Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Effingham ks
Posts: 166

I have 2 hounds I'm hunting and both have went stupid. My 5 yr old all of a sudden about 6 weeks ago treed a opossum. I didn't think much of it since I have only seen him around 1 other opossum in 3 yrs. after that he would tree a coon or 2 then opossum. The other night he decided to tree another one. Since the other methods I tried wasn't working so I put the fear of God in him. Now he seems to of laid of opossum and treeing squirrels. He was diagnosed with that ehrichiosis a while back. He's on medication and vet said he should be good as new. He has also quit running tracks and just falls treed. He acts like he can't smell the difference between animals anymore.


I also have a 13 mo old female that all of sudden has a hard time running a track and when's she gets to a tree acts like she can't smell it and want tree as hard as she was and just stands on a tree smelling. This little female was very accurate and not so accurate right now.

My question is has anyone ever have there hounds do this and if so what was causing it. There not hunted together and both have similar problems.

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Last edited by adam keller on 12-09-2015 at 11:46 AM

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Registered: Oct 2013
Location: Maryland
Posts: 2633

A coon hounds nose is very sensitive, are they around any kinds of chemicals at all??? Or maybe could they have been exposed to something while you were out hunting??? I realize if you don't know if they were then you don't know...I saw a dog go temporarily blind and lose her nose from some kind of spray they used in a tobacco field once.
I recently had a dog test positive for exposure to erlichia. Now this will make some guys mad that frequently use Lyme's disease and erlichia for various excuses, but what my vet said the symptoms or effects were and what many claim they can be on this forum are two severely different things.
On here, I have heard everything from it causing tree fighting, deer and other trash running, refusing to hunt, running out of the woods and hiding under the owners truck, babbling, kennel pacing, barking mad idiot, etc. What my vet said was lameness that moves from one limb to another, tired all the time, loss of appetite, fever, sometimes bloody nose.
Usually, with dogs, it is the simplest thing that nobody thinks of...honestly, what I have seen cause exactly what you are describing is when all the coons have been killed off in the guys hunting areas. There are just slim to no coons around for the dogs to run and tree...but they are turned loose to try and sometimes even the older so called "finished" dogs will mess up. Especially when they repeatedly cannot find a coon. Squirrels and possums are still tree living animals and when this happens, kind of to their credit, the dogs are just going to the next closest thing. They don't want to run junk, but they just cant find a coon. Younger dogs and if it goes on long enough will try fox and deer when the coons are thin.

Last edited by msinc on 12-09-2015 at 12:14 PM

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Registered: Jun 2012
Location: McRae Ar
Posts: 3701

msinc, it causes everything your vet described and much more. He focuses on the physical side of it. The fact is dogs do strange things when they do not feel well. We have been dealing with ehrichiosis for a very long time. I have never had a dog with it but have hunted with probably over 100 of them. I have seen them go from coon treeing machines to worthless with zero physical symptoms. It effects how they feel so it effects how they preform. I do agree that some blame every little thing the dog does on it. The same is true for the thyroid but both effect the dog in ways we will never know and cause some strange behavior.

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Registered: Mar 2015
Location: Mi.
Posts: 1954

Have your dogs Thyroid tested.
1 of my dogs got Rocky Mnt. Fever {tick disease}
Other had Elirchia when I bought him.Both have been treated
and are now Thyroid pill takers.

Also have your vet do a 'tick titer panel'.They draw blood,send it {usually}to a University to test blood for alot of diseases.
The vets in house test may show pos. for something,but not be what the dog actually has.A tick titer panel breaks it down to exactly what it is.

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Registered: Jan 2004
Location: North MO
Posts: 2353

I have had two dogs with Erlichia, and I have had it as well.

I dont know how your dogs feel, but I can tell you how I felt.

The main symptom was fatigue. I missed 2 weeks of work because I absolutely could not stay awake. Never been so tired all the time in my life. Other than that I was sore, and felt hot all the time. Took about 10 days to start feeling better, and about 3 weeks to get back to normal.

Duds had it, he was over it before I even got him to the vet. No long lasting effects. My buddys dog had it, took about three weeks to get back to normal, no long term effects. Trader had it, was off for about two weeks and back to normal.

I question these 6 month erlichia slumps, and think you are looking in the wrong place for answers in most cases

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Registered: Feb 2010
Location: off the res.
Posts: 3416

The symptoms and severity of illness seen with ehrlichiosis depends on the species of Ehrlichia involved and the immune response of the dog. Generally, Erlichia canis appears to produce the most severe illness, and infections tend to progress through various stages.

The acute phase occurs within the first few weeks of being infected and is rarely fatal. Recovery can occur, or the dog can enter a "subclinical phase" which can last for years, where there are no symptoms. Some dogs, but not all, eventually progress to the chronic phase, where very severe illness can develop.

However, in practice is is difficult to distinguish these phases.

Signs and symptoms of ehrlichiosis may include:
•fever
•lethargy
•loss of appetite
•weight loss
•abnormal bleeding (e.g., nosebleeds, bleeding under skin -- looks like little spots or patches of bruising)
•enlarged lymph nodes
•enlarged spleen
•pain and stiffness (due to arthritis and muscle pain)
•coughing
•discharge from the eyes and/or nose
•vomiting and diarrhea
•inflammation of the eye
•neurological symptoms (e.g., incoordination, depression, paralysis, etc.)

Signs of other organ involvement can appear in the chronic form, especially kidney disease.

There are lots of variables with ehrlichiosis in dogs.

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Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Effingham ks
Posts: 166

Thanks for the info. Going to get my female tested for ehrichiosis this week. Figure if she has it to that must be part of the problem. As for the thyroid when i took my male to vet to get checked for ehrichiosis I ask about checking thyroid. He said he had no symptoms of having problems with it so no need in testing him. He's had hunting dog his whole life and been my vet since my first hound so I trust him. Just told me I need to get some different dog food.

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Adam Keller
Effingham KS.
913-360-2730
Wolf River English

Gr nite ch wolf river big Dan (gr nite ch Indian ridge spot x gr nite ch wolf river Bell)

Nite ch wolf river thunder Storm (gr nite ch Wilcox thunder Bingo semen x gr nite ch tree rock n Nelly)


Gr Nite ch Pr Wolf River Blue Bell (Gr Nite Ch Main St Jack x Gr Nite Ch Indian Ridge Cindy)

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