gsscswfl.com Blog

The German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of SW Florida Inc. is hosting several events until the end of this year. Starting out with a Seminar “Teach your dog German commands” on Sept. 27th, followed by a huge Yard Sale on Oct. 11th, a Halloween haunted Dog Walk on Oct. 30th, a Mock Trial on November  15th and the Schutzhund Trial on Dec.12th and 13th.

More information to all events on” http://www.gsscswfl.com

Hello everyone.

I found a pretty good article about Pythiosis. Here is the link: http://www.rottweilerhealth.org/pdfs/july_pythiosis_grooters_02.pdf

Background Information for project Phythiosis as of July 31, 2009:

(by Kate Lamont with Linda Tanner)

Some of you know that for the past few weeks, Linda Tanner’s dog, Zele, has been beset by mild diarrhea that seemed to resist antiobiotics and just plain wouldn’t go away. I suggested to Linda that she have Zele tested for pythiosis, a disease caused by a fungus-like organism (Pythium) that affects dogs in the Gulf Coast states, especially Florida and Texas. I suggested this because last year my own dog, Lenny, passed away from this insidious and dangerous disease. I’m very sad to report that Zele tested positive for pythiosis. The good news is that an emergency abdominal ultrasound revealed no obvious lesions and Linda and Gary are pursuing what therapies exist to halt further invasion of the pythium organism into Zele’s system.

Pythium grows in water. It needs a plant host to complete its life cycle. One of its common hosts is the water lily, but it can also thrive in grass. Dogs become infected by drinking infected water or eating or contacting infected vegetation. If the dog becomes infected through ingestion, the organism attaches itself to the dog’s gastrointestinal region, usually in a weakened area, and starts to grow. If the dog contacts infected water or vegetation, the organism will enter the dog’s body through a cut and the dog may develop the cutaneous form, which appears as an unrelenting exudative lesion of the skin which can only be removed by complete resection (including amputation of affected limbs). It is not well understood what role the dog’s immune system plays in the development of pythiosis, but it seems that some dogs have immunity to it and others don’t.

My GSD, Lenny, had the gastrointestinal form. By the time he was diagnosed, the organism had grown into a mass which wrapped itself around blood vessels feeding the vital organs. It could not be removed. He died a month after diagnosis in spite of emergency surgery, anti-fungals, and immunotherapy vaccination.

When it comes to pythiosis, veterinary medicine doesn’t have much to offer. I’m writing you this not just to inform you about Zele but also to let you know how important it is to be vigilant about this disease. If your dog shows gastrointestinal symptoms such as lack of appetite, diarrhea, flatulence, gurgling stomach sounds, or vomiting that don’t have an apparent cause and stubbornly persist in spite of medications and diet adjustments, please have them tested for pythiosis. If your dog has a weepy sore on his skin that doesn’t clear up, it should also be tested. Dogs in the early stages of infection may appear otherwise healthy.

Whether the outcome is a cure or death depends on how quickly the disease is diagnosed. My information is that once infected, the dog will die within three months without treatment, and to be effective, treatment must be given in the first month of infection. That’s pretty scary when the early symptoms resemble those of any number of minor bugs your dog might pick up just by being a dog. The other scary thing is that we don’t know where our dogs became infected with Pythium. Neither Lenny nor Zele had a history of spending any time in fresh water. I had an ornamental plastic pond in my backyard planted with water lilies that the dogs used to get into if I left the gate open. I got rid of it when Lenny died because it seemed like the only possible source of infection, as he had no history of entering fresh water. Linda was aware of the circumstances of Lenny’s death and did not allow Zele to enter fresh water. Zele has been in a fresh water pond only once in her three years. However, Linda lives in a community that uses recycled irrigation water. The partially treated recycled water sits in an unlined pond prior to using it for irrigation throughout the golf courses, common ares, condominiums and private homes. Zele does occasionally eat grass and hibiscus leaves. Zele is also an AKC tracking dog and does Schutzhund work; therefore, she is outdoors tracking and training several times a week. However, she does not swim or drink standing water.

