Dog sicknesses.
Biliary
by Dennis Fisher.

This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different  dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects.  All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites.   Visit  http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com  if you interested in a breed   other than German Shepherd Dogs.


 Biliary, commonly known as Tick bite fever is caused by the tiny parasite, introduced into the body of the dog by the bite of a tick. The parasite destroys the red blood cells.

The first symptoms of Biliary is an appearance of listlessness in the dog and often loss of appetite. However, from personal experience I know that a greedy dog might sometimes continue to eat even though it has the first stages of Biliary.  

 Later symptoms include pale mucous membranes – an examination of inside the mouth and the eyes will reveal this. But this is usually much later in the more advance stage of the disease and this may be too late to treat the dog successfully.   Another symptom is brown urine.  

If you suspect your dog, normally a very greedy eater, is off his food it would be wise to take a rectal temperature. The normal temperature of the dog is 38.5 C.

If the temperature is higher then you can see the danger signals.   Once again, I would stress,  if you have any doubt at all take your dog to your Veterinarian for a positive examination.  This  can only be made by an examination of the blood under microscope.

If treatment is early, it is usually very effective.   Treatment after  injection by the Veterinarian  will involve feeding the dog a good quality balanced dog food and the avoidance of fatty foods.