Kim the day before he got so ill we had to drive him to the
veterinary clinic on acute time. Photo: Roger Nilsson

2002-04-04

Today as i write this, Kim is 7 months old. I thank God that I can write IS instead of WAS. For a moment there, we feared for his life.

A few days ago Kim ate a human medicine called Imodium. Vet's often use it on dogs to treat diarrhea, and I had too on my Poodle Tintin. The dosis is 1 mg/20 kg bodyweight. Kim ate 3 mg and his weight is only 10 kg. But not only was this treated as an overdose, as it turned out, the Collie-breeds are oversensitive to one of the ingredients (Loperamidhydrochlorid), and Kim acted just as if he was poisoned. The hind legs stiffened, he got dizzy and had huge difficulties to stand up and move. He stopped both eating and drinking.

Ofcourse this happened during Easter when the nearest veterinary clinics are closed, so after talking to Tintins breeder (she works at the vet. clinic in Karlskrona), I called 112 (the same as 911 in USA) and asked for the poison information. They had had two cases on dogs reported with this medicine, and they told me it contains opium and goes directly on the central nervous system on the Collie-breeds, causing Kims dizziness. They advised me to find an open clinic.

Ofcourse I could come, said the vet, but it was not much use since Kims body already had taken up the poison and there is no antidote. All we could do was wait and see. That night I put the alarmclock on every other hour to check on Kim. In the morning he got worse and I couldn't get him to absorb one single drop of water, so we drove acute to the veterinary clinic where he got infusion and emergency treatment. Two days later he could come home, tired but being himself in every other way.

It was only three weeks ago something similar happened, but we didn't need to seek veterinary help. Our little Toy Poodle girl Nikki has had eyeproblems and been treated with different eyedrops and pills. Don't you think Kim found one of the bottles on the kitchen table early one morning and chewed it up? The poisoninformation told me this about Isopto-Biotic: since it is supposed to be given drop by drop in the eye, this was to be seen as an overdose. But the stomach does not absorbe the mixture like other mucous membrane, and since Kim vomited twice immediately, and twice again a little later, there was no immediate hazard. It did effect Kims bloodpressure though, so we had to keep an eye on him the rest of that day.

I think most people know that you should not treat the Collie-breeds (Rough and smooth Collie, Bearded Collie, Border Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, Old English Sheepdog... - all herders with white paws, and mixes with these breeds) with Ivomec. Many of these breeds have died when being treated with Ivomec for nose mite and other parasites. There is an alternative to Ivomec that is supposed to give less side effects, called Interceptor, but recent reports show that the Collie-breeds can react with hyper sensibility to that too.

There has been a discussion on one of the Sheltie email-lists I'm on about the tick preparate Expot vet too, seems like some Shelties can take it while others can't. Anyway, I have learned my lesson the hard way - I will never treat my Sheltie with any medication that is not "bullet proof". Unfortunately most veterinarians aren't updated, so the best source for information are Sheltie breeders. Later I also found out that painkillers containing Paracetamol to be avoided to all dogs, but the Collie-breeds in particular.

There are other stuff than medication that can cause the Collie-breeds harm, an email-friend of mine tells me about mushrooms/fungus in the lawn causing death - thank you Kathy for that information! Read more here: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/MISCELLANEOUS/dec00.htm

I have read with interest the latest views on vaccinating our canine friends. I was made aware of the new protocols in the U.S. some 18 months ago after my then 10 1/2 year old suffered a mysterious and life-threatening illness. He was perfectlly fit and well until approx. 3 weeks after being given an annual heartworm injection (his first ever), in conjunction with his annual vaccinations. I awoke to find him unable to walk, move his head, and obviously in extreme pain.

After a course of antibiotics and 2 operations in an attempt to remove the "Mass" in his neck, we were told it was inoperable, and a subsequent pathology report diagnosed "suspected lymphoma". Our vet put him on Cortisone and told us he had no more than a few weeks to live. Thankfully I found another vet, who has given him the all clear, taken him off the Cortisone, and apart from some arthritis, he is back to his old self.

I am interested to know whether any of our readers can report any incidences of shelties experiencing a severe reaction to the annual heartworm vaccination that is now being widely used here in Australia. Needless to say, I still have many unanswered questions eg. Was it a reaction to the heartworm vaccination? Or perhaps a severe infection at the site of the injection?

Even though my current vet agreed that we could modify the vaccinations in future, he was still adamant that he have the kennel cough vaccination.

I would be most grateful for any other readers' viewpoints on the subject. My email is gaicollens@yahoo.com.au

In case any of you might wonder at all the fuss over one old dog, Jake was my first ever canine companion. The thought of losing him was too much to bear, so much so that 12 months ago we purchased another gorgeous boy....Thank you Donna! They are both the loves of my life....not bad for someone who, as a child, was terrified of dogs!!