Has anyone had a puppy/dog with drug sensitivies? I have a puppy who had symptoms, loss of balance, etc. about 24 hours after taking Heartguard and after a couple of other meds.
What were the other meds to which your dog reacted?
An older Labrador, from UK and US show lines, sister a champion, had MDR1-like reaction to Heartguard, and the loperamide the vet gave her made it worse, as she started having neuro signs in addition to the GI signs.
She ended up needing fluids. Finally, after hours of diarrhea, she threw up what was left of the Heartguard and started to improve immediately. At the time, there was no genetic testing for the reaction. I just never gave her the drug again, on veterinary advice. I don't know what Collie genes were mixed in to her lines 100 or more years ago in the UK. I also advised my puppy buyers to avoid like drugs, just in case. She was bred to a dog who did not react to ivermectin for her only litter.
With the puppy, maybe the dose was just too strong, as I think that Heartguard is given for up to 25 lbs, even if you are a tiny pup.
As far as I know, only InGen seemed to market the MDR1 test to Labradors Retrievers. If you test the pup at Washington State University, I'd be interested in the results.
Another thought might be the liver, if the pup is sensitive to many drugs. Some inability to cleanse the drugs out of the blood, as in a liver shunt puppy, can lead to problems.
Thanks...
I will be testing at WSU. The puppy has shown sensitivity to Baycox but not to Nemex. He is not sensitive to Spot Ons. With my vet's suggestion, I will be using Revolution for fleas and Heartworm.
We did a high protein meal to explore for liver shunt and food is not the issue. If anything, he does better the more he eats and the more he exercises. This puppy weighs 55 pounds; so he received the 55-100? pound dose. So per pound, it was more wormer that it would be for a 100 pound dog. But, apparently, even dogs that are positive for MDR1 can tolerate Heartguard.
