deterioration in his health. I just hope he pulls thru xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Can't help with any info- but am thinking of you & your boy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akay Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Can't help with any info- but am thinking of you & your boy.... Thanks :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Sorry I cannot offer any advice either. We don't have ticks here. Fingers crossed for your boy though and sending healing vibes his way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lavendergirl Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Was he on any sort of preventative? If he was that may lessen the severity. Hope he recovers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) From what I know the poison from the tick constricts the larick's & throat making it harder for them to breathe normally. I have always lived in a tick prone area. I hate the retched things. If he was on a preventitive it will lessen the serverity usually. Like Advantix or something like that. There are lots of systems & every dog is different, vomiting, change in their bark, not moving quite so freely, wobbly hind legs, off their food e.t.c e.t.c It is going to be a very bad year for them I think. I have heard of numerous cases already at our local leash free. Hope your fella is O.K. Also the age of the dog, what kind of health he was in previously? If he is young & healthy will stand by him naturally. I don't walk mine or let them wander in area's with long grass/bush. Keep our lawn mown short. I go over them every day & Advantix every 12 to 14 days + Preventic collar when they are at home or camping. Good luck. Keep us posted. Thoughts are with you. Edited October 25, 2011 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akay Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks for that information, I appreciate it, and everyone's well wishes. He's 8 and is healthy with a slight heart murmur. He wasn't on preventative, we'd just moved to the area and I hadn't got around to it yet (kicking myself!!). The vet said that he's probably had 40 cases since July and he really only services two suburbs. The area flooded in the Brisbane floods and he thinks this might be why it's particularly bad as the ground etc hasn't dried out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hope he gets better soon. I don't really like to comment on prognosis because it really depends on the dog, but if they require ventilation the prognosis is poorer and often is cost-prohibitive. It is also important to remember that the anti-toxin only bind free toxin in the system (so minimising progression of symptoms)- it cannot reverse symptoms and the dog may continue to get worse for a period after. The toxin causes paralysis of skeletal muscle, rather than constriction of airways and dogs may require help breathing due to paralysis of muscles invloved with breathing. Having said this, dogs often recover well from tick paralysis. Sending good vibes for your boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I am the same aussielover. Don't like to speculate. Aren't ticks horrible things. They are so hard to find too. Don't be too hard on yourself Akay as you may well not of known about how bad the area is for them if you have just moved there & as I said I do all of these things, preventitves e.t.c & hope mine hasn't got one as we speak. YOu can just do your best at the time. Good luck with you boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Yes I hate ticks. They can still get them with preventatives and daily checks. I know of a few dogs that have gotten them even on prevention, even an 8 week old puppy who was on prevenation and hadn't even been out of its own backyard. Sounds like you were quick to recognise the symptoms and get treatment which is the best thing you can do in these situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion 01 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) Hi Akay We had one of our girls(8.1/2 yrs old - no health issues) in at the vet for a paralysis tick about a month ago, she started going in the legs, at that stage her breathing was ok, so she was given the antivenene, and put on a drip for 4 days, they wouldn't let her out of hospital until they were sure she had her gag reflex back. We were told to keep her quiet and not to get her excited as the tick poison is still in their system. We are not in a paralysis tick area, but with the massive amounts of rain we had over the past 12 months, places that have never had them before are getting them, and the vets are being inundated with animals with tick poisoning. Hope your boy is ok, and back to normal soon. Edited October 25, 2011 by Marion 01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akay Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) Marion ~ so glad your girl got through it ok, it's horrible waiting to get the all clear. I went to the vets at 5pm and he let me see little Bailey and he was sitting up and had just had a tick wash! I was so happy to see him sitting up. The vet said that he would be fine, it's just a matter of whether he goes home tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon. I am so relieved. Looking back now, I believe that going to the dog park, which made him puff and exhibit signs of the breathing difficulties was probably the best thing, because prior to that I was only noticing a very small difference in his breathing (which was not enough to rush him to the vet like I ended up doing). So I think that if he hadn't gone and done a little bit of exercise, it probably would have been a few hours (or even the next morning) before I thought things were serious because he wasn't showing any signs of wobble in his legs or vomiting or any other symptom. Thanks everyone for their well wishes and information xx Edited October 25, 2011 by Akay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Glad he's going to be OK !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianca.a Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I am so pleased he is OK My MIL's dog was in the same situation about 3 weeks ago, and after an overnight stay at the vets, she came home. They are disgusting things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 So glad he's going to be alright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Great news, glad he will be O.K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion 01 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 How's your boy today Akay ? Hope he is recovering well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akay Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 How's your boy today Akay ? Hope he is recovering well. He's doing well thankfully (much better than my bank account!). He's having a good rest, bless him <3 He does seem to have an allergy today, which is making his nose run a bit and his eyes all droopy, so I put some ointment in the eyes. I think the allergy may be in response to some smelly stuff that they put on him when they washed him. I put some frontline plus on him when I got him home yesterday so I have to wait 48 hours before I wash him again to get the smelly stuff off him (it is designed to smell nice I suppose but I hate synthetic fragrances and I think he does too!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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