Antibiotic Responsive Neuromuscular (Cerebral) Ataxia

Abstract

Since 1994 numerous cases of neuromuscular ataxia have been observed and documented in various dog breeds across Canada and the USA. The incidence appears to be highest in the spring and summer and seems to be related to contact with cattle. The onset appears to be aggravated by inoculations or other stress inducing episodes e.g.: shipping, dog shows or illness. It occurs in any age with young dogs being more highly represented. Signs are varied and begin with inappetance, anorexia, weight loss, ocular discharge, poor thrift, diarrhea or vomiting, and progresses to compromised mobility.  Sometimes skin disorders have been recorded. The condition progresses in a waxing and waning pattern. Most cases have responded to a variety of antibiotics and antimicrobials noted for the efficacy against protozoal conditions. Some dogs have required larger than normal dosage for longer periods of time to achieve results. Clindamycin has proven to be the most efficacious remedy used to date.

Laboratory testing has to date failed to reveal any etiological diagnosis except for one case of Neospora canninum.

If anyone can add any information or observations to the above scenario, kindly contact Dr. Mark Rubensohn at e-mail: bridle@telus.net

Attachments:

1.      Observations from a dog breeder who has been involved with this problem

Attachment:

I grew up showing Scottish Terriers, my father raised them and I started showing when I was about 10 years old. The Scottish terrier is documented as having an ailment known as “Scottie Cramp”; it has been used as a catchall for any mobility problems afflicting the Scottie. About 10 years ago, I noticed some of these “Scottie Cramp” puppies had an ailment that caused the movement to deteriorate over time. The breed has recently had many dogs diagnosed with “Cerebral Abiotrophy”, which is being differentiated from Scottie Cramp.

I believe that while there certainly are some dogs with an inherited disorder which causes symptoms of Cerebral Ataxia, there are also some dogs with a parasite mitigated form of the disorder and that these dogs will respond to antibiotic therapy specific to protozoan parasites. All tests performed on these dogs have to date come back normal, including those for Neospora, which would suggest another parasite, as yet unnamed. I believe this parasite is causing ataxia symptoms in numerous breeds of dogs in addition to Scotties.

Scottie Cramp affected dogs are normal at rest and exhibit normal ability to walk until they are stressed. Common stimuli are exercise, hunting, fighting, or courtship. As the dog's level of stress increases, his gait begins to change. The forelegs move out to the side and forward rather than straight forward in a movement called winging. The spine in the lumbar area may arch and the rear legs begin to overflex. If the excitement or exercise continues, the dog begins to exhibit a "goose-stepping" gait. If the dog is running, he may somersault and fall. Severely affected dogs may find their ability to walk or run completely inhibited. This is not a seizure. There is no loss of consciousness. As soon as the stimulus abates, the symptoms disappear almost immediately.

The severity of symptoms in affected dogs varies widely as does the amount and type of stimulation necessary to elicit clinical signs. The symptoms appear to be caused by a buildup or depletion of some chemical compound in the dog's central nervous system, most probably serotonin.

 I had some wonderful mentors in my youth, old terrier men who took me under their wing and taught me much about the breed and breeding, terriers and dogs in general. At that time, Scottie cramp was something that was talked about but was seldom seen. One or two in a lifetime was the norm, if you read the old books you will see reference to it with the same rider, that it is seldom seen. But, the Scottie cramp that is referred to is always the traditional form of Scottie cramp, usually becoming apparent at about 4-6 months and coming on after certain stimuli. It is never the type seen in young puppies often showing up a few days after inoculations and progressively deteriorating from then on. It is an episodal affliction that usually diminishes with maturity. It is not a constant ongoing affliction such as what we now see in Cerebral Abiotrophy. The old timers in the breed have been honest and thorough in their documentation and Cerebral Abiotrophy’s symptoms are not mentioned. I believe it is a relatively recent addition to the problems affecting the Scottish Terrier.

The first time that I noticed this problem was in the spring of 1994 at dog show that was held in the Alberta. This building had recently held a cattle show and it was inadequately cleaned between the two shows. Several dogs of various breeds and sizes that had been at the show became ill with some or all of the following symptoms; diarrhea, vomiting, inappetence, fever, anorexia, eye discharge. They all became noticeably unsteady in their movement. After a time, many dogs that had not been in attendance at the show also became ill in the same way. Some dogs made full recoveries, some had to be euthanized and some retained some residual movement problems. It progressed through the pet community through the summer and it came to be known as the “Wonky Flu”. The number of cases dropped off with winter and it ceased being a concern. Although, a few cases show up every spring and I have heard of it appearing in other communities, by veterinarians who are seeing a cluster of dogs with movement problems of no known cause.

