Should I adopt a puppy with Neospora? Is it safe for my other dog?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concerns. In regards to treatment for Neospora caninum, it is treated similarly to Toxoplasmosis. Either Clindamycin or sulfa drugs are used for prolonged periods of time to treat either one of these infections. You can test for Neospora caninum by sending out a blood sample to the laboratory for confirmatory purposes. I would suggest having her tested for this disease to rule out this condition definitively to see if the medication is even warranted. If this is degenerative myelopathy, unfortunately there is not much successful treatment for this condition. The ultimate outcome of degenerative myelopathy is death. There is no cure. The good news is that intensive physical rehabilitation and properly fitted and selected assist equipment can extend a dog's survival time by almost 3 years versus 6-12 months for dogs that do not receive physical therapy. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns I can help you with.

Coccidiosis is a common microscopic parasite in puppies. As long as he receives a complete course of treatment and is seen by your vet very soon after adoption for follow-up and wellness and gets started on his vaccinations, I don't see a problem with going ahead with the adoption.

Hello. There is always a possibility of reoccurrence since the organism can encyst in muscle tissue. This means the disease is never truly eliminated. Spaying her & trying to avoid any immunosuppressant medications like steroids will probably keep Hetty clinically normal for the rest of her life. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Even if Chloe is non-symptomatic, I would recommend following through with the treatment, as Minocycline is not harmful and it is best to treat and assume the infection has been treated. This is regular practice and is done quite often. There is a confirmatory test for Anaplasmosis called a PCR. I would discuss this with your vet if you would like to help confirm an active infection. The test used in clinics typically detects antibodies, so if Chloe was exposed to Anaplasma previously and the infection resolved on its own, her body likely developed antibodies against Anaplasma and will be detected on the antibody test for years to come. So the snap test used in clinics does not confirm an active infection, just that the animal has circulating antibodies to Anaplasma, which could indicate an active infection or a previous infection. The PCR is generally an expensive test to confirm ($200-300) versus putting the animal on an antibiotic and treat for several weeks. I would discuss this further with your veterinarian if you would like to investigate further but if it was my dog, I would do the course of Minocycline and consider it treated after the course is finished. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am so sorry to hear that her disease has progressed. Unfortunately if distemper starts to cause neurological symptoms then it is unlikely that she will recover. Typically seizure activity will follow in the near future. I am so sorry to relay this poor prognosis. However, every patient is different and there is always a chance of improvement. I would encourage you to consider having a follow up appointment with your veterinarian for a reassessment . Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As long as your dog has been treated and is now healthy, there should not be any long term effects of the infection. However, in the future, testing for these infections may be difficult, as false positive results are possible. Your dog may be a carrier of Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichia life long, but this disease is not transmitted to humans. You should be careful if you are planning to, or have, another dog. I hope this helps and that all is well!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Neurovet is a product which I have not ever seen used before and is a supplement. An antibiotic will only help with secondary bacterial infections as Distemper is a virus. The best thing you can do for Olive is supportive care in a veterinary hospital and provide adequate hydration, pain medication, anti-seizure therapy (if having seizures), etc. Distemper can be fatal and the best change Olive has is in a hospital receiving the most appropriate care. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!