Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease
Canine Borreliosis is caused by a unique germ, a spirochete called Borrelia burgdorfer the name of which is not particularly important. While the disease has been reported in Europe since the early 1900’s, it was firmly diagnosed first in North America 1975 near Lyme, Connecticut, hence the popular name.
The Lyme germs do not survive free-living in the environment. They live only in living ticks and animals. The primary vector for Lyme is the tick Ixodes which is a “hard tick”. These ticks are quite small (less than 3 mm in width) and are commonly referred to as deer ticks because deer are one of their main hosts. Natural infection requires at least 48 hours for the tick to be attached to a dog but once these germs enter a dog’s body, they usually result in a true infection which can be very persistent. The Lyme organism, according to some researchers, can proliferate in a dog’s body for very long times, maybe even the life of the dog. The good news is that most infected dogs never develop any signs of illness. In dogs that do develop illness, the germ likely invades tendons, joints, and other adjoining tissues. The real problem is not the germ itself but the inflammatory response the dog’s body creates as a result of the germ. According to experts, between 5% and 10% of infected dogs actually have symptoms which develop within 2 to 5 months after the tick bite. It is speculated that the dog’s immune system condition plus the number of ticks that bite the dog determine the severity of symptoms.
Typical signs of Lyme Disease are fever, failure to eat, swollen lymph nodes, and sporadic lameness due to arthritis of several joints. In my experience, the typical lameness is of the “shifting” nature, i.e. the dog is lame on more than one leg and favors one then the other over time. Also, I have felt that the arthritis typically starts in a joint that is close to the area of the tick bite although that might have happened months before. There are reports of heart disease as a result of Lyme infections but, in my practice, I have not diagnosed this condition.
An accurate diagnosis of Lyme Disease can be frustrating. First, the dog’s basic blood count and other routine tests are often inconclusive. Secondly, the tests for antibodies (the body’s immune response to an infection) vary in their accuracy. It seems that lots of conditions can give a false positive even in the best laboratories. Of course, if one could actually culture the spirochetes in joint fluid or surrounding tissue, which would be a strong diagnosis but the Lyme germ typically, has fairly low numbers of organisms present. There is a nice test called a “PCR” that is quite accurate. It requires a skin sample from near the tick bite, again which probably happened months ago or maybe some skin from around the joint area that is affected. Joint fluid or even urine may show a positive to Lyme using the PCR test. The problem with the PCR tests is that a negative doesn’t mean the dog does not have Lyme.
Since we struggle to prove the diagnosis, veterinarians often just use the symptoms we see along with the history to make a diagnosis. Then, we give the appropriate antibiotic for the Lyme spirochete and stand back. Sure, we get some good results at times but research documents that many dogs continue to have low-grade infections of the spirochete despite aggressive appropriate treatment.
While there are vaccines available for Lyme Disease, I recommend a long conversation with your local veterinarian about the advantages and disadvantages of Lyme vaccination. There are issues but many veterinarians routinely vaccinate for Lyme Disease.

Rat Poisoning

Hunting dogs are generally exposed to more toxins than house pets. The most common poisoning we see in hunting dogs involved "commercial anticoagulant rodenticides" or, more commonly called "warfarin poisoning".
These poisons are commonly used by homeowners and exterminators and our hunting dogs are better at finding something that smells good than most dogs. Almost all these poisonings come from ingesting the actual poison as opposed to eating a dead rodent. These chemicals are well absorbed with peak blood levels occurring within 12 hours after consumption.
These toxins interfere with normal blood clotting and death occurs from internal (or external) bleeding. Usually, signs of these poisonings don't show up for 24 to 36 hours after they eat the stuff and often times it may take 2-5 days for the signs to show up.
Non-specific signs are lethargy, depression, and failure to eat. Your veterinarian will often find pale gums, weakness, and a poor pulse quality. Many of these dogs vomit blood, pass blood in the stool, have difficulty breathing, and have bruises on the abdomen. When your vet takes blood from a vein, it will often bleed for a prolonged time.
Your veterinarian can diagnose the condition via laboratory tests that determine the "prothrombin time" and the "activated partial thromboplastin time".
The typical presentation we see with a hunting dog is "Doc, I think my dog ate some rat poison." but the dog appears quite normal. Typically, with these dogs, if the ingestion has been less than 3 hours, we make the dog vomit. Most of these poisons have a green color, so often we can see the remnants in the vomit.
The real antidote is Vitamin K-1. We like to give an injection first and send home some Vitamin K capsules. If the dog at one of the first generation rodenticides like D-Con, we will treat them for about 6 days. But, the newer rodenticides are much more potent containing a long-acting poison called bromadiolone, brodifacoum, diphacinone or chlorphacinone. These poisonings require 4 weeks of treatment! Ideally, the owner gives the Vitamin K with a high-fat meal to enchance the antidote's absorbtion.
If a dog presents with signs of bleeding already, the situation is much more dire. Then, we get into oxygen therapy, blood transfusions, and giving fresh-frozen plasma. These can be big cases.
The prognosis for dogs that do not have signs of active bleeding is excellent but if the dog is bleeding internally, the prognosis is guarded.