A Southern Alberta breeder of Irish Wolfhounds had a litter born in 1996. When the puppies were about 8 weeks old, some of them started to show a deterioration of muscle tone and an unsteadiness of gait in the rear. After extensive testing it was determined that the puppies were infected with “Neospora”, a protozoan parasite. It was a mystery as to how they had come in contact with the parasite as it had only been seen in the Southern United States at that time and had only been diagnosed in dogs a few times. As it turned out, some 14 hours North in the Peace River district the cattle ranchers were dealing with an outbreak of Neospora in their cattle. Researchers in this area suspected a connection to the wild canine population. It was felt that Neospora had been in the canine population for a long time but had been unidentified and misdiagnosed as other conditions. The Irish Wolfhounds had been infected in their own backyard as they lived on acreage adjacent to a field that pastured cattle.

The puppies were treated with Clindamycin and the Neospora was stopped. Unfortunately, the damage that had been done was not reversible. While the puppies were able to make improvements from the point at which the parasite was stopped, they could not be returned to “normal”.

I became very interested in this parasite and learned as much as I could about it. One of the characteristics which impressed me was their ability to be passed from mother to offspring in utero. This gives it the potential to be mistaken for an inherited disorder. I also noted that the parasite will affect only some of the puppies, usually when the immune system is suppressed or stressed, i.e.; immediately after inoculations, after shipping to a new home, a dog show or after another illness.

June 1999, I had a litter of 6 Scottie puppies; all were thriving until given inoculations at seven weeks. Within 36 hours every puppy in the litter was showing some degree of rear movement disorder. This did not appear to be normal “Scottie cramp” but was more of an ataxia like syndrome.  I was needless to say devastated. About one week later I decided to deworm and used a product called Drontal Plus manufactured by Bayer (ingredients: Praziquantel, Pyrantel and Febantel) at the suggested dosage.

Within 36 hours of deworming these puppies they had all returned to normal movement. This was almost a miraculous occurrence and I tried to analyze what had just occurred. I came to the conclusion, that either one of the drugs in Drontal plus had a neurological side effect or we had just killed a parasite. I called my vet, Dr. Gary Carter (Calgary, AB) and asked him if there were any known side effects of this nature to these drugs and told him what had occurred. He didn’t believe there were any side effects of this nature and felt it likely we had killed a parasite but decided to check with Bayer. The head research vet from Bayer contacted me and told me that all of the drugs used in Drontal plus have been well tested and have been in use for a long time and there were no known neurological side effects for any of them. He felt we had probably killed a parasite, probably protozoan. He told me that one of the drugs in Drontal was shown to have some effect on protozoa. (Note: Since that time both Praziquantel and Febantel have been shown to be effective against protozoa.) The puppies were also tested for exposure to Neospora and all tests proved negative. I dewormed the puppies with a second dosage 10 days later and kept the puppies for an extended period of time. The movement problems did not return. They were placed in homes and were followed and all remained healthy. *See attached document

Bayer was interested in following up with further studies and agreed to supply us with Drontal Plus to be used on puppies diagnosed with “Scottie cramp” ie: movement disorders. The Canadian Scottish Terrier club advertised on their web site that we were interested in Scotties with Scottie cramp for a study and offered any who were interested some Drontal Plus for their afflicted dogs.

We had a little interest and what we found was that some puppies if caught early, usually those that showed signs of ataxia/cramping at 6-10 weeks of age could improve. Dogs that had been afflicted for some time showed very little or no improvement. In a conversation with Bayer, it was suggested that we were probably dealing with more than one disorder and that the puppies that improved were probably afflicted with a protozoan parasite yet to be named.

Nothing further was done as there wasn’t enough interest to warrant it. Locally we did notice that dogs of many breeds would show early symptoms of movement disorders and/or topline issues that could be improved with certain antibiotics (Tetracycline, Metronidazole, Sulfamethoxizole & Trimethoprim, Clindamycin and Drontal Plus.) It was also found that bitches that had been experiencing fertility issues if given Tetracycline from the time estrus started until 2 weeks after the 1^st breeding were more likely to conceive and carry to term.

