Valley Fever in Dogs and Other Animals (Phoenix, Tucson: apartment, neighborhood)

[PoppySead]

Now you know how people from the west coast feel about moving to the east coast and having to worry about Lyme disease. lol I had a friend who had to relocate from here to Connecticut. She had a couple of dogs and she worried herself sick about Lyme disease. Everyone told her horror stories. She went, was fine, her dogs were fine and as far as I know none of them got Lyme disease.
It's the same kind of thing. Most people and animals do just fine out here but there are a few who don't. You never know. I don't run across very many people who worry about it.
Just keep in mind that horror stories are the ones that make their way around. Only people with pets who've had a really bad case talk about it. Most of us never get a really bad case or for that matter know we've had it, same with our animals. Try not to worry so much. Keep it in perspective.
On the bright side, you won't have to worry about Lyme disease here.

Have your doctor check and see if you've had it. I doubt you got it from just one trip but maybe you've gotten it out of the way. Then you won't have to worry that much.
I would worry more about the animals adjusting to this heat. Make sure you have plenty of shelter so they can keep cool in the summer. Like was previously posted.

At least you're not worried about scorpions, centipedes, rattle snakes, illegals, gila monsters(this was mine), coyotes(both kind), bob cats, hawks and 120 degree heat. Those people drive me nutty. lol
Valley Fever is nothing. Oh, and I'd get a gun plus, don't let those barn cats outside without supervision.
Now, doesn't valley fever seem silly. lol

[Jkgourmet]

Poppyseed is spot on. It bears repeating that your cats AND dogs should not be outside unsupervised. Valley fever is not as much of a risk as getting swiped by a coyote or hit by a car. Those things happen all too frequently.

[Nanny Goat]

The "flu with the rash" sounds like Valley fever. My husband had a rash with it, too. The doc said the rash can be the first thing to present.
Not sure if horses would be affected by valley fever, but letting small animals out at anytime can make them subject to coyote attacks which are more of a danger than valley fever. They happen a fair amount of the time, too.

[lisa627]

Ha ha ha! Ok now I'm worried about everything!!!!!! And, just so you know, my daughter and son have both had Lyme, two of our horses-one of whom never fully recovered -as well as at least one of our cats!!! so that isn't something that's overblown up here. Even with frontline and everything else we have tried and use regularly on the animals. I would love to hear from anyone around Phoenix who trail rides or, especially, carriage drives as those are our loves with the horses And my kitties mostly stay inside but I guess I will be learning to shoot given that we will likely need to be in a more rural area. I guess that needs to be a different thread?

The illness for me has been very weird and hasn't gone totally away since April. However, the severe fatigue mostly went away about 2 months after our trip. I do have a low white cell count naturally so I am prone to catch everything. I literally had a rough time staying out of bed for awhile there. Very strange. Felt kind of like mono with a cough. But had mono in college and there was no cough and my glands weren't sticking out of my neck with this. Just going to run in when my dr gets back in town and get a blood test to check.

OMG bugs!!!! Scorpions!! I don't mind snakes (they eat bugs and rodent so other than the poisonous ones they're ok on my book)and try to keep a healthy distance but bugs -yuck! When we were in Tucson I was eaten alive all day by mosquitoes! That was weird and unexpected! But otherwise there were so few bugs compared to up here so I was happy! My darling hubby didn't get one bite though and I was bitten all over! I'm sure it's because I'm so sweet! . NOT

Originally Posted by PoppySead

Now you know how people from the west coast feel about moving to the east coast and having to worry about Lyme disease. lol I had a friend who had to relocate from here to Connecticut. She had a couple of dogs and she worried herself sick about Lyme disease. Everyone told her horror stories. She went, was fine, her dogs were fine and as far as I know none of them got Lyme disease.
It's the same kind of thing. Most people and animals do just fine out here but there are a few who don't. You never know. I don't run across very many people who worry about it.
Just keep in mind that horror stories are the ones that make their way around. Only people with pets who've had a really bad case talk about it. Most of us never get a really bad case or for that matter know we've had it, same with our animals. Try not to worry so much. Keep it in perspective.
On the bright side, you won't have to worry about Lyme disease here.

Have your doctor check and see if you've had it. I doubt you got it from just one trip but maybe you've gotten it out of the way. Then you won't have to worry that much.
I would worry more about the animals adjusting to this heat. Make sure you have plenty of shelter so they can keep cool in the summer. Like was previously posted.

At least you're not worried about scorpions, centipedes, rattle snakes, illegals, gila monsters(this was mine), coyotes(both kind), bob cats, hawks and 120 degree heat. Those people drive me nutty. lol
Valley Fever is nothing. Oh, and I'd get a gun plus, don't let those barn cats outside without supervision.
Now, doesn't valley fever seem silly. lol

[observer53]

Horses are NOT affected by VF at all. You can acclimate them to the heat with shade and plenty of water. They may have to be shifted to a different type of hay, but that's not hard.

