I was hoping to make a post about Izzie and how much she has grown in the short time I've had her and come back from the vet with a clean bill of health, but unfortunately not!

I got Isabella from her breeder last June, so now Izzie and I have been best buds for more than a year now. She was due for her yearly checkup and rabies and parvo yearly vaccinations. I had told the vet that she has been bitten by a lot of ticks since we moved into our apartment and that I wanted the Lyme disease test done on her just in case.

The test he did checked for four tick borne diseases (ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease.) After a few minutes (the test was to take at least 10) he already started to see in the test that it was coming up positive for anti-bodies responding to a A. phagocytophilum infection (part of the ehrlichiosis test.)

This bacteria causes lethargy and joint pain in the dog. Luckily, Izzie hasn't shown any of those symptoms yet, but the vet said that if left untreated should could be put in a lot of pain over the years. Why do that to my best friend? The next step was either to watch and wait, do more blood work to see if it is indeed a large infection ($200-$300) or hit her with the antibiotics anyway ($30.) I think you already know which one I chose. I am not sure why my vet would even suggest more costly blood work when a simple, cheap, antibiotic will clear it right up. :-p

So, I throw in 1 1/2 pills into some peanut butter once a day for her and I'll have to do it for a month. Hopefully, she'll be A-OK. But now what am I supposed to do about the crazy amount of ticks around my apartment? I talked to some of the other dog owners in the apartment complex and they have all been complaining about the amount of ticks around. We all use a flea and tick treatment on our dogs but we still see them. One lady called up the manufacturer and complained and they responded that the treatment is 99.99% effective. If the dog is getting ticks it means that you have an INFESTATION of ticks in your complex. UGH.

I think I am going to have to formally complain to the management today and see that they spray around the entire complex and not just around your own apartment. Apparently they only spray bug killer if you request and only around your apartment not the whole complex. Too bad for us owners that walk our dogs all over the place! :-(

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Comment by Cassie and Jaunty on August 17, 2009 at 12:36pm
I had ehrlichia last year. A high fever and aches and pains, sent me to the Dr. The month of antibiotics seemed to do the trick. But, watch out for yourself too! You may want to mention this to your landlord, he/she may not care if your dogs get sick, but I'm sure he wouldn't want to pay your Dr. bills if you get sick because he wouldn't take care of the tick problem! I walk my dogs daily down deer trails and in the spring and summer I pick ticks all day. Just one reason that I hate summers, and can't wait till there's snow on the ground! Glad you caught it early in Izzie, and makes me think that I should have blood tests done on my dogs in the fall, even if they're not showing symptoms.
THANKS!
Comment by Carlie on August 17, 2009 at 11:06am
We have a high number of ticks around our complex too ( we live right outside of Valley Forge PA) and they are crazy up here. In addition to using Frontline and Advantix (we have found that Advantix works better). We also have both of our dogs receive the Lyme Vaccination every year. We also use an all natural flea and tick shampoo, called "Richard's Organics: Flea and Tick Shampoo" It's in a blue bottle and makes them smell like cloves :). We also use a home spray, it smells like cedar, and it's called "Natural Chemistry, Natural Flea and Tick Spray." We normally spray that around doorways leading inside and outside the house. Hope this helps, ticks are nasty little buggers and whenever I find one I always make sure to make it suffer a horrible death... :).
Comment by Beauty and the Beast on August 17, 2009 at 10:53am
Oh, so sorry for your little girl.
Definitely have the management spray everywhere, and ask other dog owners to sign too. For now just find aother place to walk if there is one.
And you're going to have to check her for ticks after every time she's been out.
I hope she feels better soon!
PS: Can you vaccinate against those parasites?

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