Two years ago, a dog imported from Brazil acquired the movement disorder six weeks after arriving here. We were able to completely return him to normal with the use of the antibiotic “Clindamycin”. This helped us to have a clear course of action for treatment and some of the individual dog studies follow:

Indy a wire haired fox terrier born April 1998, arrived in Alberta, Canada October 2002 from Brazil through the US. He had been shown throughout the US and South America. 6 weeks after arriving he became very unsteady on his feet and was progressively deteriorating. He reached a point of being too unstable to rise on his own or urinate without assistance. He was seen by Dr. Mark Rubensohn (Calgary, AB) who did blood and urine analysis both showed nothing abnormal. Stool samples were normal, temperature was normal. Clindamycin was prescribed on the possibility that Neospora tests would prove positive. The Blood test for Neo-spora and other possible causes also showed negative results. But, after beginning treatment with Clindamycin, 75mg BID, improvement was rapid with deterioration stopping after 36 hours and improvements evident from that point on. The dog had some residual muscle weakness that returned to normal within 2-3 months. 2 years have passed and there has been no reoccurrence. He is a healthy dog completely steady on his feet. *See attached document

Maggie has produced several puppies with problems she lives on a Dairy farm

The following are from Maggies 1^st litter of  4 puppies  born  4/1/00 

Lexi - female puppy with Scottie cramp or ataxia type symptoms at 3 months this puppy has done well according to our last contact with the owners. No treatment was given

Tiffy – Born 04/01/00 to Maggie

She has been generally healthy.  Her topline has never seemed right.  She has been somewhat itchy with no signs of rashes or sores.   She has never produced a viable puppy.   She has conceived twice, producing one puppy each time, neither lived.   An autopsy was done on the first puppy; samples were saved as this puppy was not mobile in any way from birth.  The second puppy was still born.  She has been treated occasionally with Tetracycline *See attached document

The other two puppies appear to be normal.

The following are from Maggie’s 2^nd litter of 6 puppies born 11/20/03     

Molly, female Scottish terrier puppy arrived in Alberta, Canada April 2004. At the age of six months she became unsteady on her feet and progressed rapidly with symptoms of extreme ataxia. She was seen by Dr. Mark Rubensohn and he observed her in several episodes of unsteadiness to the point of being unable to stand. Tests were done, temperature, blood and urine showed nothing abnormal, neospora tests were negative. Stool tests did show some Coccidia, she was put on TMS 120mg BID and showed immediate improvement, reverting to normal ambulation. Dr Mark Rubensohn witnessed the improvement to complete normalcy while on antibiotic treatment. When she completed the 14 day prescription she began to deteriorate immediately. Put back on TMS she required a larger dosage 240mg BID to obtain improvement and she remained on TMS for 30 days. Again she deteriorated almost immediately when taken off of the prescription.

She was put on Clindamycin 75 mg BID and immediately improved, she remained normal while on Clindamycin. She remained on Clindamycin for 6 weeks and still retains relatively normal ambulation with only some small residual effects from the times when she deteriorated between prescriptions. *See attached document

Zeplin – male Scottish Terrier presented at 3 ½ months with rear movement problems.  X-rays, blood tests showed no indications of any problems.  Communication with the owner broke down at this time, no further updates possible.

Toni – female Scottish Terrier given second Vaccination at 3mons - one week later movement problems were seen resembling Scotty cramp. But, unlike Scottie cramp, it progressively got worse, especially when excited.  Her back became very roached.  Some days she would not be able to walk without falling over.  She also had a skin rash that could become very red and scabby but never itchy. 

A hair analysis was sent away and we were given a summary of the treatment path.

*(See attached document)

June 4/04 - She was put on TMS   1 – 250 mg pill a day An immediate improvement was seen.  But after 8 or 9 days movement problems reoccurred so we doubled her dose to 500mg once a day. She did well for a period 3 weeks and then relapsed to some extent.

July 1/04 – some movement abnormalities have returned intermittently. She was medicated for 10 days with Clindamycin 100mg BID, 10 days with Metronidazole  500mg once a day, 5 days with Drontal Plus 2 pills once a day then Tetracycline 250mg BID until Aug 16.

Aug. 16/04 - She developed a lump in the throat and had a significant relapse.

Aug. 18/04 - prescribed Clindamycin 100mg once a day.  Stopped TMS treatment.  Biopsy done on throat lump. Biopsy was sent to the Saskatoon Vet College, results were inconclusive.

Aug. 20/04 – significant improvements are apparent there is no hopping while walking, no stiff leggedness .  she is feeling good but is not eating.  Still hopping while running.

Aug. 22/04 – Increased dosage to 150 mg Clindamycin once a day. Still not eating.

Aug. 23/24 – added  240 mg TMS once a day.  Eating small amounts.  She is still hopping while running.

September 1/04 – Toni is doing  very well.  The lump in her throat is almost gone.  She is more willing to eat.  She is moving more freely with a stiff legged gait only when she breaks out into a run.  Lively and very playful now.  She is on 150mg of Clindamycin once a day and 240mg TMS TID

*(See attached document)

September 15/04 – Toni has returned to a near normal state. Her health, her skin, her movement all appear normal. She is running, playing, jumping on furniture, wrestling with other dogs. These are things she was never able to do before.

