EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I am now nursing back to health the Squirt dog, a jagdterrier, described in this story posted elsewhere:

http://bnahogdogs.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=dogsforsale&thread=22&page=1

I have heard of the tick paralysis, but never encountered a serious case before.  Squirt was running a plantation last Saturday night and Sunday north of Baton Rouge, not far from the MS/LA state line.  I do not ever recall pulling a tick off this dog, so he has not been exposed to many ticks.

This morning, a week later, he is down in his kennel and looks like he is having seizures.  The other 5 dogs in my kennel that ran with him are fine.  I check his respiration, which is only slightly elevated above normal, but his heart rate is racing!  His gums are pale and his eyes are super dialated.  He is in shock.  He cannot sit up, turn over or even get up onto his sternum or belly.   He can hardly raise his head half-way.

I take him up to the house and get him in the cool air.  I pull 5-6 ticks off him and can find no more, and my son and I searched hard.   I inject him with a sedative I have to counter act the shock and give him a dash of steriods.  I shave his foreleg and get an IV ready for insertion.  But then I think better of the idea and look for my friend Dr. Larkin's phone number.  But I lost it when I lost my cell phone last week when after a hunt, tired, I ran it in my clothes through the washer!  So I get it off the internet.

I get ready to take him to the local vet who by their own admission don't do well with emergencies and trauma cases, but before hand I call Dr. Larkin in Bude, MS for advice.  I describe all I know and what I done so far.  He says I have a case of tick paralysis and he is confident I can handle it myself at home if I follow his Rx.  He says I have to up the dose on the steriods and bath the dog in a flea and tick killer shampoo.  He says I need to get all the ticks off, especially the seed ticks, the tiny near flea sized ones.  He adivised the dog will not recover fast, it will take a full day or so.  I find about ten more ticks during the bath.  Bathing a paralyzed dog is like washing a wet dish cloth with a wet dish cloth!  LOL!

Well, we are now 8 hours out from finding Squirt down and appearing near dead, and he is up on his sternum, alert and looking all around.  No more shock symptoms.  Starting to be his wired up get in trouble self again!

Thanks Doc Larkin!!!!

Im very glad you dog is doing better!

Great post! Sorry for you and your buddy, but this post will help someone when it happens to them, I'm sure squirreling this info away in the 'things to remeber' file

I really hate that it happened to anyone but I am glad I heard about it. Me and my wife have grown up with hunting dogs and neither of us have heard about that. I will ask my vet about it. But once again I am so sorry it happened to you but thanks for the info

hope the squirt makes a full recovery!!!

Update:

Squirt is fully recovered less than a day later.  If I hunt tick country again, I will use Sevin dust or something on him to keep ticks off.

Sorry to hear about your dog and that is some serious stuff.

Years ago a landowner I leased land from had his son bit by a rattle snake in his front yard. As he got older his hand and arm were beginning to draw up. I got him in the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for corrective surgery.

The kid in the bed next to him was suffering from Lyme disease. He was in super bad shape and was paralyzed. From what I heard it took several months for him to recover.