DuckSouth.com

This is just FYI for everyone. One week after a hunt with my lab he started getting ill. He was real lethargin and nonresponsive. I thought he was just tired after his first hunt of the season. After blood work and X-rays at the vet, with nothing showing up either place, I took him home. The next morning he had a violent seizure. My vet recommended that we go to MSU vet hospital. On the way there he had two more seizures. Upon first examination the doctor discovered that he had a detached retina and was blind. He had also endured some brain damage. The prognosis was "guarded". As hard as it was I decided to put him down. The diagnosis was "Fungal Infection" This occurs in hunting dogs as they sniff for game and ingest a natural fungus. It enters the blood stream and effects the nervous system. In my dog's case a mass had formed in his brain. There is no way to tell where this fungus is or to prevent an encounter with it. Mississippi is one of the states where this problem is most prevalent. I know this is a wordy post but part of it is theraputic for me and mostly I want to make as many people aware as possible. It was a horrific experience.

Blastomycosis is the name of the infection you are talking about and I lost a dog to it as well. It is a horrible disease. Blasto typically attacks either lungs (they cough like they have kennel cough), skin (have sores that don't heal) or the brain (you don't know it till it's too late... usually first indication is something going on with the eyes.)
When Blasto attacks the lungs or skin there is a good success rate for cure.

Another fungal disease that is also present in your area is pythiosis which attacks dogs intestines.

Sorry for your loss. What your dog might have gotten was blasto mycocciss. I lost my black female about a year and a half ago to it. Her only symptom was a cough she developed. The dr. thought it might be blasto but she tested neg. to it twice. By the time a pathologist confirmed it, and we ordered drugs to combat it she died, time elapsed 7 days. Its a nasty fungus brought to us courtesy of black birds. They poop it dries up to dust our dogs inhale it while trailing and whalla sadness for our families. To make matters worse there is no vacine for it, and the mississippi flyway, miss. tn. and ark. are hotspots for it.

I had a long drawn out fight with it last year. It is some bad shat. Dog stayed in the vet for two months and during that period two others came in and had to be put down with it. There is no way to prevent it. It lies in moist grounds like spores or something. If it gets in eyes, liver, lungs there is nothing you can do. I took mine in for swolen lympnodes and infection on one of his toes when they found a mass on a testicle.

Several years ago I had a coon hound come down with 'Blast'. Caught it early & got him through it with only the loss of sight in one eye. Terrible disease and costly treatment. Not long after that I had a female come down with the same thing....lost her to the disease. This was somewhere along the early 90's and there were several cases in my area at that time. Sorry to hear this.

Several years ago I had a coon hound come down with 'Blasto'. Caught it early & got him through it with only the loss of sight in one eye. Terrible disease and costly treatment. Not long after that I had a female come down with the same thing....lost her to the disease. This was somewhere along the early 90's and there were several cases in my area at that time. Sorry to hear this.

This 'not being able to edit or delete' your own posts stinks. Therefore, the ole 'double' post......

So for everyone who has experienced this, what are early symptoms?

Sounds like you need to catch it early to have a chance.

When I first noticed something wrong, I noticed he would look as if someone would if they had a bad headache. Would squint his eyes & lower his head as if he just wanted to go to sleep. I could just tell he didn't feel good. Then, like the next night, I noticed one of his eyes wasn't shining when I shined the light in it from a distance. Noticed it had a cloudy look to it and took him straight to the vet.