September 23/04 – started reducing TMS while maintaining Clindamycin.

Oct 7/04 –  she has had a significant relapse, she is on 240mg TMS once a day, 150mg Clindamycin once a day.

Oct 11/04 – she was returned to higher dosages of 240mg TMS BID and 150 mg Clindamycin BID

Oct 23/04 – she has again returned to near normal movement and her overall health is improving.

Tululah – female Scottish Terrier - Phoned owners when problems arose with other puppies.  The owners said she seemed fine but sometimes noticed that she had a stiffness in her rear leg.  X-rays etc. were done with no abnormal findings.

The other two puppies appear normal

Additional dogs with problems include:

Aaron – male Scottish Terrier Born 6/10/02

July 05, 2004 - He seemed normal in every way until he went to a dog show in Winnipeg MB. A friend noticed strange rear leg movement and arching of back while he was being gaited in the ring. Another competitor described it as the worst case of Scotty cramp they had ever seen.  He returned home on the 8^th and we notice progressively worsening rear movement and arching of his back, he also vomited on the Wednesday and Thursday.  

July 8, 2004 – prescribed Clindamycin in the evening which we gave immediately, improvement was evident by noon the next day. A video was taken of him gaiting on Friday noon. Movement problems are still evident on the tape but significantly decreased from the day before. 

Aug. 15^th  Aaron is doing very well.  He seems normal in every way. 

Tory – Born 08/07/94

In the last few years it has been difficult for him to climb or descend stairs, he has been unable to lift his leg to urinate without falling over. His rear leg movement, leg muscles and back have been slowly but progressively deteriorating.  Because of our success with the younger dogs we decided to start this dog on a treatment of Tetracycline 250 mg BID in the middle of July.  We have noticed a significant improvement in his abilities in day to day activities

September 1/04 - Tory is doing very well.  His topline is very different now.  It has been six weeks since starting his treatment.  He is very playful and is able to run more. He is now able to climb stairs, run and lift his leg to urinate. 

 A video was taken of his improvement.  We are gradually taking him off of the Tetracycline.

September 30/04 - Tory has been off of Tetracycline 1 week and we have noticed regression, he is stumbling more and losing his topline.

October 7/04 –  We have started Tory on 150mg Clindamycin once a day.

October 23/04 – He is on Clindamycin 150mg once a day. He is improving daily, he can run again and has reverted to near normal movement. His topline has improved and his overall health and attitude are good.

Because of Tory’s success we have started 2 other older dogs on treatment and will continue to monitor and videotape them. Their history follows:

Teddy a male Scottish terrier born July 1993 was a healthy puppy born in Alberta, Canada. At about 9 months of age his topline started to roach and his tail developed a distinctive curl. He slowly deteriorated and by 1 ½ years of age was clearly having unsteadiness on the rear. It has continued to deteriorate over the years in a pattern of holding steady and then having a period of deterioration usually accompanied by other health concerns such as ear infections or skin pyoderma.

August 23, 2004 - He has been started on a regimen of  75mg Clindamycin tablets BID. A video has been taken for comparison. Aug 29, I received a call from Teddy’s owner expressing amazement at the improvements she is seeing in his overall health. He has a higher energy level, he is sleeping and eating better, his skin condition is improved and he is more mobile. I will continue to monitor him and will video him again in a few weeks.

Sept 23, 2004 – Teddy has improved in several ways but most obvious is that he is no longer shaking and can stand and look about without problems. He is moving with more confidence but is still stepping very high behind.

Drum - a male Scottish terrier born May 1997 was a healthy puppy born in Alberta Canada. At about 8 months of age his topline started to roach and his tail developed a distinctive curl. He slowly deteriorated and by 1 year of age was clearly having unsteadiness on the rear. It has continued to deteriorate over the years in a pattern of holding steady and then having a period of deterioration. He was given Drontal Plus once per month and while on it he appeared to be able to maintain his condition with little deterioration. He was taken off the Drontal Plus approximately two years ago when because of current literature and studies, it was assumed that he had the inherited form of Cerebral Abiotrophy. He has deteriorated rapidly since that time. He currently has extreme muscle atrophy on the right rear leg and does not weight bear on it.

Aug 30, 2004.- He has been started on a prescription of Clindamycin

 He has been videotaped and we will follow up with further video.

Sept 23, 2004 – Drum’s owner describes his improvements as miraculous. He is no longer shaking and has better head control. He is weight bearing on his right rear leg. He is moving with much more ease and confidence and is able to climb over door sills and back onto his favorite spot looking out of the window. These are things he has been unable to do in over 6 months.

