My dog has 104.9 fever, isn't eating, and is lethargic. What's wrong?

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend that you take your dog to see a veterinarian. It sounds like he needs immediate care if he is not eating, he is lethargic and may have a fever. This sounds like a serious condition that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Your veterinarian will perform a full physical exam and determine what additional testing may need to be done (xrays, bloodwork) to give you a better idea of what treatments are needed. Good luck.

Usually a virus is what causes a persistent high fever. I suggest you consult with the vet to get some medication to treat the fever like a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. Often intravenous fluids are needed to correct dehydration as well.

Poor guy. Not every pet with a fever has an infection, so if the antibiotic isn’t working it’s either because there is no infection, the infection is internal, or the antibiotic is not the right kind of antibiotic for the infection. Your pet needs additional testing to sort this out and make sure we are on the right track with treatment. I would start with baseline bloodwork and a urinalysis. Best to take your pet back in to your vet or to another vet for a second opinion here so that we can get a proper diagnosis and tailored treatment based on your pets specific problem. I hope that your pet is able to make a full and speedy recovery soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Sandie is not feeling well. If she has a high fever and is not improving, I would take her back in to the veterinarian for further treatment. If she has not been on an antibiotic, I would recommend doing so and also consider giving her a fever reducer, which your vet can provide. 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.

Poor Cobalt! It sounds like he is lethargic, and he does have a slight fever. Unfortunately these are very general signs of illness, and could be caused by systemic illness, infection, or inflammation. I would keep an eye on him for now, and if the fever goes above 39.5, he stops eating, he continues to be lethargic, or he develops other signs such as vomiting, take him into a vet immediately. I hope this helps!

My next step would be to send off blood for a test for plague (Yersinia pestis) and Tularemia, especially if your dog has access to areas where there are rodents, squirrels and rabbits. These would not be included in regular blood work. You may also want tod discuss a disease called malignant hyperthermia with your veterinarian. Other common causes of "fever of unknown origin" would be tumors, however your vet apparently ruled those out with blood tests, ultrasound, and xray and possibly blood parasites such as Ehrlichia spp, Babesia spp and similar. A heartworm test may also be advisable.

The problem here is to establish the underlying cause of thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is one of the most common causes. This process usually occurs in the spleen although the liver also plays a role. Thrombocytopenia develops as platelet destruction exceeds compensatory production by the bone marrow. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can be classified as primary or secondary. Secondary processes can be caused by infective diseases or tumors very commonly. Usually to determine a diagnosis more tests needs to be performed like abdominal ultrasound and chest x rays. Infective diseases like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma spp for example should be ideally evaluated as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum (where you can post pics of the blood tests) or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.