Leukemia in young GSD-Part 2 - Page 1

Soome of you may remember my post from August 2006 concerning a young (4+ year old) GSD who recieved a wierd diagnosis for leukemia at this thread: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/54052.html#54075 The owner visited our home last night, and the dog (after many weeks of taking a broad-spectrum antibiotic) has recovered fully from an infection, not leukemia, and is the dog he was before he became ill. His proper weight has returned, and he again enjoys eating, drinking, and being a real horse's behind. This is good news that I thought I should share and I appreciate all of the advice (especially from you Hodie) given in this post, as I was a full state away and could not be there with the owner when this "diagnosis" was made. I provided her with a link to this messagebaord where she could see the comments and use these for some direction. If there is any moral to this story, it is to be diligent when you search a veterinarian for the proper care of your dog, and to not wait until you have a dog who is sicker than you may think. This story has a happy ending. Thank you, everyone, Bob-O

I may add that if anyone seeks and finds this short thread, they may look at the original post at:http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/54052.html and read the entire story that includes the above post. Bob-O

Hi Bob-O, Great news to hear the dog has recovered. The more people know, the more good questions they can ask of their doctor or vet for that matter. All the signs pointed to infection. Of course, in life we are constantly exposed to things that can make us ill with an infection. I see problems all the time when people jump off the deep end, looking for something really out of the ordinary and, in the process, they skip the most important first steps to rule things out. This also happens on this board a lot and it is always good that people slow down, take a deep breath, and think logically. In medicine, one makes terrible mistakes of omission if one is not careful to start at the basics. Most dogs end up having relatively common and simple things wrong, just like people, in the majority of cases. Of course, as we age, then the situation can get more complicated. None the less, discipline in the approach is best. Do you know what the final diagnosis was? Just curious,,,,,,, Merry Christmas, again!

The smartest vet I worked for lived by the motto "Never overlook the obvious".

Sharyn, I never did know the type of infection that was really present. I asked the owner to take him to a different veterinarian and do a blood analysis-offsite if necessary. I don't know whether she did this, so we may never know. Once the breath odour ruled out kidney failure, then there was the issue of some jaundice. Of course if a body is riddled with infection this can cause a lot of sympthoms to appear that may misdirect someone. To me the key indicators were the elevated temperature and the high white blood cell count. Whether this was a dog or a human the first thing that I thought of was an infection. Where? I cannot say, but I suspected the bowels since there was no obviously swelling or discharge from any wounds. Leptospirosis came to mind, as did Lyme's disease. Someone suggested Babesiosis, and although it is not common in the middle Tennessee region, it could very well have been that. Although the dog had been vaccinated for Lepto and Lyme's and received his boosters over the years there is still not a 100% guarantee that he was protected, and certainly not against all available strains. It was a Saturday morning, and the lady took the dog to a veterinarian (not her normal one as he is a retired horse doctor who does minor things with dogs) who gave the dog a five-minute "diagnosis" for the presence of Leukemia and sent him home with a prescription for Prednisone. That is where I became alarmed (more like hit the ceiling!) and asked her to please seek a second opinion. Because of the timing of the latter I asked her to place him immediately on a broad-spectrum antibiotic and force water and liquid food into him with a turkey baster if that is what it took. And that is what it did take. He slowly began some improvement as his fever began to decline over the next several days. I asked her to keep him on the antibiotics for at least four (4) weeks and then take a blood sample. I can't verify whether this was done. The dog stayed on antibiotics for approximately eight (8) weeks total while his body slowly recovered. During this illness the dog lost a lot of muscle mass so his full recovery took more than three (3) months. As far as what type or organism or multiple organisms were at work inside this dog, we may never know. I have a feeling that it started with a mild infection that showed no outward sympthoms and progressed as his immune system was temporarily weakened and other parasites were able to reproduce themselves in his body. I basically followed my very basic medical knowledge and instinct when it comes to treating a sick dog: Step One-Do No Further Harm. Step Two-Consult With Those Knowledgeable. I know that if the veterinarian of choice had been the one that I was fortunate to use for five (5) years that I probably would not need to have been involved at all. In the end, I guess that veterinarians are a lot like we engineers. We all have the same basic training, but many of us tend to specialise in one (1) area or sub-area of our discipline and not be very knowledgeable about the other areas of our required study. Bob-O

Hi Bob-O, Certainly tick borne infections come to mind, and even though a dog may be partially protected by vaccination, it can still pick up infections or an infection result from a different strain. I have a club member whose dog came back from New Mexico regionals recently with leptospirosis and was very, very ill. We do not see this disease here often. Fortunately, she got appropriate care for the dog and I think he will do fine. Your suggestions were excellent and I am glad the owner followed them, to some extent. I hope, if we have the information correct, that she finds another vet. Of course, many infections, and simply being ill can result in a loss of muscle mass. Hopefully the owner will make sure the dog is receiving tip top nutrition and the dog will continue to improve. There are some blood tests that could confirm what this infection might have been, but the owner may not care to know. If it was my dog, I would want to know. Some of the diseases we are speaking about probably do require long term administration of an appropriate antibiotic. Best regards.

For fever's, I have forced Pedialyte down them. Used on the kids worked well, has worked well for the dogs to. I have even used the Pedialyte popsicles on a pup.

Pedialyte is an electrolyte replacement and, if the dog is dehydrated, can serve a useful purpose. However, obviously, it does nothing for fever. If a dog has a fever, or a human for that matter, it is the body's way of trying to make the temperature so hot the infectious organism can not thrive. But in doing so, high fevers can cause all kinds of problems for the infected organism. The most important thing is to find the cause of the fever and treat the cause.

Hi Bob O! So glad to hear that this GSD has recovered and is now doing well. What a relief to his owner I'm sure! Symptoms are sometimes so confusing, isn't it a blessing to have good people to work with and confer with also? Some people are so quick to believe anything and everything that their vet says and it is just plain sad. I'm getting to the point where I tell everyone to get a second opinion on a diagnosis, for either them or their dogs. Merry Christmas to everyone... Peggy