 *See attached document

Gracie is added to the video to demonstrate traditional Scotty Cramp

           

Additional note:

Both Cheryl Lang and I have each had a puppy born in the last 2 years who had to be euthanized because of paralysis from birth with no known cause.

This document accompanies a DVD. To navigate in the DVD, highlight a dog and press play and it will show you a clip from the date shown on the screen. There are multiple menu screens, if you look on the bottom right hand side you will see a multiple headed arrow, if you highlight it and press play it will take you to the next menu. If you highlight the single arrow head and press play it will play through from start to finish.

Distemper Treatment with Newcastle Disease Vaccine and Serum

Case Presentation:

Species            : Canine

Breed               : X German Shepherd

Sex                  : Female Spayed

Age                  : 4 years

Weight             : 21.4 kg

Name               : “Bella”

“Bella” was adopted from a rescue society operating in a rural area of Alberta, Canada, where the general dog population is poorly vaccinated.  She presented with a fever (39.5 degrees Celsius), a chronic (3 weeks) non-responsive pneumonia, a muco-purulent conjunctivitis and nasal discharge.  Over the previous 3 days she had developed chorea (neurological muscular twitching) of the facial muscles and hind legs.  A presumptive diagnosis of “Canine Distemper Virus” (CDV) was made.

The owner had found a reference on the internet to a treatment protocol recommendation by a “Dr Sear’s” involving the intra-thecal (into the spinal fluid) injection of Newcastle Disease (NCD)vaccine.  This is a chicken disease which is related to the distemper paramyxo virus and in fact the human measles vaccine.

 “Bella” was anesthetized (Hydromorphone 0.15ml I/V followed by Ketamine 1ml and Valium 1ml I/V and then Isoflurane maintenance at 2%) and surgically prepped for a cisterna magna “spinal tap”, CSF fluid was collected for laboratory analysis, and 0.5ml of reconstituted NCD vaccine was injected into the spinal fluid. “Bella” was than allowed to wake up from anesthetic.  This was uneventful with no signs of discomfort or twitching or seizuring.

At this time 1ml of  NCD reconstituted vaccine was administered I/V.

The same day “Bella” was discharged with the following medications:

1)      Phenobarbital 30mg – 1 tablet 2 x daily to be given if required for twitching or seizures

2)      Doxycycline 100mg – 1 tablet 2 x daily for 2 weeks for the secondary infection of pneumonia.

3)      Antibiotic eye drops for the conjunctivitis

Laboratory results from IDEXX submitted for a “Canine” Distemper Virus (CDV) Real PCR was POSITIVE for canine distemper.  This is a DNA test which becomes positive only if the CDV organism is detected, and therefore the most likely cause of the clinical signs of this patient.

Following this treatment, “Bella” made a steady recovery.  She experienced some minor muscle twitching and petit-mal seizures in the 1st month post treatment, these were well controlled with the Phenobarbital.  Following this she no longer required Phenobarbital and recovered to full health, with minor muscle twitches only evident while she was resting or asleep.

Discussion:

This dog was positively diagnosed by CSF tap to have distemper virus in her spinal fluid. Extensive veterinary experience of neurological distemper patients is that they progressively become worse, with euthanasia or death ensuing.  Very few survive the neurologic episode, and those that do have significant chorea, facial and limb muscle twitching forever. The fact that “Bella” made an almost complete recovery is therefore significant.

The use of the intravenous New Castle Disease vaccine is interesting.  According to Dr Sear’s protocol he would use “distemper serum” made by inoculating a healthy dog with NCD vaccine and then harvesting the serum after 24 hours.  As we never had any “serum” on hand, I decided to use NCD vaccine as an intravenous immuno-stimulant in addition to the intra-thecal NCD vaccine injection.

The rapid recovery from the chronic pneumonia and the recovery from the neurologic form of distemper following this treatment is indeed remarkable.

Note to Reader:

Prior to “Bella’s” treatment we were presented with two puppies with neurological (cerebral) distemper, from the same rescue group.  These puppies went to the USA for the above described treatment.  One was already significantly advanced and did not survive, but the other puppy not only did well, but continues to be a perfectly happy, healthy and normal dog.  I would have no hesitation to repeat this treatment protocol for any owner willing to go forward with this approach.  We know that there is an almost 100% mortality rate without this treatment.  I would also try to get the treatment done immediately as possible after diagnosis, so that we can try to limit even the loss of the puppy mentioned above.

Psychic Animals - Migrant Birds

Well we all know that our Alberta groundhog “Billie Balzac” has won this year’s weather competition when he saw his shadow on February 2^nd, 2011, and ran for cover, thus predicting 6 weeks longer of snowy winter.  This trumps the predictions from the more famous groundhogs, like Wiarton Willie from Wiarton, Ontario, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam, and Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania who all failed to see their shadows and so got it completely wrong.  Now Manitoba does not have groundhogs and therefore resorts to using a stuffed animal who saw his shadow and Toronto who has outsourced to Herman, a Vancouver Island marmot who also got it wrong this year when he didn’t see his shadows.

