Think about testing your dog now for Lyme's

[Weed Shark]

My 14 month old American Water Spaniel has Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis (another tick-born disease), despite having the vaccine and Frontline. She is now on Doxycycline. I'm hopeful because she showed no symptoms of being ill. I'm told the earlier you detect it, the better your dog's odds. I'm thankful I had her to the vet just after Thanksgiving and asked them to test for Lyme's. If you've been in the ticks this fall, NOW would be a good time to have your dog checked out.

I lost a dog in the spring of 1987, because of a tick infested hunt in the fall of 1986. Lyme disease was not well understood at the time. A friend and I sadly both lost good young dogs. I'd sure hate to see anyone else have to go through that. My boys (12, 12, and 9) would be devastated if they lost their pup. I feel confident she’ll be fine…sure hope I’m right.

[311Hemi]

Sorry to hear about your dog.....I hope I never have to go through that. Hoping for the best for her. A close friend recently had a golden with the Anaplasmis, and the dog made it through just fine. The dog did not have Lyme.

I am curious if your dog was actually diagnosed with Lyme disease, or just tested positive for the antibodies? I believe there is a difference and I don't know Lyme can be diagnosed without symptoms. I will need to check into that though...I could be wrong.

Do you know what test did they do to test for the lyme? Certain blood tests can be positive if your dog has been vaccinated.

Not sure your vet (or any vets) would recommend routine testing dogs for lymes that are not showing symptoms....but maybe I am wrong. I guess each person can make that choice though. Based on what I have read: "most seropositive dogs will never become ill with Lyme disease and do not need to be treated." & "if you regularly test for Lyme disease in endemic areas, you will regularly get positive test results for Bb exposure, because exposed dogs will develop antibodies against Bb and in most cases will never develop clinical signs."

A document from the ACVIM says that a positive test with a dog that is asymptomatic would go in either of two directions: no treatment being the preferred.

[Weed Shark]

I was told too, that many dogs test positive and they are fine. My friend's Springer always tests positive.

My vet says the two diseases combined create a higher risk. Anaplasmosis by itself is apparently less serious, but less is known about the emerging disease.

She was positive on the blood test. On the C6 Quant. test she showed 134, with over 30 being significant.

I was told the disease shows up on testing about 4 weeks after exposure. If caught and treated early, the prognosis is the best. At this point, that is my best reason for hope.

[duckbuster]

What are the symptoms of the two together?

High temp?

[Harmonica Bear]

My setter tested positive for both earlier in the season and was not vaccinated prior (just to avoid the false positves). He definitely showed signs, lameness.

He is just fine now, had him hunting a week later, had a great season too.

here is the link A little bit scary

[Weed Shark]

What are the symptoms of the two together?

High temp?

My dog really had not developed any symptoms yet, so I can't answer your question fairly. However a brochure I have states:

The symptoms for Lyme disease… Lameness, Fever, Swollen joints, Kidney failure, "Not him/herself," and anorexia.

The symptoms for Anaplasmosis...Lack of energy, High fever, Swollen and very painful joints, Loss of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea.

[Weed Shark]

My setter tested positive for both earlier in the season and was not vaccinated prior (just to avoid the false positves). He definitely showed signs, lameness.

He is just fine now, had him hunting a week later, had a great season too.

here is the link A little bit scary

Harmonica Bear,

I read your other thread, and I'm glad to hear that your setter is doing fine now.

[Neighbor_guy]

My dog gets tested and vaccinated every spring.

My guess is it is just a matter of time before she tests positive. Especially if the falls continue to be as tick ridden as this last one. Holly Whaa!!! Grouse hunting was a deer tic fest all season.

Hope your dog does ok.

[CrazyLabs]

My brother-in-law lost his lab to Lyme's just over a year ago. It was heartbreaking to lose her at such a young age (she was 5). Due to a knee injury early on, she was already suffering from joint stiffness in the mornings, so the obvious symptom of Lyme's went undetected. It wasn't until she drastically dropped weight and wouldn't eat that they realized anything was wrong with her. By that point she was in kidney failure and it was too late to do anything.

I committed to myself (and my dogs) that they would be vaccinated every year for Lyme's. We found out this fall that our older lab tested positive for Anaplasmosis. After further tests, the vet determined that our dog was a carrier and most likely will never show symptoms, but will continue to be checked every year. It was a little scary until we got the final results, though.

From what my vet said, there is no vaccine for Anaplasmosis, but it can be as deadly as Lyme's if not caught in time.

[dogs]

Why not just treat them as if they had it. Thats what my health care does just gives me some doxycycline, had lymes twice they say test are inaccurate and the treatment is very simple and cheaper than the test..

[Cooter]

Any side effects of doxycycline?

[duckbuster]

Dogs or anyone else, when treating a dog for Lymes with this doxycycline med is the dog on it for life or is it like attacking an infection?

THANKS

[311Hemi]

The dog is not on it for life. It is an antibiotic used for a certain amount of time.....could be weeks to a couple months depending on the caregivers regiment.

[dogs]

I just remember getting yellowish skin from being in the sun to much, a warning about dairy products. I think as antibiotics goes it is pretty mild.

[Weed Shark]

My dog gets tested and vaccinated every spring.

My guess is it is just a matter of time before she tests positive. Especially if the falls continue to be as tick ridden as this last one. Holly Whaa!!! Grouse hunting was a deer tic fest all season.

Hope your dog does ok.

With my lifestyle, the tick-filled October grouse trips are the biggest concern for our dog. I'll probably make a habit of getting her checked just after Thanksgiving, to catch any disease in the earliest stages.

[caseymcq]

There is a small problem with [over]using antibiotics. While they work well for treating infection(s) they also work in some bacterias' favor. There are certain amounts of antibiotic resistant bacteria (often referred to as "superbugs"). Like any organism there population is limited by compettition(for resources) from their peers.

An over simplified example would be competition for space. For conversation sake here is a scenario there is an area that will allow for 10 organisms to exist at any given time and 7 are normal bacteria (NB) and 3 are anitbiotic resistant (AB). The only way a new bacteria can be "born" is for one to die and under normal circumstances they are replaced 1 for 1 (a.k.a NB replaces NB and AB replaces AB). The ratio would remain 7:3 under normal circumstances and under these conditions a dose of antibiotics would be adequate to help an infected individual fight off enough of the bacteria (7 of them) to the point that the individual's immune system would take care of the remaining 3.

Now, through the over use of antibiotics (a departure from "normal" circumstances) there has been a shift because the "artificial" reduction in the number of NB has allowed for more AB. Now the ratio has flipped 3:7. Antibiotic treatment would only take care of 3 bacteria leaving 7 to be dealt with by the individuals immune system which may be too much and as a result leading to a more severe infection.

Like I said, it is an oversimplified example and even at that it may be hard to follow to the point I was trying to get across. Which is essentially, there can be problems created when antibiotics are used when the use is not essential (over used). This has become a problem for treating illnesses such as TB, staph infections and strep to name a few.

I definitely would NOT advocate denying a dog (or anyone) treatment for Lymes. We had to do it with one of our dogs and we lost a dog to Lymes, which I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through. But I would caution against treating with (any) antibiotics exclusively as a precautionary measure for concern of promoting superbugs.

[dogs]

thanks