Apologies for Lack of Posting

Sorry about the lack of posting of late. For several weeks, I have just been busy and not in the mood.

Then, I went to Oklahoma for a week deer hunting. [Yes, I killed a nice 8 pt that the landowner said was in the "140 class". I haven't measured him so I can keep saying that.]

Something solid coming in the next few days...

Dr. Coffman

Energy Supplements for Hunting Dogs

I guess the most common question I get around field trials and hunt tests involves something to "give my dog a boost". This desire for helping dogs perform better is reflected in the dozens of products for sale that offer nutritional supplementation. If we look closely at the energy needs of hard working dogs, we can make a better choice as to which product to buy and even if we need to supplement our hunting dogs.

In my view, the very best supplement available is just another handful of dog food. The commercial diets available for hunting dogs today (the one's with the word performance in their brand name) offer a balanced, complete nutritional matrix that outperforms any magic powder you mix in the food or in the dog's water. Most dogs that I see professionally that are off in weight or lacking stamina either have a medical condition or they are not getting enough of the right kind of dog food. This means 20% fat on the bag's label from a respected manufacturer.

Fat is where it is at for hunting dogs. These high-fat diets allow for maximum energy usage. Even dogs that are soft and out of condition perform better when fed a high-fat diet. Ideally, the dog is fed this type diet for at least 8 weeks before hunting season begins to allow for the little energy furnace in muscle cells to adapt to the high energy foods.

For maximum endurance, you should not feed your dog the night before going hunting. My Dad told me that 40 years ago and now his advice is documented by real research. This tactic can increase a dog's endurance by up to twice what it would have been if he were fed the night before. In addition, do not feed your dog the morning before going out. The reasons are two-fold: First, the empty gut allows for less straining to defecate, decreases the level of intestinal flopping around in the abdomen, and just makes the dog lighter in weight. Secondly, if a dog eats a big meal, his insulin "spikes" which tends to decrease the animal's ability to mobilize stored fat thus decreasing his energy level.

If you insist on giving your dog an energy snack during the day, pick a high-fat, small volume treat like a hot dog wiener or a piece of that old deer sausage you didn't eat last summer. But, if you do that, keep it minimal and give it to him just before you turn him loose.

Obviously, if you hunting for several days in a row, you have to feed him sometime. I recommend feeding him as soon as possible after you come in from the field or blind. Let him cool off for a while, say 1 hour, then feed him before you go out to eat or to a bar.

All that being said, most hunters want something to give to the dog during a day's hunt or at least at night to give them a "carb boost". After several days of hard hunting, the dog's stored energy (called glycogen) will be decreased, so it is acceptable then to begin some type of daily supplementation. The key ingredient in these type products is maltodextrin, typically mixed in water which you can carry in your vest or blind bag. Pure maltodextrin is available and you can mix about 1/3 cup per 40 pounds bodyweight in about 2 cups of water. This is the gold standard for carb boosting.

One commercially available product that I have personally used and believe in is called K9-Restart made by Tech Mix (www.techmixinc.com). K9Restart in only 10% fat but it does have maltodextrin in it. I have used this product for several years and it is one of the few that I can say that I actually see a difference in the dog's performance. It is cheap and good which is rare nowadays.

While providing extra energy is important, do not overlook the need for hydration. A dog with a dry nose cannot smell as well as one that is well hydrated. The use of electrolytes in dogs is controversial. Some experts think that adding electrolytes may actually increase the level of dehydration while others think that dogs lose some electrolytes in the moist air panted via the respiratory tract.

Bottom Line: Feed correctly and timely. Give your dog some type of energy supplement just before going hunting, i.e. a wiener and maybe give him some K9 Restart as the day progresses.
Feed him as soon as possible after he cools down and provide plenty of water. Keep him healthy and you will be doing all you can do.

Is Linebreeding Really a Good Idea

When our various breeds were first being developed, decades ago, it was necessary to "set" the desirable genes to establish the breed types. As the years went by, certain outstanding individuals were heavily bred to create a reproducible type that exhibited the needed hunting traits.



Now, in some cases, centuries later, the need for close breeding is not as crucial because the desirable traits are ingrained in our breeds. For the backyard breeder, an intense line breeding program is often just not practical. To create a family of dogs that are very homozygous for the desirable hunting traits requires maintaining a large number of breeding dogs and producing a large number of puppies to allow selection and the inevitable culling that goes with the program. Believe me, that culling ain't that much fun.



While line-breeding and in-breeding can help solidify the desirable traits in our breeding programs, the downsides (lowered vigor, increased genetic defects, etc.) outweigh the benefits in well established breeds.



In my view, small breeders should avoid real line-breeding. Sure, it is fine to have some common ancestors in the pedigree if they were noted producers of good hunting dogs but for the vast majority of us, a simple "best-to-best" approach is more workable.



In my own kennel, I look at what I need in a certain female...say it is trainability or biddability. I look for a male that was easily trained and very biddable. Sure, I look at his pedigree and maybe I will find a common ancestor or two. But, that is not my primary goal.



