Pythiosis is IN CT :( a must read if you don't know what this is.

[JakodaCD OA]

kat I don't know( It may go into detail on the website I posted, I didn't go thru the whole thing..

[CainGSD]

I have a friend that lost a promising young gsd to this disease here in Florida. It is most prevalent along the gulf coast region of the US. Obviously it is being seen in other less common area. I also know of several other gsd in this part of FL that were tested and found to be either positive or borderline for this fungus.

It is very scary how fast this can progress.

[lorihd@comcast.net]

WOW, ive never heard this before, thanks for the info.

[jocoyn]

We obviously cannot avoid ponds or lakes or swamps. I gather we just keep a strong immune system and give a bath after getting home from searches involving same. I will be looking for more and am training Beau not to drink any ground water. Period. But part of scentwork *is* tasting the water which he has to do. Eeeeek.

We have been more selective about swamp searches in the lowcountry for HRD at least for our own safety and that of our dogs. When someone has to accompany you will a high powered gun less a wild boar charge or an alligator attack...

But I grew up in Central Florida and had enough high school friends loose dogs to gators to know. Dog + Waters Edge = Its over -- Those suckers can MOVE. Closest I ever came to loosing it was when Grim flew into a drainage ditch in the SC low country to cool down and it was too steep for him to get out. Two firemen made a chain and pulled him out by his neck and QUICK.

[JanaeUlva]

From this article - http://www.nativeremedies.com/petali...ncer-dogs.html
"Regardless of the fact that water is utmost necessary for the survival, we have paid little regard to this natural source of life. As long as the water around us is polluted, the only prevention that we can take for our pets is to keep them away from potentially infected water. It is also recommended that dogs should not be allowed to drink from puddles and ponds. Even if this care can be taken, dogs still face a risk from contaminated grass that has come in contact with contaminated water.

It is improbable that we will be able to keep hunter dogs away from swamps and stagnant waters. Unless we take efforts to make our planet greener and avoid polluting the atmosphere and water, it seems that we may have to be careful of the contamination that exists."


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[LuvWorkingGSDs]

A local dog died from systemic pythiosis about 5 years ago. It was a very difficult diagnosis since it was somewhat a disease of exclusion at the time. Many vets had never heard of it and by the time they realized what it was, not much could be done. It is good for owners and veterinarians to be aware that this disease is a possibility!

Originally Posted by jocoyn

We obviously cannot avoid ponds or lakes or swamps. I gather we just keep a strong immune system and give a bath after getting home from searches involving same.

I think this is a wise assessment. We cannot nor should we keep our dogs from the things that make canine life so joyful in an attempt to prevent rare diseases. I have a small pond on my farm that one of my dogs swims in quite frequently. I work to keep it from becoming stagnant, but it is by no means 'clean'. Then again he eats raw hunks of meat at every meal, bits of decomposing animals he finds and plenty of small animal poo on our hikes or while I'm working outside.

Something worth noting is the dog I knew who succumbed to pythiosis became symptomatic not long after a rabies vaccine. Makes sense considering fungal infections are opportunistic and vaccinations may temporarily cause immunosuppression.

[jocoyn]

True. I am surprised when a team member brings a dog to training and hands me a copy of the vaccine records (I am team secretary) and their dog had a DHLPP AND the rabies shot on the same day along with bordatella for good measure AND they are out training. Some have thrown in Lyme.

Many hunting dogs have natural immunity to this fungus I gather. I may be more vigilant with giving homemade kefir too as it has GOOD fungi in addition to GOOD bacteria to help fight the bad boys.

I pretty much don't exercise my dogs the day of any shot then keep it low key for about a week or two. No training or working off of my property. Well we are not due for Rabies until 2015 for Beau and Grim (9.5 years old) may just go under the radar. He is old and does not leave my property anymore very much. Certainly he is not running around in the woods like Beau is. Given the greater reaction of the rabies I may just take Beau out of commission for 3 weeks. 3 weeks, every three years is not so much. So far he has had no vaccination issues.

I knew several cadaver dogs that worked Katrina died of "cancer" shortly thereafter as did one who extensively worked Floyd.

I posted on another thread about the vet getting me lepto nosodes. I am being open - I don't know what if any value they will have for prevention but I still think the first line is due diligence. Many of these emerging tropical diseases are impacting us! West Nile, Dengue, Chagas, I never knew about these things 15 years ago.