Now, this afternoon, I have just seen upwards to a dozen Robin’s and few European Starling’s feeding in the Crab-Apple tree in my garden.  They have come to join my regular visitors of Sparrows, Chickadees and Blue Jay’s. They are programmed by a different internal circuit and respond to increasing length of daylight to initiate their migration.  Now all be it that we are oblivious to whether in fact the days are any longer or shorter due to the overcast weather we have had here, we must believe that seen as these robins that have just traveled past some of the best of southern golf courses and weather to get here, that they are now forecasting that spring might be right around the corner.  This certainly gives me confidence that our local weatherman might in fact be correct that by the end of the coming week we will again be in warmer and sunnier conditions.  We definitely deserve it by this stage.

And remember that if you are feeding the birds in your gardens, then now is a good time to include food for the migrating robins.  Hoping that we will all experience warmer weather soon.

Treatment Protocol for Distemper virus in Dogs

If you look half way through the article is a dog which was treated with excellent results at Bridlewood Veterinary Clinic (we believe that this dog would have died without the treatment).




Distemper Treatment in Dogs

The Bridlewood Team of Doctors and Staff

Bridlewood Veterinary Clinic is equipped to provide medical, laboratory, radiographic, surgical, and hospitalization services, as well as acupuncture and an holistic approach to the care of our patients.  Our dispensary carries prescription drugs, vitamin and nutritional products, and herbal remedies.  We have access to, and utilize a large specialist referral base.  The clinic has an on-site pet grooming salon and carries a large range of prescription and specialty pet foods.  For After hours services, please contact the clinic.

Dr. Mark Rubensohn qualified as a Veterinarian in 1975.  He moved to Calgary in 1995 with his family.  They share their home with 3 cats and a dog.  Dr. Rubensohn sold his busy veterinary practice (Varsity Veterinary Clinic) in NW Calgary to open the Bridlewood Veterinary Clinic & Grooming Salon in November 1999.  He has completed postgraduate studies in Medicine, and has extensive Surgical, Emergency, Oncology, and Obstetrical experience.  Dr. Rubensohn has been practicing Alternative Veterinary Medicine for over 15 years, is a licensed Veterinary Acupuncturist, and utilizes Herbal Remedies and Nutritional Management.

Dr. Maya Levy-Phillips DVM, is the newest member of the Bridlewood team.  After qualifying as a Veterinarian in 2005 she has spent the past 5 years working at a Mixed Animal Clinic in High River. An energetic and active Veterinarian Dr Levy-Phillips enjoys spending quality time with her young family.

Dr. Catherine Pampiglione, DVM. American Certified Animal Chiropractor provides Veterinary Chiropractic and Physical Therapy for orthopedic/neurologic compromised pets.  She underwent intensive training in Germany at the Veterinary Centre for Physical Therapy in 2002 and she graduated in Veterinary Chiropractic in the USA in 2003.

Janine is our Animal Health Technologist.  Her previous experience includes many years at emergency, specialist clinics and alternative practice.  She is passionate about dog training, agility and flyball.  Janine and her husband share their home with 8 dogs, 3 parrots and 2 cats.

Rebecca also an Animal Health Technologist, has worked in the veterinary field for approximately 7 years.  Her love for animals ensures that your pet has a comfortable and friendly stay.

Donna is our full-time Receptionist and comes to us from the United Kingdom.  She spends most of her spare time renovating her home and exploring the local area with her family and exuberant Terrier.

Ashley is our groomer.  With over 9 years of experience, Ashley believes in using a gentle approach to enhance your pets grooming experience.  She also grooms and clips cats.

All services and products provided by Bridlewood Veterinary Clinic are Satisfaction Guaranteed.  If you have any suggestion as to how we can provide you with better service, please let us know.  If you have been happy with our service, refer a patient and receive a $10.00 credit on your account. To thank you for your support, we have included a redeemable coupon for your future use. We look forward to providing you and your pets with continued excellent service in the future.

Raisin Toxicity

Written by: Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic, Danville, OH
This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but ... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison
Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 ... He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.
This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk.
Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.
Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.
Confirmation from Snopes about the above ...
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

Houseplants Toxic to Pets

House plants can be very beneficial in our homes and lives. House plants can not only purify and renew our stale indoor air, by exchanging the carbon dioxide we exhale with life sustaining oxygen, but they can also trap many of the pollutants present in our homes and offices.

