It is hard for a canine guardian or veterinarian not to have heard about dogs and Lyme disease. In my opinion, this topic has created more scare and misinformation about this disease than useful accurate information and awareness, and how to prevent exposure to disease carrying ticks. Many veterinarians across the country over diagnose pets with Lyme disease, and subsequently treat animals with unnecessary antibiotics despite pets showing no symptoms of illness, which can be based on a widely available in-house combination Lyme disease/heartworm blood test.
| While Lyme disease-carrying deer ticks are certainly common in certain areas of the country (especially the Northeast and Midwest) an in-house positive test done at a veterinary office should never be the sole basis of diagnosing Lyme disease in a patient. Many times this diagnosis is inaccurate and/or potentially scaring dog guardians that their pets may have long term complications. A positive Lyme test at a vet’s office simply means that a pet has been exposed to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease called Borrelia Burgdorferi, but not necessarily infected. It is often thought that up to 90 percent of dogs, that are naturally exposed to Lyme disease, never get sick and fight off any signs of disease all on their own without any antibiotics. |  |
And while there are newer and supposedly more accurate tests now available at many lab, such as the C6 antibody test by Idexx Laboratories, it is the presence of symptoms and rapid response to appropriate antibiotic therapy (most commonly 3-4 weeks of Doxycycline), which are the most important components of making a “presumptive” diagnosis of Lyme disease in a dog.
Most experts believe that pets that have been exposed test positive on these tests, but have no symptoms of Lyme disease within the past year should NOT be treated with inappropriate long courses of antibiotics. Those pets that have shown symptoms of Lyme disease such as lameness of one or more limbs, sometimes a shifting lameness, fever, lethargy, enlarged lymph nodes on exam, as well as an occasional platelet or red blood cell disorders, and in rarer cases a certain type of kidney disease should be treated. With most of the above symptoms, response is usually rapid within 3-5 days in most dogs.
In the case of dogs that have developed a problem where they are losing protein into their urine (called a nephropathy), with sometimes low blood albumen levels and kidney failure, treatment is also indicated, however to date of this blog, no Lyme bacterial organisms have been isolated from the bodies of such affected animals and antibiotics like Doxycycline have not helped these pets, where the prognosis is very poor. In fact, most experts now believe that the reason why only a small proportion of dogs that are exposed to Lyme disease get sick with any symptoms, and even a smaller proportion that develop this urine protein losing kidney problem, is in fact the patient’s immune response in attempting to get rid of the infection (i.e called an autoimmune disease), rather than the bacteria itself, that causes most of the problems.
That is probably why the organism has not been found in those pets afflicted with Lyme kidney disease, and why Doxycycline and other antibiotics don’t work in those particular pets. It is this likely overactive immune response to the bacteria that has many veterinary experts hesitant to recommend Lyme vaccination to dogs, which can theoretically stimulate an over reactive immune response in some pets. This is a very hot and controversial topic, however most veterinary schools do not recommend use of this vaccination at this time.
Several years back a Lyme vaccination came on the market for people, but because of autoimmune and other reactions, this vaccination was taken off of the market. In fact I have often heard that widespread Lyme vaccination of dogs is even being recommended by vets to animal guardians in states where Lyme disease has rarely been documented. It is for these reasons that I don’t recommend Lyme vaccination for dogs, instead focusing on tick prevention either through natural measures or more conventional drugs for those who prefer them, such as K9 Advantix and Frontline Plus, or highly effective collars like preventic collars.
Whether through natural preventative measures or more conventional measures, it is tick prevention that is most important in preventing exposure to Lyme and other disease-carrying ticks. It’s also important for animal guardians to be aware of the common misconceptions and over diagnosis of Lyme disease in this country that I have discussed above.
Read Related Posts on PetMeds Blog:
One Comment
Cat fleas do indeed play a role in transmitting all sorts of illnesses, including Bartonella, and certain other infectious diseases less common. That is why it is so important to use some sort of flea/tick prevention medication, whether conventional meds or more natural holistic preparations most of the year.
[Reply]
One Trackback
[...] one often thinks of ticks and the role they can play in transmission of Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever to dogs and people, cat fleas may also act as an [...]