Should you take your dog to the vet for a pythiosis workup, you’ll probably be the one giving directions. Many vets in this area know little about pythiosis and some haven’t even heard of it. Here’s some information to take to your vet:

1. ELISA test. This is a blood test, your first diagnostic tool. The pythium organism cannot be identified through normal blood work. The blood must be sent to a lab in Texas where the test was developed:

Pan American Veterinary Labs (PAVL)

166 Brushy Creek Trail 
Hutto , TX 78634 
Phone: 800.856.9655 
Fax: 512-846-2140 
E-Mail: info@pavlab.com

http://pythium.pavlab.com/home.html

A good introductory article on pythiosis:

http://www.pythiosis.com/pythiosis.PDF

If the test is positive, this means that your dog has antibodies to pythiosis but not necessarily an active disease process. Any positive result DOES mean that you should act quickly. Don’t let your vet blow you off. There are really only three things you can do:

(1) The lab above has an immunotherapy treatment available. I did try this with Lenny but his disease had progressed too far and it did nothing for him. Also you might find some skepticism about it from the veterinary community, who will instead prescribe antifungals which are horrendously expensive and don’t really target the organism because it’s not a true fungus. However, I have heard good things about the immunotherapy treatment from others who are tracking this disease, so I would not hesitate to try it again. PAVL states:  In our studies we have an effective treatment rate of 50% in dogs and >90% in horses.

(2) Ultrasound. My experience with this was that it was accurate in that its findings were clinically correlated. If you catch the disease early enough, the ultrasound might not show anything. However, I recommend proceeding with the immunotherapy treatment, which is given in three injections over 21 days. It is not too expensive ($126 plus vet costs) and it could save your dog’s life. Your vet may recommend a follow-up ultrasound and another ELISA test to track the dog’s progress.

(3) Surgery. Sometimes an identified gastrointestinal mass can be removed and the dog may be cured. The immunotherapy injections are often used in combination with surgery.

I used the Florida Veterinary Referral Center, as did Linda and Gary. They were very good to me and Lenny and they actually know something about the disease.

Phone: 239-992-8878

http://www.flvrc.com/

I spoke to the woman who hosts the web site www.pythiosis.com. She thinks dogs should receive the immunotherapy treatment even if they don’t have the disease or a positive ELISA test. There is no data to indicate that the immunotherapy injections prevent the disease, but there is no data, period. This disease is still “rare” although I suspect a lot of dogs die undiagnosed because little about pythiosis was taught in vet school to many vets practicing today.

The only other way to possibly prevent pythiosis in Florida is never to let your dog eat vegetation, enter a river, a pond, or puddle or drink standing water even after a rainfall. If he has a backyard kiddy pool, change the water frequently.

Pythiosis is not contagious. The organism enters the dog through contaminated water or vegetation. There is no data about the incidence of this contamination in Florida. Perhaps it’s everywhere and most dogs have enough immunity to fight it off. Or perhaps it’s only in few places and the dogs that get sick are the ones unlucky enough to come in contact with it. No one knows at this point. But according to all the veterinary information I’ve gleaned in the past year, pythiosis is NOT passed from dog to dog or dog to human. (PAVL studies concur with this statement.)

At this point, Zele has no observable symptoms and continues to be monitored. Following her positive ELISA test, she had an ultrasound on July 24, 2009. It showed a 2mm “mild focal thickening in the colon at the mid-body of the UA bladder – Right side of the body.”  This was not considered suspicious at the time of the ultrasound. It could be normal for Zele’s body, inflamed due to recent mild diarrhea, or in fact be early evidence of pythiosis. Zele had her first of three immunotherapy inoculations on July 30, 2009. Her second shot will be 7 days later and then 21 days later. Zele will receive a second ultrasound about 10 days after the first shot and 14 days after the last shot.

I hope everyone will keep Linda, Gary and especially Zele in their hearts and send them best wishes for a happy outcome.

Kate Lamont

This project is dedicated to Lenny (Ero Jipo-Me, CD, BH; B: 5/31/05 – D: 5/8/08) and Zele (New Skete’s Dingo Zele, CGC, CD, RA, TD, BH; B: 7/24/06 – ).

German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of SW Florida

The German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of Southwest Florida is a group of people with one common
goal: to advance our dogs in the sport of Schutzhund and its three phases, tracking, obedience and
protection. Our members pursue other disciplines with their dogs as well, including AKC obedience,
therapy, and search and rescue. We want all of our dogs to be good family dogs too. We’re serious
about training but we keep it fun with cook-outs and other group events.

Our club is very fortunate to have experienced dog handlers and trainers who are always willing to help or just be there for advice and guidance. If you’re a newcomer to the sport, we occasionally offer classes to give you a jump-start towards your first Schutzhund goal, the BH.

We weclome any dog with working ability. Alongside with our German Shepherds, we also have Rottweilsers, Dobermanns, and even mixed breeds among our four-legged members. Wheter a dog is capable of doing the sport is a question of temperament. not breed.

Your German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of SW Fl Inc.