Valley Fever in dogs (Chandler: how much, live, expensive)

[SoHoVe]

How much of an issue is Valley Fever for dogs in the city?

[sandy6879]

It's common enough that vets know to test for it when dogs exhibit signs.

It's not common enough that every dog gets it. Far from it.

From my understanding - dogs at high risk are those that dig, hike in loose dirt areas, and/or are exposed to the elements during dust storms. Avoiding those issues will help greatly.

[hikernut]

One of our dogs contracted Valley Fever. She was about 10 at the time, and she had to be on anti-fungal drugs for the remainder of her life... about two years. Our vet (in Chandler) said that roughly 10% of the dogs she sees had it at some time in their life.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by hikernut

One of our dogs contracted Valley Fever. She was about 10 at the time, and she had to be on anti-fungal drugs for the remainder of her life... about two years. Our vet (in Chandler) said that roughly 10% of the dogs she sees had it at some time in their life.

+1, just like people, many dogs get it, and get past it without showing signs.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by sandy6879

It's common enough that vets know to test for it when dogs exhibit signs.

It's not common enough that every dog gets it. Far from it.

From my understanding - dogs at high risk are those that dig, hike in loose dirt areas, and/or are exposed to the elements during dust storms. Avoiding those issues will help greatly.

I was also told that small dogs are more prone as they are closer to the ground. Not sure if that is true.

[SMG]

My dog got it and it took her down, she never got over it. I medicated her for about a year, but it was too much for her.

[jimj]

VF hits dogs a bit differently than it does people from my observations both as someone who's had a medium case of it as well as my GSD having a case of it and what the vet has told us.
With dogs it goes after their bones/joints quicker than it does it humans, they'll usually show general malaise and their appetite will be diminished leading to weight loss. Limping,weird gate and joint soreness could be symptoms as well as respiratory issues like a hacking cough,raspy breathing etc.

The vet said it's common because dogs noses are constantly sniffing the ground, out in dust storms or around freshly disturbed dirt frequently.

Anti-fungals are used to treat it, they run around .80 cents +/- per pill, twice daily and the dog will be taking them for at least one year if not forever. We were told that only about 10% of dogs are able to completely stop using anti-fungals after being infected with VF, most will have to take pills for the remainder of their lives or risk a VF resurgence that would be harder to stop.

It can really suck for the dog to be honest, and we're just now after 16 months getting weight back on our GSD and getting her back to "normal".
I don't know if there's any realistic way to avoid VF in dogs as dogs do what dogs do...

[SoHoVe]

Thank you all for the responses. I was under the impression it was fare more expensive to treat and generally had a grim prognosis.