Arizona dogs and Valley Fever
Posted September 15th, 2007 at 04:46 PM by jw7
I thought I would take this chance at my first blog entry to discuss something I am going through right now, and hope to inform other Arizona dog owners about the nasty problem of Valley Fever.
About 5 weeks ago, my dog was diagnosed with this. It has not been fun. I won't go into a dissertation about the nature of the disease, but a lot of good information can be found here.
Valley Fever is a fungus that lives in the Southwest soil. There is not currently a vaccine for it or any way to prevent it save from keeping your dog inside 100% of the time (which defeats the purpose of having a dog and hurts their quality of life).
There are many symptoms described in the link above. In my case I noticed these:
The diagnosis for VF cannot be done immediately, it requires a blood test. The test is done by titer meaning they repeatedly dilute the blood sample (e.g 1:2, 1:4, 1:8...) and check for the presence of antibodies. In my case, my dog's titer was 1:32 which is a definitive diagnosis.
Treatment is done by anti-fungal drugs. In my case a drug called Fluconazole. Fortunately, this recently went generic and it won't break the bank (about $125 for a 6 month supply for a 2x per day dosage).
The downside is that the pills are the size of a small aircraft carrier (1 inch in length, 1/4 inch in diameter) and administering the pills can be quite difficult for a dog not used to it.
But the upside is that the anti-fungals work, and can eliminate the symptoms and get a happy dog within only 1-4 weeks. Unfortunately, even though the symptoms disappear, you have to continue treatment for 6-12 months depending on what your vet recommends to completely kill the fungus.
Fortunately, in my case, this has worked. All symptoms are gone, my dog is happy, looking up at me, wagging his tail and chasing the ball again. I don't think he knows he is sick anymore.
So if you have a dog in Arizona, and see that he/she is not acting normal, keep this in mind as a possibility.
About 5 weeks ago, my dog was diagnosed with this. It has not been fun. I won't go into a dissertation about the nature of the disease, but a lot of good information can be found here.
Valley Fever is a fungus that lives in the Southwest soil. There is not currently a vaccine for it or any way to prevent it save from keeping your dog inside 100% of the time (which defeats the purpose of having a dog and hurts their quality of life).
There are many symptoms described in the link above. In my case I noticed these:
- Lack of energy
- Loss of interest in treats and toys
- Difficulty standing up after laying down
- Neck and back pain - inability to lift his head over his neck to look up at me or take a treat
The diagnosis for VF cannot be done immediately, it requires a blood test. The test is done by titer meaning they repeatedly dilute the blood sample (e.g 1:2, 1:4, 1:8...) and check for the presence of antibodies. In my case, my dog's titer was 1:32 which is a definitive diagnosis.
Treatment is done by anti-fungal drugs. In my case a drug called Fluconazole. Fortunately, this recently went generic and it won't break the bank (about $125 for a 6 month supply for a 2x per day dosage).
The downside is that the pills are the size of a small aircraft carrier (1 inch in length, 1/4 inch in diameter) and administering the pills can be quite difficult for a dog not used to it.
But the upside is that the anti-fungals work, and can eliminate the symptoms and get a happy dog within only 1-4 weeks. Unfortunately, even though the symptoms disappear, you have to continue treatment for 6-12 months depending on what your vet recommends to completely kill the fungus.
Fortunately, in my case, this has worked. All symptoms are gone, my dog is happy, looking up at me, wagging his tail and chasing the ball again. I don't think he knows he is sick anymore.
So if you have a dog in Arizona, and see that he/she is not acting normal, keep this in mind as a possibility.
Total Comments 5
Comments
|
Bob, it's great to know your dog is doing better. You know, while it's not a dog, i had Valley Fever in High School for about three weeks...it's awful.
|
Posted September 15th, 2007 at 10:46 PM by Mike Olbinski
|
|
|
Bob -
Thanks for the information. Glad to hear your dog is fully recovered. |
|
Posted September 16th, 2007 at 11:43 PM by Brian in Mesa
|
|
|
What would we do without our dogs?
 I look at mine everyday and just laugh..they give so much joy. |
|
Posted September 17th, 2007 at 06:09 AM by Mike Olbinski
|
|
|
|
|
Posted September 18th, 2007 at 05:22 AM by Mike Olbinski
|
|
|
Much respect to you amigo. I admire you and got nuthin but love. I got my dog Humboldt in Humboldt, when I was traveling via back pack. He was 10 months old, and spent his first two years of life on the road.
I always made sure he ate before I did, and I never had to worry about anything when I was sleeping, homie had my back. His biggest pleasure was pulling me around on my longboard, we invented urban dog sledding together. I still miss that dog like crazy. Stay up homie. |
|
Posted December 10th, 2010 at 11:10 PM by desertdawg
|
Recent Blog Entries by jw7
- Arizona dogs and Valley Fever (September 15th, 2007)