Many of our most popular house plants come from tropical climates where they have adapted to low light levels, making them suitable for the lighting conditions typical in the average home. However many tropical plants also contain compounds that can have adverse reactions in people, pets and livestock.  If you have any of the house plants listed below you should find out how dangerous they are, and if the risk they pose to your children or pets is worth keeping them.

These plants are wonderful specimens to have in the house and are very popular for good reason.  If their toxic aspect is not a problem many of these plants are very beneficial to have in your home. These beautiful house plants provide everything from expansive foliage that can be enjoyed year round, to beautiful sprays of flowers, to cleaning the air we breathe.

The above is re-printed from the website below which gives a list of the more common house plants that present problems for our pets.

http://www.blankees.com/house/plants/poisonous.htm

The following is a more extensive list by common and scientific names of plants by the Veterinary University of Illinois, USA.

http://www.library.illinois.edu/vex/toxic/toxiccomlist.htm Plants by common names

http://www.library.illinois.edu/vex/toxic/toxicscilist.htm Plants by scientific names

"Cherry-Eye" Correction in the Dog

‎”CHERRY-EYE” … THIS IS THE PROLAPSE OF THE GLAND OF THE THIRD EYELID. THE RECOMMENDED TREATMENT IS TO SURGICALLY CREATE A “POCKET” AND REPLACE THE GLAND BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE CONJUNCTIVAL MEMBRANES. FAILURE TO CORRECT THE PROLAPSE OR SURGICAL RESECTION OF THE PROLAPSED GLAND HAVE BOTH BEEN SHOWN TO RESULT IN AN INCREASED INCIDENCE OF KERATO-CONJUNCTIVITIS SICCA (KCS) OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “DRY-EYE”.

See how the correction is done using the Morgan Pocket technique via the kindly  posted link 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrBSxppLrT4

Distemper in Dogs Adopted from Rescue Groups

Distemper is amongst one of the most contagious of the diseases that we have to deal with.  It does have an extremely effective vaccination.  In many parts of our country as well as many under privileged areas of the world vaccination is either not done due to lack of access, knowledge or financial resources.  Many rescue associations manned by very well meaning people work in these areas.  They will often vaccinate these animals.  However if the dogs have already contracted the disease, it may only manifest after adoption as was the case with “Bella” and a number of other animals from the same organization.  These smaller organizations will not have the resources to support you through the costs of rehabilitating and treatment of adoptees.  Distemper unfortunately but one of these diseases that we see especially from organizations bringing in pets from outside of Canadian borders.  Not only do these animals often arrive with a variety of conditions which may or may not be treatable, but frequently bring in diseases that can be transmitted to our Canadian pet population.  Malignant “kennel cough” was a big problem with “Katrina Dogs” as were tick borne diseases.  Lyme’s disease has been brought to Alberta through increase movement of dogs. “Tropical diseases” are a significant risk to us here in Alberta and the vectors( parasites capable of transporting disease) are present here, so once the organisms are introduced to Alberta through animal movement we pace a very real concern with transmission in our own pets.  This year for the first time Calgary dogs were found to have contracted tick borne disease without ever having left the city.  Fortunately with winters such as we experience ticks are somewhat contained.

At Bridlewood Veterinary Clinic, we continue to believe that we are best served by our own Calgary Humane Society (CHS) as far as quality of care, back-up and support for adopted pets.  All animals are fully vetted, vaccinated, de-wormed and identified by tattoo and microchip.  They are all sent home with pet insurance coverage.  Free post adoption examinations are provided by the majority of Calgary veterinarians to further support both the CHS and the pets and the new owners.

Distemper Treatment with Newcastle Disease Vaccine and Serum

Case Presentation:

Species            : Canine

Breed               : X German Shepherd

Sex                  : Female Spayed

Age                  : 4 years

Weight             : 21.4 kg

Name               : “Bella”

“Bella” was adopted from a rescue society operating in a rural area of Alberta, Canada, where the general dog population is poorly vaccinated.  She presented with a fever (39.5 degrees Celsius), a chronic (3 weeks) non-responsive pneumonia, a muco-purulent conjunctivitis and nasal discharge.  Over the previous 3 days she had developed chorea (neurological muscular twitching) of the facial muscles and hind legs.  A presumptive diagnosis of “Canine Distemper Virus” (CDV) was made.

The owner requested a treatment protocol which she had found on the internet by a “Dr Sear’s” which involved the intra-thecal (into the spinal canal) injection of Newcastle Disease (NCD)vaccine.  This is a chicken disease which is related to the distemper paramyxo virus as well as the human measles vaccine.

