Waiting...and learning...

Just a short day or two left until Sugar's puppies arrive, and our excitement is only balanced by our concern for Moses, our 6 month old English Mastiff puppy, who is suffering from tick paralysis. Our area is very heavy on the tick population, so much so that Frontline doesn't do a thing. Moses didn't react well to it anyway, so he is treated with Ivermectin oral horse wormer paste to combat the ticks. He was fine on Friday evening at 7pm, and by 7:15, his rear legs were wobbly and he was making strange noises. I approached him, and he was just as waggy and happy as ever, rolling to have his belly rubbed. I moved and squeezed every joint, inspected both legs, belly, back & tail--nothing unusual. He had a handful of tiny ticks on each ear, so I pulled them off, as I do every day. And when he reluctantly stood up, he wasn't limping. Just looked like he was, well, almost unable to use his hind legs.

Time for Google.

Turns out that certain female ticks, when they become engorged, will inject their highly neurotoxic saliva into the bite site, and dogs who are sensitive to it can slowly become paralyzed. The paralysis starts in the throat, which explained the strange chatting he was doing. It then begins to cause weakness in the hind legs, which is what we were seeing. To reverse the condition, removal of the tick is all that's necessary, but failure to do so will result in death.

Time for the Furminator and wormer.

I searched his entire body--between toes, inside ears, inside his.mouth, you name it, I searched it. Came up with one more very small tick, and it was engorged (though still tiny). I then dosed him.with the wormer. So, now we have been waiting.

Moses is slow recovering, although he never did experience total hind leg paralysis. He has walked a bit every day, and yesterday he appeared to he regaining some strength, though only a bit. He weighs about 90lbs, or else I suspect he would be dead. I had withheld food and water as instructed by the Merck Vet Manual, but after 4 days, I decided his recovery was not going to progress without some nutrition. He had some cooked chicken for lunch, and I left his food and water with him overnight. I'm headed out to do morning chores, so I will spend time with him. Hopefully he races right up to me...I'm praying hard for him!

So be attentive to ticks. They aren't just gross, they can be deadly. The Anatolians are usually full of them, too, so tick patrol can be a full time job, but it could save their lives.

We wait...for Moses' healing and recovery, and for new life to arrive!