Breeders who have made a name for themselves as ardent line-breeders almost always had large kennels. I visited on kennel a few years ago that had 60 English Pointers on the grounds! They produced litter after litter. But, they culled ruthlessly. Again, for the back yard breeder, this is just not going to happen.



My philosophy is simple: Take the best female I own and breed her to the best male I can find regardless of distance or cost. Over time, that has worked about as well as any system. If you look closely at all the hunting breeds and research their pedigrees, you will find that the vast majority of the successful dogs are already related. Take the Beagle breed for example. When the first imports from England were done in the late 1800's, they could not have brought in more than say 100 hounds. So, logically, we can say that all the Beagles in American are essentially line-bred already. So, even a blatant out-cross still offers a degree of close breeding. I think this holds true for all the hunting breeds but especially the newer, smaller numbered ones.



Best-to-best. Hope for a common ancestor or two. But, don't try to establish a true line-breeding program unless you are young, have a lot of room, a lot of money, and a serious commitment to the whole project.

Bad Boy Buggies

In the spring of 2007, I broke down and bought a Bad Boy Buggie. I have bought a lot of stuff for hunting over the years but the BBB has to rank as one of the all-time best purchases I have made.

First, let's get the bad points out of the way:

• It is too tall. They need to shave about 4" off the height
• It needs a light inside. When it is dark, it is hard to find the right button to push
• It cost too much. They are approaching $9000 nowadays.
• It needs to run faster. It ain't no speed demon but I think it runs about 15-20 mph.
• Heavy...about 1600 pounds
• It takes more room than an ATV to turn around.

But, the good points far outweigh these "cons":

• Quiet!
• Will go in mud and water up to say, 8 "
• Runs about 20 miles on a charge. I have never run mine down completly
• Carries four hunters easily
• We use it about as much around the house as I do hunting.

Overall, I would give the BBB a 9 out of 10 in meeting or exceeding expectations. I have driven to within 75 yards of a gobbling turkey and did not spook him. Yes, I did kill that one.

I have driven within 50 yards of feral hogs without spooking them. Yes, we did get into them.

The Buggy allows an older hunter like me to cover more ground, find more game, and just enjoy the hunt more. I have a friend who swears he kills more game ON the BBB than he does OFF the Buggy. My dogs love to ride on it and I use it for conditioning them prior to hunting season.

Is it a four-wheeler? No. If you need something to handle the mud in rice fields, go deep into a bad area to get a big buck, or really hog across logs in heavy mud, a true ATV would be better. But, for 99% of my hunting, it has been totally satisfactory.

More On Cruciate Problems

Since damaged ACL's (anterior cruciate ligaments) are so common, I wanted to expand a little on this situation in addition to the previous posts. A recent article in one of our journals, the Clinician's Brief by Dr. James Roush at Kansas State clarified some important points.

Medical journals refer to this problem as CCLR (cranial...same as anterior...cruciate ligament rupture), so that's what we will call it too. It is the most common cause of hind leg lameness in the hunting dog. If the torn cruciate in not repaired, permanent arthritis in the joint can occur.

There are some studies that show a genetic component of CCLR. While all dogs are at risk, larger active dogs have a higher incidence. It is unusual for a puppy to have this problem because their bones are still quite flexible. As a dog ages and his/her bones become more stiff, a sharp twisting of the knee (called the stifle) is more likely to put stress on the knee ligaments. There have been some researchers that think a mild bacterial infection may have a role in weakening the ligament. If a dog ruptures a ligament in one knee it often does the same thing in the opposite knee at a later time.

Typically, a dog with CCLR will be acutely lame for several days, get better, then become really lame in about a month. In our practice, we see both legs affected in about 20% of the dogs with CCLR.

Your veterinarian can diagnose the condition by manipulating the joint checking for abnormal movement or a firm swelling on the inside of the leg near the joint.

Treatment for CCLR is surgical. In studies done, 81% to 100% of large hunting type dogs will remain lame unless surgical correction is done. There are numerous surgical techniques for correction but they can all be broadly lumped into "outside the joint capsule" and "inside the joint capsule". In our practice, we only do the "outside" procedures. Typically, an implant of some sort, usually a very heavy nylon thread is used to stablize the joint. In the hands of more advanced surgeons, a procedue called a "TPLO" is currently the gold standard for CCLR correction. While the TPLO is considered the best procedure, some studies have shown no difference in long-term results using the "outside the joint" techniques versus TPLO or a newer surgery called a "TTA". Regardless, your veterinarian can guide you on the availabilty of TPLO/TTA procedures and their value compared to the "outside the joint" surgeries.

After any joint surgery, physical activity must be decreased for at least 8 weeks. Physical therapy for hunting dogs with CCLR repair has advantages because this therapy may get the dog back in the field quicker. Weight loss is also a part of the aftercare, even to the point of being a bit thin. Most dogs will be weight bearing on the surgery limb in less than a week and regain near normal gait within 6 weeks but total healing often takes up to 6 months.

The prognosis for CCLR repair is excellent with >90% of these dogs returning to normal function after surgery.

There is no known way to prevent CCLR except keeping your dog at an optimal weight, i.e. no overweight dogs.