So here's a follow-up to the case of Ellie Mae. I promised pictures and follow-up, and here we are. The treatment of choice for dogs with demodectic mange is daily dosing with 400 to 600 mcg/kg of ivermectin. The problem for Ellie Mae is that many Collies carry the MDR1 gene mutation, and these dogs […]
Monthly Archives: May 2009
Doxycycline’s Role in the Treatment Process This also relates back to our problems with heartworm treatment. Doxycycline kills L3 and L4 larval stages of the heartworm, and it decreases embryogenesis (the production of microscopic baby heartworms — microfilariae). It has intrinsic anti-inflammatory effects. It greatly inhibits Wohlbachia, which is a symbiotic rickettsial organism needed by […]
Immiticide Treatment to Kill Adult Worms In re failure to clear dogs of worms with the Immiticide treatment, there are several considerations that are important, particularly in dogs that have not been receiving preventive medicines. I have written previously about problems with the treatment. Immiticide does NOT kill immature adult worms, or “juvenile worms”. These […]
Mosquito ConsiderationsIn an October 2008 seminar, Dr. Tom Nelson made much of the increased numbers of tropical storms hitting the Gulf Basin in the past several years since Hurricane Katrina. His thesis is that more storms equals more rain, equals more flooding, equals more mosquitoes. This was not much accepted as an explanation for the […]
Preventive Medicine Considerations Heartworm preventive products have never been “100% effective”, but they have been pretty close. It is interesting to note that in the drug approval process, testing is done in a (relatively) small number of Beagles in a laboratory setting, using only 100 microfilariae to infect the subjects. This is a far cry […]
Heartworm Testing Considerations One explanation proposed for the increase in dogs diagnosed with heartworm is an increased sensitivity (or accuracy, if you will) in the tests that are being used. In other words, if you have a better test, you'll find more dogs with low numbers of heartworms that you might have missed previously. Thirty […]
The Problem In the past three years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of dogs where heartworm preventive medication has not been 100% effective. In addition, it has been more difficult to clear infected dogs of the worm burden with treatment. It has also been more difficult to clear microfilariae from dogs […]
Worked till 2:00 PM. Grabbed a sandwich and ate lunch in the car on the way to Murray, Kentucky (2.5 hour drive from old Kennett). Met son at dorm for end of semester load-out. Filled the van full of dirty clothes, clean clothes, unicycle, accordion, books, CDs, fencing equipment and stale groceries. 2.5 hours to […]
We’re Some Kind of Boy Scouts("We Will Rock You", with apologies to Queen ) Written by T. Everett “Doc” Mobley Introduction:Sometimes in stories or movies, we see a man who does the right thing, even when he doesn’t have to. The other guys are going to do something bad, and he doesn’t go […]
Three times each year the Cherokee District Boy Scouts camp together for a big group outing with lots of fun activities for the boys. It's a big deal compared to a regular camp-out. This spring, we combined with five other districts. I couldn't get all the tents in one picture from the top of the […]