Canine Herpes Virus

[centrop67]

Ugggh! I knew rescuing a dog was going to be a challenge.

My Snickers (GSD mix) was a rescue - sort of - as I got him from someone who found him at a very young age (probably only 8-weeks) wondering in a parking lot. But, Snickers was an awesome dog until severe respiratory disease took his life after 12 years. He never had behavioral or health issues until then.

Radar had an apparent rough life prior to arriving at the shelter - with his severe burn on the side of his body.

I was so happy that his initial health assessment from my vet was positive. However, I noticed the light reflection from his left eye was inconsistent, and upon looking closer, I saw three opaque patches on his eyeball.

I took him to my vet yesterday, and the diagnosis was canine herpes virus. From my preliminary research, it looks like this is worst for very young puppies and expectant mothers.

The prognosis is fair, I guess. He should have a normal life, but if/when the virus relapses he could have moderate to severe eye irritation.

I don't want my baby to suffer, but I guess it could be worse.

[leih merigian]

That is a real bummer. Sorry to hear about it...glad he's in such good hands!

[johninny]

what did the vet recommend for treatment? there are oitments for the eye to treat this in humans. will it work for a dog? no reason it should not unless the virus is so different, but that particular med is used to treat a number of related viruses, which leads me to suspect that it would be worth trying for Radar. also, it is a generic, so not costly. there are 2, one older than the other; do not remember names right now, but can find out if interested. the newest and likely more effective of the two is a topical formulation of an oral systemic drug named zovirax. my strong impression is that in humans, its side effects are absolutely nothing to worry about. whether tolerated in dogs is another matter, but your vet is unlikely to have a clue, so keep that in mind when he gets all negative if you do bring this up. if the systemic version were tolerated in dogs and if it had some of the same efficacy it often exhibits in humans [ 2 decent IF's], then Radar might be able to avoid any serious recurrence, but it would require on-going preventive treatment.
too much zinc is poisonous for a dog, but how much is too much i do not know. but i think [ again, not sure] that dogs do need some tiny amount. i would not know where to find out, but if it were possible to get a little more zinc into him without doing him other harm, it might have marginally positive impact on this systemic infection which manifests itself in the eyes. sorry i cannot be more specific.

would be glad to discuss any of this more with you if you care to pursue.

[centrop67]

My vet did recommend an ointment to treat outbreaks specifically.

No outbreaks so far.

I am keeping a close eye on this, and if it becomes a problem, I will dig deeper on making him comfortable.