Cats are also less susceptible to VF, some say not at all, but in the 80s I had the only cat which the largest vet lab in the Southwest had ever diagnosed with VF. There are FAR greater risks to your cats by letting them be outside at all, as others have said. Dogs do get VF, but if they are not diggers, the risk is somewhat less, and it is more treatable than in the past. They DO NOT catch it from people.

In the overwhelming majority of cases in humans, VF is NOT a serious disease. Many don't even know they have it. Don't let your fears about relocating, period, be overblown by what you read on the internet.

PLEASE, everyone, let's not make this another scorpion/insect thread, there are plenty of those already!

[lisa627]

Do you know if livestock guardian dogs are used much down there? We have one and there isn't much that would mess with him. Would definitely consider another although obviously down there they can't stay outside as much with the heat! But he could certainly go inand out with his doggies and kitties to watch over them. He does a nice job with other dogs, foxes and the few coyotes that have made a reappearance in our area. He will tear them limb from limb if they get near his animals. Or his humans. Otherwise he's the sweetest most easygoing dog ever. Strangest thing I've ever seen. He's literally a huge lap dog. Unless there's a form of intruder. Anyway, just wondered if those with many animals use them there?

Originally Posted by observer53

Horses are NOT affected by VF at all. Cats are also less susceptible to it, some say not at all, but in the 80s I had the only cat which the largest vet lab in the Southwest had ever diagnosed with VF. There are FAR greater risks to your cats by letting them be outside at all, as others have said. Dogs do get VF, but if they are not diggers, the risk is somewhat less, and it is more treatable than in the past.

In the overwhelming majority of cases in humans, VF is NOT a serious disease. Many don't even know they have it. Don't let your fears about relocating, period, be overblown by what you read on the internet.

PLEASE, everyone, let's not make this another scorpion/insect thread, there are plenty of those already!

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by observer53

Horses are NOT affected by VF at all. You can acclimate them to the heat with shade and plenty of water. They may have to be shifted to a different type of hay, but that's not hard.

Cats are also less susceptible to VF, some say not at all, but in the 80s I had the only cat which the largest vet lab in the Southwest had ever diagnosed with VF. There are FAR greater risks to your cats by letting them be outside at all, as others have said. Dogs do get VF, but if they are not diggers, the risk is somewhat less, and it is more treatable than in the past. They DO NOT catch it from people.

In the overwhelming majority of cases in humans, VF is NOT a serious disease. Many don't even know they have it. Don't let your fears about relocating, period, be overblown by what you read on the internet.

PLEASE, everyone, let's not make this another scorpion/insect thread, there are plenty of those already!

Oh, I totally agree. It was just a joke because of the usual horror threads. Please don't worry lisa627, we all make it. Pretty soon you'll be watching the news and being thankful you don't have to wrap up in a parka and shovel your drive. You will most likely love it, it's a lot easier to live out here day to day than back east. Yes, we have poisonous critters but they don't show themselves that often. Valley fever can have complications just like the seasonal flu can, but, most of the time there isn't anything to worry about. You will heal up and be just fine. On a good note you won't have to worry as much about arthritis or joint pain out here.
But, yes, do watch the cats as we have coyotes and hawks. On a good note my outdoor cat of 10yrs has never been a victim of such tragedy, so, you never know. I keep 2 inside though and would keep him in as well if it didn't make him ill.

[amatrine]

Livestock dogs do just fine. I have two Pyrenees. In the summer, they tend to stay indoors and when its winter you can not get them inside.

There are others with farms that use them. They keep the coyotes away.

I have valley fever, but my animals never have got it. I have had pets all my life. I have ten animals rite now , most who are over the age 12. None have ever got valley fever .

Allergies is another thing though. I have two dogs with seasonal allergies.
'

[lisa627]

That's so nice to know. We would definitely get another one to help keep intruder critters out. Guess I'll put this on a new thread to see who might breed these wonderful dogs down there. They are superb at their jobs and know when they are supposed to be on and when they are off! Thanks for letting me know they are used down there too! I feel very safe with our guy! The best ones seem to be the ones that other LGDs have trained. So we would be looking for a 2 year old most likely. Sorry moderator! I'll start a new thread about this! And driving horses. And feed and hay!

Originally Posted by amatrine

Livestock dogs do just fine. I have two Pyrenees. In the summer, they tend to stay indoors and when its winter you can not get them inside.

There are others with farms that use them. They keep the coyotes away.

I have valley fever, but my animals never have got it. I have had pets all my life. I have ten animals rite now , most who are over the age 12. None have ever got valley fever .

Allergies is another thing though. I have two dogs with seasonal allergies.
'

[ReadyFreddy]

I think the vast majority of Phx residents don't have to worry about coyotes getting into their yards and killing their pets. I think it'd only be a concern if you're within a mile or two of open desert. Heck, I am and I still never see anyone worry about having their little dogs outside in their (block walled) yard unsupervised, especially during the day. I don't know cat owners who let them run free so I can't advise there.