Dog has fever, lethargy, low platelets, tick tests negative. What's next?

Question

My dog has been very lethargic for about 3 weeks. She has visited the vet twice, both times had a fever (104.1, then 104.9), both times blood tested and came back with very low platelet count. She was tested for all tick borne diseases and came back negative. Shows no other symptoms other than lethargy, fever, and stiffness. Eats, drinks, urinates, and poops normal. Should I get her tested for cancers/immune diseases? Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Female | spayed | 4 years and 4 months old | 36 lbs

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

Maxi certainly sounds quite sick, but I am glad to hear that she is eating and drinking normally. As I'm sure your vet discussed, tick borne diseases are one of the more common causes of a fever of unknown origin (FUO). However, FUOs can also be caused by other infectious diseases (toxoplasmosis, Bartonella, Brucella, mycoplasma, fungal diseases, etc.) as well as immune-mediated or cancerous causes. To answer your question, yes, you will need to do some more diagnostics to get to the bottom of this issue. Different causes of the FUO will require different treatments. Maxi's vet will be able to guide you as to their next tier of diagnostic testing based upon their clinical suspicions. I hope that all goes well!

Dog has fever, lethargy, low platelets, tick tests negative. What's next?

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