On sunday afternoon I was playing with my dog and his belly area appeared normal. I noticed on Sunday evening my 3 year neutered male chesapeake had a red - cut/inflamed area around his penis area on his belly. I placed at the time a suave (sp) (Corona Animal Suave)on it and assumed it was just a result of playing around in the back yard with our other dog. Monday morning I woke up and looked at it and it definitely appeared to be an internal problem and not an external scratch as originally thought. I also noticed that some smaller spots were appearing. No change in the last day but have him scheduled fo a visit with the vet tonight. Any ideas on what this could be. It almost looks like a human birth mark really dark red. He does not seemed to be bothered by this except for an occasional lick in this area. Any help would be appreciated.

John G.

Bug bite or something?

Best see your Vet...

PB

Please keep us posted.
John

They don't know english.

We took Chip to the vet last night. They are running a full screen of tests on his blood. The vet explained to me that it was not an external skin problem but internal. I cannot think of the exact term but he described it as possibly being minor capillary breaks. We also noticed an area up around his ears. He wants to see what the plateletts and white blood cell counts look like. If they appear normal he said it could be a tick related infection. Right now waiting on test results. Do chesapeakes typically have blood problems? First time chesapeake owner.



John G.

Bleeding disorders are not common, but they do happen. The main thing is to rule out whether it is caused by something like an infection first, before jumping on it as a genetic thing. LOTS of things can interfere with a dog's ability to clot.

Did your vet say anything about running some tests to look for specific tick-borne diseases? My vet has one that checks for heartworms, Lyme disease and I think erlichia or Rocky Mountain spotted, one or the other, I forget. Anyway, for just one blood sample, my vet can check for all three and does it right in-house.

Also, did your vet discuss possibly treating for the tick-borne anyway, just to see if it causes any changes? The treatment is a course of antibiotics, so nothing major. Could be worth looking into. Tick-borne illnesses can be hellishly difficult to diagnose at times. Sometimes, the shotgun approach works wonders where these diseases are a possibility.

Lisa

He wanted to see the results of the blood tests before running the tick-borne diseases. He referenced all th tick diseases you included. I think I may mention it to him about treating the tick borne diseases in the shotgun method you described. Thanks. I will keep you posted.



John G.

The vet called lastnight with the results of the blood tests. His platelets are very low (15,000) compared to normal amount of 50,000. The vet believes it may be Thrombocytopenia an immune system problem. Another blood sample was sent off this morning for the tick borne diseases. Started today with steroid (Prednisone). Another platelet count is scheduled for Monday.


John G.

The results of the tick -bacteria infections ( Erlichia (sp?), Rocky Mountain, and Lyme disease shouwed no positive detctions. Sent another blood sample -platelett off for analysis yesterday to detrmine if steroids are helping the immune system.

John G.

Thanks for the update. Let us know what develops.

PB

Second blood sample still showed extremely low platelett counts. He is currently undergoing a chemical injection (similiar to chemotherapy) via an IV this morning. He will then be on a a similiar medication with pills. The doctor is hoping to get the bone marrow to release plateletts into his blood stream.

Has anyone heard of this blood disorder (Thromobocytopenia)?

John G.

Thrombocytopenia can be a symptom, not necessarily the disease itself. The Vet needs to dig further to find out why the dog has this. Some dogs have this genetically, but sometimes other things interfere with platelet generation. I wouldn't rule out a genetic basis, but I wouldn't stop there in my search for a cause, either.

Once you find the underlying cause, then you can treat that. Fix the underlying problem, and the thrombocytopenia goes away. If it ends up that it is genetic, you may have to treat him for bouts of this periodically throughout his life.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa. I have done a little research on the web on Thrombocytopenia and have discovered that something is generally driving this symptom. The current medications he is on are as folows: The IV injection was Vincristine, tablets orally:Azathioprine (Imuran) and Prednisone.

I will keep you updated.

John G.

Got latest platelett test results back and the plateletts are up at 337,000. We will continue the meds and do another blood test in a week. He seems to have a lot more energy and alertness.



John G.

Glad to hear it John. Keep the up dates coming.

Lastweeks platelett test revealed his platelett levels have recovered to 637,000. Above normal but a good sign. We have cut the prednisone dosage and continued with the azothioprin. Next test in two weeks. He is doing much better.

John G.

Latest plattelet count reveals he is back in the normal range. Prednisone dosage again cut in half (every other day) with the azothioprin in th days when he is not taking the predinsone. Next blood test in a month. Chip is not back to being himself yet but is getting better. One side effect is the steroid (predisone) is really drying his skin, feet area and pads out so that they are sore if he excersis to much.

John G.

Try using bag balm for his feet. You can buy it at feed stores and the like. You can also soak his feet in a oil treatment. Ask your wife/girlfriend/SO. She will know! They have them for soaking your hands/fingernails in, to keep them soft and supple.

Lisa

Latest plattelet count reveals he is again back in the normal range (325,000). Prednisone dosage again cut to every four days, for one month and then we take him off of it. Azothioprin given every other day. Next platelett count in 3 months. His sores have healed up nicely. He seems to have alot more energy which is great. I am ready to get him off the steroids. He has gained 9 pounds through this ordeal. The increased activity level should help to get him back down to 87 lbs.

John G.

End of June we dropped the prednisone. I noticed late last week he developed some of the bright red dots on his belly again. Took him in for a platelett test. The next day he had alot of red dots on his belly. The next day they had faded away. We got the platellet count back today and it was in the normal range 324,000. He did not develop any red spots this weekend. Continueing with the azothioprin every other day. Has anyone had similiar experiences with long term medication? What kind of damage will this due long term to the dog? Thanks in advance



John G.

Chip is continueing to do well. He has been taking the azothioprin up until late January once a week. All platelett test showed as normal. We are currently trying a short period off the medicine to see if we can take him off of the medication. Unfortunately Chip ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at the end of December and needed surgery. He is doing exteremly well through the recovery process.



John G.