Accordingly “Bella” was anesthetized (Hydromorphone 0.15ml intravenously followed by Ketamine 1ml and Valium 1ml intravenously and then Isoflurane maintenance at 2%) and surgically prepped for a cisterna magna Cerebro-Spinal Fluid (CSF) tap.  CSF fluid was collected for laboratory analysis, and 0.5ml of reconstituted NCD vaccine was injected into the spinal fluid. “Bella” was then allowed to wake up from anesthetic.  This was uneventful with no signs of discomfort, twitching or seizuring.

At this time 1ml of  NCD reconstituted vaccine was administered intravenously.

The same day “Bella” was discharged with the following medications:

1)      Phenobarbital 30mg – 1 tablet 2 x daily to be given if required for twitching or seizures

2)      Doxycycline 100mg – 1 tablet 2 x daily for 2 weeks for the secondary infection of pneumonia.

3)      Antibiotic eye drops for the conjunctivitis

Samples of the CSF were submitted to the laboratory (IDEXX) for a Distemper Virus Real PCR. Results came back POSITIVE for CDV.  This is a DNA test which becomes positive only if viral organism is detected, and thus proves the cause of the clinical signs of this patient as Canine Distemper Virus.

Following this treatment, “Bella” made a steady recovery.  She experienced some minor muscle twitching and petit-mal seizures in the 1st month post treatment.  These were expected and were well controlled with the Phenobarbital.  Following the first month she no longer required Phenobarbital and recovered to full health, with minor muscle twitches only evident while she was resting or asleep.

Discussion:

This dog was positively diagnosed by CSF tap to have distemper virus in her spinal fluid. Extensive veterinary experience with neurologic or cerebral distemper patients is that they progressively become worse, with euthanasia or death ensuing.  Very few survive the neurologic episode, and those that do have significant chorea, facial and limb muscle twitching forever. The fact that “Bella” made an almost complete recovery is therefore both significant and noteworthy.

The use of the intravenously administered New Castle Disease vaccine in this case differed from Dr Sear’s recommendation.  According to his protocol, he would use “distemper serum” made by inoculating a healthy dog with NCD vaccine and then harvesting the serum after 24 hours.  As we never had any “serum” on hand, I decided to use NCD vaccine as an intravenous immuno-stimulant in addition to the intra-thecal NCD vaccine injection.

The rapid recovery from the chronic pneumonia and the recovery from the neurologic form of distemper following this treatment supports our approach as a viable alternative.

Note to Reader:

Prior to “Bella’s” treatment we were presented with two puppies with neurological (cerebral) distemper, from the same above rescue group.  These puppies went to the USA for the above described treatment as at that time no Canadian veterinarian could be found to deliver the requested treatment.  One puppy was already significantly advanced with distemper and did not survive, but the other puppy not only did well, but continues to be a perfectly happy, healthy and normal dog.  I would have no hesitation to repeat this treatment protocol for any owner willing to go forward with this approach.  We know that there is an almost 100% mortality rate without this treatment.  I would also try to get the treatment done as immediately as possible after diagnosis, so that we can strive for the best results from the treatment.

Bones-are they good for my dog?

I'm frequently asked about my opinion as far as feeding dogs on bones and a variety of chews. Now just as we enjoy snacking, so do our pets. So what can we give them that is not only safe, but also beneficial to their health?

Dogs have evolved as scavengers, where a great deal of their diets would've been composed of the eating leftover carcasses of deceased animals. They have adapted over the millennia to have the jaws and teeth to chew. And they not only enjoy it, but they love it! It brings out a whole different side of their behavior, which can become very dominant and aggressive. Nevertheless, when bones are provided in the safe environment for the dog, it'll keep them busy for hours as they chew trying to get to the tasty marrow thereby naturally brushing and scouring their teeth. This helps to keep their mouth clean and their teeth in a clean and healthy condition.

Remember of course, that they haven't evolved to eat cooked bones, and so we always feed the bones raw. Cooking destroys the matrix of the bone causing it to become brittle, to splinter, and therefore is very dangerous. The raw bones (we always recommend beef bones that have come from the same butcher that you would use for our own meat consumption) have gone through meat inspection and are absolutely fine for your pets to chew on. Remember to always use the same precautions in handling these bones as you would when you handle any other raw meat products. We suggest providing your dog with a new bone approximately once every one or two weeks. Occasionally we will find a dog that cannot tolerate bones causing a degree of bowel disorder. In this case we would look for alternative chews which would be both beneficial for the teeth while keeping them occupied and satisfied. “Kong” toys, rawhide chews and a variety of other chews are available from pet stores. Generally however it has been my experience that some of these rawhide chews can get lodged in the mouth or throat or esophagus of these dogs and potentially can create some serious problems.

We stock bones at our clinic that we have found to be very well tolerated by our patients.