any French MNers about?

[basildonbond]

we're off to France in 3 weeks with ddog

he's got his pet passport sorted so is safe from rabies and a combination of seresto collar and milbemax should give him cover for most of the potential nasties he may encounter

However we haven't got time to give him the leishmaniasis jab as it takes about 10 weeks for immunity to develop. He's allergic to advantix which would protect him against sand flies - there is another collar he can have but only want to get that if it's really necessary.

We're going to the Atlantic coast (Aquitaine) - does anyone know if this is a sandfly area? I'm going to ring a vet near where we're going tomorrow but am fretting about it now!

[Branleuse]

He will be no more at risk than he is in the uk. Its only france

[basildonbond]

Thanks Bran - that's reassuring

[NaiceVillageOfTheDammed]

www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=20534

I would definitely call a French vet and the collar you may need is a scalibor.

My dog has leish and unfortunately few uk vets have any practical experience of treating leish dogs.

[basildonbond]

Thanks naice- the vet where we're going says it's not prevalent in the area but I may get a scalibor collar to be on the safe side

I hope your dog is ok

[NaiceVillageOfTheDammed]

NaiceDog is a bit poorly at the mo.

To give you an idea of NaiceDog's leish regime.

• Allopurinol daily
  
• Domperidone 3 times a year
  
• Half yearly blood tests - leish titre and liver/kidneys.
  
• He has 'sensitive' bowels aka the squits, regularly
  
• Different expensive foods to try to manage the squits
  
• A range of antibiotics to manage the squits
  
• Currently on Milteforane. A rather toxic one off drug to try and control the leish
  
• Currently on anti sickness pills to manage the sickness caused by the Milteforane
  
  I paint a grim picture but honestly he's such a lovely chap and whilst he's happy we will continue. I can't get pet insurance. It is expensive.
  
  Buy the collar. Get dog vaccinated for next time :-)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I agree with buying the collar and getting the vaccine. I treated leash, erhlichia and babesia when I was a quarantine vet. Sadly it has been very easily forgotten that quarantine wasn't just about rabies.

I

[basildonbond]

eek poor Naicedog - that sounds awful

thanks lonecat - I'm not sure if there will be a next time (depends on how well he copes with this holiday!) but if we do take him abroad in future will definitely plan ahead get the vaccine

can I just double check that the scalibor collar protects against fleas and ticks as well as sand flies? (I wish he could tolerate advantix - it would make life much easier ...)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Yes scalibor does it all. Have you tried the vectra spot on it does fleas, ticks and sand Flies?

[basildonbond]

I'm very wary of spot-ons as he developed an increasingly bad reaction to advantix and stronghold - my vet said it was almost certainly the carrier rather than the drug itself

[averylongtimeago]

We use the scalibor collar against sandflies, central France. We find it also gives much better protection against ticks, seems to repel them as well as kill them faster than spot on stuff.

[NaiceVillageOfTheDammed]

LoneCat - NaiceDog also had (and was treated) for Babesia and Erhlichia before we homed him.

Can Erhlichia, even after treatment be present ie dormant in the dog and flare up at later date?

I ask because I also still get NaiceDog's Erhlichia titre measured. I understand that once you've had Erh it will always be a positive test even after treatment.

Am I wasting my money having the Erh titres done?

NaiceDog's Leish titre is on the up and up and his kidneys are on the way down, hence the Milteforane - poor chap :-(

[Lonecatwithkitten]

If you are having the ELIZA IFA antibody test yes you will always get a positive test as the dog has been exposed and will produce antibodies. As a diagnostic test you do two blood tests two weeks apart and show a rising titre over the two week period.
There is a PCR test which picks up the actual parasite, but does not differentiate between live and dead parasite so has its limitations as well.