Coonhound Paralysis

[hectorp]

My only one experience with coonhound paralysis.
In Decembre of 2007 I was trying a female dog it was the first time I took her hunting. I had three other hounds and this female. They treed a coon and I shot the coon but here in Mexico we have leafs on the trees year round and it was not a good shot. And the fight was on. I had a puppy six months old and he got in the fight, the coon grab him, I don´t know from which part, but he was crying, when he was able to get loose, he came running to me and he didn´t get in the fight any more. But the other dogs were able to tree the coon again and this time I made a good shot, and the coon was dead.

I left this dog at the ranch and when I went back 14 days later, when I turn her loose, I saw that she was walking, like if she was dissy and weak, I ask the guy that works in my ranch, that if he had notice something, and he told me that the day before the dog was well. I call the veterinarian and the owner of this female I was trying. We look in the internet and I have been a long time suscriber to Full Cry or I don´t remeber from where, but I remember of this disease. The dog was getting weaker by the hour. The next day she wasn´t able to raise. I read in a veterinarian books and at the internet that if in three days after the symptoms appear if they don´t die, they will recover by themselfs even with no medicine. (There is no medicine for this disease) The owner of the dog took her and he told me it took her more than 2 weeks to be able to raise again, all this two weeks she was lying down and wasn´t able to move any part of her extremeties, all this time .

Last February, one year and two months after the incident of coonhound paralysis I ask my friend to lend me his female dog and he told me ok, but to keep her at my home not at my Ranch, so I say Ok, I will do that. I went to pick her up and I notice she was a little weak, because she wasn´t able to jump to the pick up even that she try three times. I went hunting with her and two of my hounds (one of those it was the puppy that got beaten by the coon. Now he is bigger and he hates coons). But for my bad fortune this female got drown by a coon that night. I remember seen that she was weak when I start hunting her that night but she wanted to hunt. I haven't seen her in all that time. But for what I have read she didn't recover 100% because my other two dogs were also in the fight with the coon in deep water and they were able to survive. Or maybe it was only bad luck.

BOTTOM Line. They were four dogs in the fight and only one got the disease. It started 14 days exactly after she was bitten. She recover but in this case not 100%. Every time you take a dog hunting they take some kind of risks, but thats what they love doing and are bred for.

Saludos,

[michigan Todd]

Thanks for the feed back, but my dog that got the bug has come back 100%!! He is the most promising young dog I have ever owned so I am sure something will happen that will snuff him out, but I'm going to put him in the woods every time I can. I was wondering though if any one had a dog that got this disease a second time. I kind of think I should not coon hunt him, but he is a great dog and I just think the more he does the better he will get. With that said the dog is going to hunt it all til he dies.

[Ben Hager]

I took a friends dog hunting with my dogs and they got a coon down in the cat tails. All three dogs where on the coon and I'm sure all three got bit. The next day One of my dogs was sick but not bad and my friends dog couldn't walk. We took him to the vet and he died 4 days later. The vet gave some big name for it but it was coon paralysis. Poor dog couldn't move a muscle. My dogs lived and where fine but I keep up on their shots.
Make sure your dogs are up on their shots.