Max's hair Update 1/26/14

[mamabear]

Found out that instead of coming in at 5pm she came in early and called me when I wasn't home. She never left a message either.

I called again this morning and asked to speak with another dr., the one who saw max orginally and he hasn't called back yet either and I've been home all day and forwarded the phone to my cell as well. it's now just after 7pm. I relaly hope he calls.

[mamabear]

long story short, a different vet called me back last night after 9pm. she said kidney's she isn't worried about, the liver she is unless teh test was a fluke. retest him in 4 weeks and lets see.

I gave him his first worming today, it was powdery stuff I had to put on his food. I have two more days of it to do.

I also need to test him for heartworm and lyme before I start him again on heartworm. He wasn't tested last year because the vet I saw said don't test. well I have come to find that he was an idiot and I want to test him again and since we are doing that I want a lyme as well just in case. I dont want to wait for weeks till the repeat test so I'll take him in next week.

[k9Karen]

High eosinophils are associated with allergy and parasites. especially worms. The monocytes are involved with inflammation, which may or may not be due to infection. Since the neutrophil count is normal, I'd interpret this as inflammation as opposed to infection. I don't see a kidney issue - yes the BUN is a bit elavated, but creatinine is more indicative of kidney damage than BUN, and his creatinine is very normal. High BUN by itself really doesn't mean much - usually it's caused by dehydration/fasting before the blood is drawn, in people at least, so I suspect the same thing happens in dogs. The high liver enzymes (AST and ALT) are what concerns me. If this was my dog, I'd, at minimum, want an ultrasound of the liver, with specific emphasis on looking for anything that might be parasitic. A liver biopsy might also be something to consider.

Traci, can cystocercosis be a problem in dogs? With a raw diet, I would be concerned about it.

[mamabear]

karen thank you.

isn't cystocercosis from pork or is it from other meats as well? Max only gets human grade(what I eat) raw meat, once in a while he might have some fat we cut off of our steak before we cook it.

Any veggies or fruits we give him are washed and I eat everything that is given to him. I made a habit of eating a piece of everything he gets except the raw eggs, i dont taste them but they are from the same batch of eggs I use to cook with. Ya know raw potatoes aren't that bad.

max had eaten before he got there, not right before but he did eat before then. he drinks well so I'm not sure he was dehydrated, but you never know. crazy things can happen.

we are holding off on the MRI because he truly shows no other symptoms. but he will get another blood work up done, i wont forget to do that.

[mamabear]

will the worming(panacur) help if he does have cytocercosis?

[Traci]

I think cysticercosis has several forms, and I believe dogs can get it but the circumstances of transmission would be rare here in the US - it is underdeveloped countries with poor hygiene standards and practices of eating raw meats, or lack of clean water etc where it is most prominent. It is shed in feces, ingested (larvae), shed again where another host could pick it up by contaminated food, water, or fecal material. Different forms affect different mammalian species so it might necessitate some specific type of test, and the vet or lab's ability to identify it. I doubt this is concerning for Max.

[k9Karen]

Cystecercosis can be caused by either the beef or pork tapework (Taenia solium or Taenia saginata), so if you are feeding raw beef, it is possible. The worms can be found in the meat (they produce a bump or "cyst" in the muscle which is referred to as a measle, the term "measley" comes from this) and can be passed that way, not just in feces. In the U.S., inspections are mandated by the FDA and are supposed to catch the meat that is infected so it doesn't end up in the food supply. Unfortunately, there isn't enough money to do frequent inspections, and we all know what can happen when people think they aren't being watched.

[mamabear]

I just wanted to say that he eats primarily chicken

[mamabear]

Hi everyone! So much has happened since I last posted. I will try not to be too long!
I was told max would not regain his hearing. Even after I told vet that I know dogs with ear infections do.
6-8 weeks after the initial infection his hearing was back and he was listening as well as he was before this all happened, now that I said that this actually means he is still not listening to me only because he is a stubborn boy!

I have had so much going on with my own health that I had to put max on hold for a time. My pulse was skipping beats and after several trips to the dr. and hubby working from home to help me they have found that I have a strong heart and the PVC's are "nothing to worry about". I say bs because I have never had them before but oh well, I started taking suppliments (my dr knows) and I am feeling better. Still some issues but better enough that I'm ok to deal with max.

Max has been great, he goes for walks with us all the time and is his playful 7 week old puppy self. I did bath him in October with the shampoo that dr. gave me and it didn't help. He still scratches all over his body.

I brush him several times a day with a very soft brush. He sits there and waits(it is the ONLY time he listens to me).

I called for appt. for grooming for yesterday but canceled it because I noticed that max's fur looks like i put powder on it. Like I dumped flour or powder on his fur and he shook it off but you can still see that there is stuff on it. Of course he didn't get into the flour so I want the vet to see the fur and what it looks like and will demand a skin scrapping. I will take him to see the vet while he is fasting and just feed him right after we get home so he doesnt miss a meal.

I will have her run another set of sets on him to check his liver and kidney functions to make sure all is well or if there is really a problem so we can deal with it.

I also noticed that max has a mass growing on his tail close the base of his tail. I touched it and felt it and thought it was a testicle! I was shocked! I looked at it and it is hard, not covered in fur at all but has veins on it. So I was pretty peeved that they missed that during the exam last time which I know he must have had it. But will make sure they look at it and check it out.

He does look for Sgt. every once in a while but he is truly very happy and back to his old self.

I will make sure I see the original dr. I saw and not the woman.

Hoping all is well with everyone !

[Traci]

Mamabear - that lump could be a sebaceous cyst, or an infected cyst - sometimes these occur on the tail base (mostly in cats), when there is a skin condition going on, or if the fur is unkempt in that area, etc (sometimes illness like hypo or hyperthyroidism, diabetes, others can be associated, but those things should be ruled out with bloodwork).

Are you sure the white in his fur isn't dander or very dry skin? Sometimes, the skin is so dry, and when dogs or cats don't groom often, it will flake and sometimes those flakes can be very very tiny, just like dandruff/dander. So, rule out exceptionally dry skin, mites, allergies.

You said he keeps scratching, so dry skin, mites or allergies should be ruled out, it may not be necessary for a skin scrape, your vet should be able to determine that just upon an exam.

Hope you're feeling better - did you have any stress tests done at your doc's? That might be a first step when ruling out respiratory/heart problems, of course, combined with other tests. There are hundreds of reasons your pulse can fluctuate, or heart palpitations, etc, I'm assuming you discussed the variables in greater detail with the doc?