Well, it's probably not a new parasite, but was confused with Toxoplasma gondii infections in dogs until the late 1980s.
Neospora infections are an important cause of abortions in cattle and other ruminants.
Does Nori have an abnormal gait? Most puppies with Neospora infections have a characteristic ascending paresis/paralysis and an odd extension of the hind limbs, but they don't have to.
Although transmission can be from cattle and the consumption of uncooked beef, the most likely mode of transmission is from her mom. N. caninum can be transmitted repeatedly though successive litters and litters of their progeny. The bitch could be seropositive but clinically normal, and the number of infected puppies born to her will vary. Of those, not all will develop clinical signs (which is how it can be transmitted repeatedly). There is no therapy to prevent a bitch from transmitting infection to her pups.
Oh bummer. That really sucks all around. :-( Poor puppy and poor you and Jen
Also, not related to Nori, but to the Neospora infections, the scary part about where I live is that the Mennonites and Amish who run puppy mills around here also have dairy farms, so most likely a large percentage of the dogs on their farm might be at risk for Neospora.
Wow is right....I missed this ....hopefully it can be squared away soon.
Sometimes on rare occasions puppies will outgrow seizures. Where both pups shipped together?
If not, it is possible that oxygen deprivation on the flight with the girl could cause some issues, if the cargo pressure was not
correct in the hold area. (I have heard of that in freak situations with people when the oxygen drops did not work correctly in an emergency situation. In the human case it did subside over time but there was residual some nerve damage and some memory loss for the person months later. Oh and not everyone is affected equally, it depends on body weight and blood cell production in the individual.)
Rather than a freaky protozoa, let's hope it will be the normal type of illness that can be safely modified with medication
Snf
Nori is Neospora clear!!!!!! The test results showed NO ANTIBODIES, so she has no infections at all. Having said that, the treatment with the antibiotic and deworming seems to be helping her. She still has tremors, but she is eating and still her crazy self.
This also means our other dogs are not at risk, so we no longer have to quarantine Nori.
The bad news is, now we have no idea what caused her seizures. Her liver seems fine and she has no brain infection... So now we start over, looking for a different cause. Or,maybe she will just grow out of it.
Anyway, I am taking this as good news, I wish we knew for sure what to do for Nori, but for now we can reduce and manage the seizures and keep searching knowing she is no risk to our other dogs.
Thanks all for the support and kind words! Jen and I have been so stressed out, its been ridiculous.
On the vaccination tip, she has not had any. We have held off till we could figure something out with the seizures (not to imply we have figured anything out yet). Tomorrow we are gonna pick up a Parvo vaccination for her, we live in an area were Parvo is a really big concern (lots of wild canine), so we want to make sure she is safe from that.
We will continue our testing & research for another week or so and then start her regular vaccinations. Its a tough call, we want to get her in puppy classes and get her socialized, but we don't want to over vaccinate and potentially make her situation worse. Puppy classes usually require at least 2 rounds of vaccination. So, we are taking it a day at a time. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for the suggestion and thoughtful responses.
Is there any environmental toxins that she could have picked up? Pesticides for instance? She seems more mouthy than Tai, especially with her shoe fetish.
@Gail - We tested her blood sugar and glucose levels and they are fine, so hypoglycemia was ruled out.
@Ann - A lot of her symptoms are similar to those of a dog that has been exposed to lead, but we can't figure out where she would have been exposed to lead. Certainly not here, and the seizures happened so early after arriving she barely had time to ingest anything here on the ranch.
Comments
Well, it's probably not a new parasite, but was confused with Toxoplasma gondii infections in dogs until the late 1980s.
Neospora infections are an important cause of abortions in cattle and other ruminants.
Does Nori have an abnormal gait? Most puppies with Neospora infections have a characteristic ascending paresis/paralysis and an odd extension of the hind limbs, but they don't have to.
Although transmission can be from cattle and the consumption of uncooked beef, the most likely mode of transmission is from her mom. N. caninum can be transmitted repeatedly though successive litters and litters of their progeny. The bitch could be seropositive but clinically normal, and the number of infected puppies born to her will vary. Of those, not all will develop clinical signs (which is how it can be transmitted repeatedly). There is no therapy to prevent a bitch from transmitting infection to her pups.
I am thinking about you guys and hope that there is some other reason for Nori's seizures.
Here is the "contacts" page for the UC Davis Vet School. They may be another resource for information about neospora and treatment.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/contact.cfm
Also, not related to Nori, but to the Neospora infections, the scary part about where I live is that the Mennonites and Amish who run puppy mills around here also have dairy farms, so most likely a large percentage of the dogs on their farm might be at risk for Neospora.
Hopefully, it'll all work out. ~
Sometimes on rare occasions puppies will outgrow seizures. Where both pups shipped together?
If not, it is possible that oxygen deprivation on the flight with the girl could cause some issues, if the cargo pressure was not
correct in the hold area. (I have heard of that in freak situations with people when the oxygen drops did not work correctly in an emergency situation. In the human case it did subside over time but there was residual some nerve damage and some memory loss for the person months later. Oh and not everyone is affected equally, it depends on body weight and blood cell production in the individual.)
Rather than a freaky protozoa, let's hope it will be the normal type of illness that can be safely modified with medication
Snf
I hope everything gets sorted out and Nori is OK.
This also means our other dogs are not at risk, so we no longer have to quarantine Nori.
The bad news is, now we have no idea what caused her seizures. Her liver seems fine and she has no brain infection... So now we start over, looking for a different cause. Or,maybe she will just grow out of it.
Anyway, I am taking this as good news, I wish we knew for sure what to do for Nori, but for now we can reduce and manage the seizures and keep searching knowing she is no risk to our other dogs.
Thanks all for the support and kind words! Jen and I have been so stressed out, its been ridiculous.
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Snf
Glad to hear it's not neospora or a shunt. I'm sure it's disappointing to still not know what is causing it. It is for me anyway.
Regardless, happy to hear that you and Jen can breathe easier now. Hope Nori continues to do better.
Tai...
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4485597958_b7cf4d22b0.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2710/4479542472_bd6ce25fbc.jpg
Tai and Nori (in a rare moment of calm)...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4479519806_32362c6a74.jpg
Nori vs. Loa...
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4478902791_c8445c2c26.jpg
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We will continue our testing & research for another week or so and then start her regular vaccinations. Its a tough call, we want to get her in puppy classes and get her socialized, but we don't want to over vaccinate and potentially make her situation worse. Puppy classes usually require at least 2 rounds of vaccination. So, we are taking it a day at a time. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for the suggestion and thoughtful responses.
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Read this link:
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/hypoglycemia.htm
& hopefully you guys will find a cure soon! Hang in there! ~
@Ann - A lot of her symptoms are similar to those of a dog that has been exposed to lead, but we can't figure out where she would have been exposed to lead. Certainly not here, and the seizures happened so early after arriving she barely had time to ingest anything here on the ranch.
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