Ask the Veterinarian/RE: Medication

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Expert: - 5/25/2010


Question
My dog was currently diagnosed with anaplasmosis and is on doxycycline two X per day 100 mg each pill. How long should he have to take this medicine for? Can you also tell me or give me a website that might be helpful in understanding this disease? The vet that I go to is not very informative, keeps charging me and I feel left in the dark. I want the best care for my dog, but I don't want to be taken advantage of. Also, my dog has a case of ear mites. Is it ok to give him tresaderm ear drops while he is on the doxycycline? If not, what is safe? I am sorry to be long-winded in my questions, but, I wanted to be informative on the information I am presenting. Thankyou so much for your concern for animals. Kristin

Answer
Hi Kristin,
You have a dog with a pretty serious disease here. Anaplamosis is a tick-borne disease that is common in the southern and eastern states. Doxycylcine is the drug of choice and the medication should be continued until it is gone. Some dogs respond in 48 hours to this drug and some need to be on it for as long as 30 days.

I found some links to sites that have short explanations about anaplasmosis.

http://www.dogsandticks.com/faqs-lyme-disease-dogs-tick-diseases/#faq16

is one of them. Here are some more:
http://vetext.unl.edu/FAQ/200609150.shtml

This one is more medical so I don't know if you will understand most of it but it is more comprehensive:

http://www.capcvet.org/recommendations/ehrlichia.html

I hope your dog will improve quickly on the doxycycline. You can use the tressaderm for his ear mites but a dose of Ivermectin is more potent. Ask you vet about some drops with Ivermectin in them. He may not want to inject him with it at this time due to the anaplasmosis but the drops shouldn't pose a problem. If so, I don't think tressaderm will be an issue. Just using mineral oil and swabbing out his ears well followed by a small amount of rubbing alcohol (70%) also works.  

Let me know how he is doing in a few weeks. Once this infection clears you need to have him on a very thorough tick prevention program.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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