My dog has Leishmania. Is there a cure or treatment for dogs?

A diagnosis of Leishmaniosis is not automatically death sentence as this disease can be treated and eventually cured or at least its progression can be slowed down. This would require a staging of the disease first before being able to give you a reliable prognosis. Please have a look at this article (especially under clinical staging, treatment and prognosis section): https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-4-86 Do not hesitate to ask more if needed either through the forum or by requesting a consultation.

Yes, cutaneous leishmaniasis should be treated. The problem here is that the dog will infect more phlebotomus flies as they sting and take up her infected blood. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is also a zoonosis which can infect humans via the sand fly (phlebotomus). Here is an article by a leishmaniasis group of veterinarians which details treatment options, etc. : https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-4-86 Unfortunately the prognosis is very guarded to grave and many will eventually die of renal failure. Treatments include medications such as sodium stibogluconate, meglumine antimonite, allopurinol and/or amphotericin B, most often in combination. Supportive treatments including intravenous fluid support, special diets and antibiotics if the skin lesions are infected.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you are referring to the infection leptospirosis, then yes this can be cured though it normally requires a long course of therapy and patients unfortunately can die from this condition if not treated appropriately and in a timely fashion. Some patients need to be in the hospital if they are doing poorly most of the time when the liver is severely affected. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Ziggy. Sounds like Ziggy needs to be evaluated by his veterinarian again and possibly a referral to a specialist such as a dermatologist or internal medicine specialist. Your vet may want to re evaluate him, do some more testing, change medicines, add medicines, etc. If your vet seems comfortable continuing to treat and you are comfortable then great but if you are doubtful about the situation, I would just mention that you are interested in going to a specialist or another veterinarian for a second consultation. Some cases cannot be handled appropriately by all of us in private practice and I would hope that most of us are quick to advise referrals to specialists when we cannot adequate resolve the problems that we see. I hope this helps. In the end, it's about quality of life and getting Ziggy well so that you and him can enjoy life together.

Hello. Valley Fever is a fungal infection that typically originated in southwestern United States. Dogs contract it by inhaling spores from the fungus which lives in the soil. There are different prognoses for Valley Fever depending on how severe or advanced the infection is. If it is isolated to the respiratory tract, lungs...the prognosis is good but requires long term treatment ....usually 6-12 months of oral antifungal medications. If the infection has settled in bones , lymph nodes or internal organs require treatment for up to a few years and the prognosis is guarded. The most advanced form involves the brain and/or spinal cord. This can require lifelong treatment. The medications are somewhat expensive and can have side effects. Your veterinarian may periodically want to do bloodwork to make sure the medication is not causing problems such as liver disease. This is not a quick fix disease and it would be important to know how advanced this dog’s infection is so you can plan on the future expenses and treatment plan. Best of luck in your adoption process. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Anaplasma can be cured. How long it will take and how to treat it depends on how sick Kuchun is. I treated it for 30 days with 5mg/kg every 12 hours with doxycycline. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&species=All&id=6191808 I wish Kuchun the best!

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.