Dog in dire straights

[twistedmax]

Guys , my girl Abby (lab ,collie mix) is in dire straights . We gave her a new flea and tick medication ,BRAVECTO, Its a oral , signal dose three month chew. Less then two weeks after we gave it to her she started acting very "nervous"" anxious " walking in circles , "phantom pains" being confused , staring off into space just NOT RIGHT IN THE HEAD.And shes getting no better maybe worse

We brought her to our local vet who took blood and gave and exam and found nothing , so we took her to TUFTS veterinary university they found nothing with initial exam. They contacted MERCK ,THE MANUFACTURER . MERCK generously contributed $3000 toward testing although the say this is the first of this they hear in all their testing .

SO Abby has had An ultrasound , a spinal tap , a chest x-ray an MRI and lots of blood work ALL NEGITIVE FOR lumps , bumps , or other structural causes for her behavior . no infection , good apatite .

I'm getting NO ANWSERS FROM ANYONE they say their stumped I say its from the medication , so I'm trying to find anyone else anywhere that may of heard of similar issues from BRAVECTO by MERCK or if any of you have any contacts with any VETINARIAN groups ,animal rights groups , FDA ,anything that might help me save my dog .

 

[Traumahawk]

Have they check her for an oganophosphate overdose? That is a pesticide that is sometimes used in flea and tick medications.

 

[Tex85]

I have a couple vets in the family, I'll pass this along and let you know if they have heard anything.

Sent from my LG-G3 using Tapatalk

 

[Rollie]

My wife and I rescue. We have good contacts in the vet / University of GA. circles. We'll ask around about it. Hope Abby gets over this quickly.

 

[Rollie]

Age of Abby ? Any other medicines , shots or vaccines given close to same time frame as the Bravecto ?

 

[twistedmax]

Have they check her for an oganophosphate overdose? That is a pesticide that is sometimes used in flea and tick medications.

Eric , this pesticide (active ingredient )is called FLURALANER, the Company that makes it is MERCK and the product is BRAVECTO. very new , I should have known better:bang head::bang head:

 

[twistedmax]

I have a couple vets in the family, I'll pass this along and let you know if they have heard anything.



THAT would be great , neither Tufts or MERCK have any answers , but I DONT TRUST THESE HUGE CORPERATIONS , I ( MY DOG) may be the first but I doubt it , and why were they so willing to pay for the first tests and now that no internal structural issues have been found they don't know anything Well I know that they just ruled themselves in as a very possible (even likely in my eyes ) cause

:worthy:

 

[twistedmax]

Age of Abby ? Any other medicines , shots or vaccines given close to same time frame as the Bravecto ?

Abby Is nine , no other meds at that time had a booster a week earlier. I will find out what the booster was for and get back to you ,

 

[one2dmax]

Maybe a conflict in meds between the two? Happens in humans all the time and could easily be the situation here. Sorry you're having issues. I haven't ever really had that strong a bond with our animals (though I would not wish them harm) but my wife and kids sure do so I think I understand your anxiety/grief.

Sean

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

You may not like to hear this, but since 9 years is pretty old for a large breed dog, it may not be due to the medication at all. I'm not saying it isn't, but we've had a couple of labs, one only lived to a little over 7 years, and the other 11 years. Have the vets check if maybe her organs or systems could just be on the verge of shutting down. We went through that with both our Labs.

 

[twistedmax]

She is in good physical condition, we had considerd canine dementia but there's no test for that . She's getting worse , she's terrified to go outside now .

 

[Miles Long]

Did any of the vets suggest that her condition may not be related to the drugs at all, but a result of a psychosomatic issues?
Last winter, Eric, our male cat, began acting out of character.....continually grooming and nipping at his hind quarters, until practically all the fur was gone.
He also refused to use a litter box, using the garage floor instead. He also went out of his way to annoy our two female cats. Normally he just ignores them.
The vet did a physical exam and bloodwork. Everything was O.K. She then suggested that because of the extremely bad winter we were having, and the fact that the cat was not allowed outside, he might be having "anxiety" issues, causing the strange behavior.
The vet gave us a prescription for Prozac, with instructions to crush half of a pill daily and add to his food. Within a week, Eric was back to normal.
Of course I found this very amusing - imagine giving an anti depressive to a cat! But some research on the internet showed the treatment to be very common.
What ever the cause of your dog's behavior, I wish her a speedy recovery.
Cheers!

 

[95spfldmax]

Sorry to hear about Abby, Rick.........

 

[Redbone]

I'm sorry to hear that Abby has taken ill, I hope you can find a solution soon.

 

[Rollie]

Abby Is nine , no other meds at that time had a booster a week earlier. I will find out what the booster was for and get back to you ,

Booster at nine may be deemed unnecessary. Vets offer inexpensive bloodwork called titers that test her immunological response to the vaccine. If she has enough memory cells from previous vaccines, then she can forego distemper/parvo booster for three years. Over vaccination compromises the immune system. It's like giving a 70 year old a chicken pox vaccine every year.

Oral flea and tick meds are much stronger than treatments such as frontline or advantage since they are absorbed through the skin only. This stuff goes through their internal organs, so unless she has a severe flea allergy, oral flea preventives are unnecessary. For a nine year old dog receiving a booster shot as well , may have been too much for her system.

Hope she feels better soon.

 

[HyperPete]

You may not like to hear this, but since 9 years is pretty old for a large breed dog, it may not be due to the medication at all. I'm not saying it isn't, but we've had a couple of labs, one only lived to a little over 7 years, and the other 11 years. Have the vets check if maybe her organs or systems could just be on the verge of shutting down. We went through that with both our Labs.

My mom's last Lab lived until 16. True, she was getting blind and deaf by that time, but it was Hip Displacia that did her in. My mom could not help her in and out of the house and she could not manage by herself anymore.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

My mom's last Lab lived until 16. True, she was getting blind and deaf by that time, but it was Hip Displacia that did her in. My mom could not help her in and out of the house and she could not manage by herself anymore.

Wow! 16 is really old for a large breed. Most don't make it near that. We had a Miniature Pinscher that made 16, which is about average for small breeds.

 

[Rollie]

A whole lotta Love , $ and TLC go into pets living long lives. We've had more than a few cats live over 20 years and a few big dogs over 16 . You generally have to help 'em a bit , but we have a no kill policy and euthenesia only if they are suffering.

 

[HyperPete]

A whole lotta Love , $ and TLC go into pets living long lives. We've had more than a few cats live over 20 years and a few big dogs over 16 . You generally have to help 'em a bit , but we have a no kill policy and euthenesia only if they are suffering.

Absolutely agree. Mom's dogs (almost all large breeds) typically lived to be about 15. I'm hoping that Sierra, my 10-year-old Golden Retriever, makes it to 15 or so too.

Twistedmax, I hope you get to the bottom of Abby's issues soon and that she makes a 100% recovery.

 

[johnblaid]

I'll call mine....but....the MANUFACTURER donated 3000 bucks? There's a problem somewhere and they know what it is. perhaps your vet could place another call to them and if he or she can get to the right person....well...good luck. We all hate it when our pets are sick.