on 19th Aug, Chocolate died. She was ill for just under a week. She picked up before she died & was eating again Thurs/Fri. On the Sat she stopped eating again, & was treated for Bloat, & vet detected a heart murmour. She died Sunday 19th morning.
Yesterday morning Barley bun, my Frenchie X of about 18 months old was a bit quiet. She was eating, but wasn't her attack-my-feet self. Mick came home in the afternoon, with instructions to see how she was doing (I was at work
) & she had died.
My vets were ace & agreed to do a post mortem last night - they got an on-call vet out & did it at about 8.30pm. There were no obvious reasons for her death - vet said there was a small amount of mucus in her windpipe, but that that can occur after death. The vet has sent some tissue off to the lab - results are back in a week. She did say that sudden death like this can be caused by VHD.
Barley & Chocolate were part of a bonded group of 13. All were vaccinated 4.5months ago for VHD & 5 mths for myxi. They live in one room, with supervised outdoor access about 2-3 times a week, to an enclosed back garden where I have never seen anything larger than a bird. All poisonous plants are removed & low branches, although they have plenty of brambles & dandelions to go at. There is a plum tree in my garden, that has been dropping plums constantly over the last 3-4 weeks. Before buns go outside, I pick them all up - I know buns can have small amounts of plums, but that wasn't a small amount & I didn't want the fruit rotting into the grass & somebun eating it.
All my own buns & foster buns have garden time - except 2 single fosters that have only been out in the run, never used by my own buns.
I have bun-room shoes. I walk through all 3 bun rooms & the enclosed garden with these, but nowhere else. In the other 2 bun rooms were the 2 single fosters that only use the run - so their access to my own buns was restricted to me & my bun room shoes. One of these buns went back to the Rescue he came from this week. He was completely unvaccinated. The other single foster was vacs for myxi only.
The final bun room holds Calel & Treacle, & two other fosters. They too are separated from my bonded group by a door, but have had garden time, & are subject to the cleaning out equip & shoes. Calel & Treacle are vacs, as is one foster, but the other single bun is myxi vacs only.
Upstairs I have my final foster. The only contact he has had with my other buns in the last 6-8 weeks, is my cleaning out equipment - a dustpan & brush, & a sweeping brush & garden time (alone, but same space as the other buns) He was vacs for myxi & VHD approx 7-8mths go, but I can check
All bun rooms are disinfected monthly. They were done Wed.
So I want to know:
1) what are the symptoms of VHD?
2) What is the incubation period?
3) How does it spread? My bun room shoes could be walking it in & out of everyone?
4) How effective is the Vaccine? & how long does it take to be effective after dosage? I will get the unvacs against VHD buns done today, or will this just damage their immune system?
5) Could bloat be a symptom - & if it is, should Chocolate be taken to the vet for tissue samples, or is it way too late:shock:
6) What else shows no symptoms (Barley), but would need lab tests as opposed to a PM:shock: ?
Yesterday morning Barley bun, my Frenchie X of about 18 months old was a bit quiet. She was eating, but wasn't her attack-my-feet self. Mick came home in the afternoon, with instructions to see how she was doing (I was at work
) & she had died. My vets were ace & agreed to do a post mortem last night - they got an on-call vet out & did it at about 8.30pm. There were no obvious reasons for her death - vet said there was a small amount of mucus in her windpipe, but that that can occur after death. The vet has sent some tissue off to the lab - results are back in a week. She did say that sudden death like this can be caused by VHD.
Barley & Chocolate were part of a bonded group of 13. All were vaccinated 4.5months ago for VHD & 5 mths for myxi. They live in one room, with supervised outdoor access about 2-3 times a week, to an enclosed back garden where I have never seen anything larger than a bird. All poisonous plants are removed & low branches, although they have plenty of brambles & dandelions to go at. There is a plum tree in my garden, that has been dropping plums constantly over the last 3-4 weeks. Before buns go outside, I pick them all up - I know buns can have small amounts of plums, but that wasn't a small amount & I didn't want the fruit rotting into the grass & somebun eating it.
All my own buns & foster buns have garden time - except 2 single fosters that have only been out in the run, never used by my own buns.
I have bun-room shoes. I walk through all 3 bun rooms & the enclosed garden with these, but nowhere else. In the other 2 bun rooms were the 2 single fosters that only use the run - so their access to my own buns was restricted to me & my bun room shoes. One of these buns went back to the Rescue he came from this week. He was completely unvaccinated. The other single foster was vacs for myxi only.
The final bun room holds Calel & Treacle, & two other fosters. They too are separated from my bonded group by a door, but have had garden time, & are subject to the cleaning out equip & shoes. Calel & Treacle are vacs, as is one foster, but the other single bun is myxi vacs only.
Upstairs I have my final foster. The only contact he has had with my other buns in the last 6-8 weeks, is my cleaning out equipment - a dustpan & brush, & a sweeping brush & garden time (alone, but same space as the other buns) He was vacs for myxi & VHD approx 7-8mths go, but I can check
All bun rooms are disinfected monthly. They were done Wed.
So I want to know:
1) what are the symptoms of VHD?
2) What is the incubation period?
3) How does it spread? My bun room shoes could be walking it in & out of everyone?
4) How effective is the Vaccine? & how long does it take to be effective after dosage? I will get the unvacs against VHD buns done today, or will this just damage their immune system?
5) Could bloat be a symptom - & if it is, should Chocolate be taken to the vet for tissue samples, or is it way too late:shock:
6) What else shows no symptoms (Barley), but would need lab tests as opposed to a PM:shock: ?
