Does your dog need the Lyme vaccine?

Veterinarians in the area are promoting the Lyme Disease vaccine, a preventative said to protect dogs from contacting the dreaded, and often deadly, infection. Lyme Disease is a tick-borne illness, often spread by contact with an affected deer tick. It can render a dog lame, cause permanent joint pain and stiffness, as well as irreversible neurological and organ damage.

Affected dogs can be treated, but the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, borrelia burgdorferi, usually dies off in stages, not all at once with a round of antibiotics. Called spirochetes, the microscopic organisms work themselves into body fat when attacked and remain dormant until a dog’s immune system is weak –- and then they attack. Because of this, even dogs successfully treated for Lyme can suffer repeated episodes of it, months, and even years, after recovery. Called a “flair-up”, dog owners and their veterinarians often mistakenly believe the dog has had a second exposure to an infected tick, but usually the flair-up indicates that the dog’s immune system is compromised and the once-dormant Lyme spirochetes are back in action.

The Lyme vaccine is being offered in urban areas because Lyme Disease is spreading as ticks migrate to cities on birds and stray dogs – but that doesn’t mean giving your dog the shot is a good idea. The Lyme vaccine injects active (live) Lyme organisms into your dog's bloodstream, introduced to cause the dog's system to create antibodies to fight the invasion of spirochetes. If a dog's immune system is already compromised, this protective measure can backfire, causing an untreatable form of Lyme Disease. Many veterinarians will call this response an "adverse reaction", but what this actually means is that your dog is now infected with Lyme Disease due to the very vaccine that was designed to protect him or her from it!

The Lyme vaccine also does not prevent ticks from biting your dog, and if a tick is infected with Lyme, your dog can become infected too. Most concerning; some forms of the vaccine actually mask the symptoms of Lyme contamination. Dogs vaccinated for Lyme Disease who later contracted the disease despite the use of the vaccine have been known to show no symptoms - until permanent physical damage was done to their bodies, and too many times, permanent damage means death.

Instead of talking to your veterinarian about the Lyme vaccine at your next visit, discuss tick prevention. Ticks are problematic all year long, more so in summer and fall months. Using deterrents such as spray-on insecticides, chemical agents that are applied once-a-month (Frontline makes both types and both are very effective), or a natural herbal repellant made with Rose Geranium, will keep the ticks away and therefore, prevent your dog from Lyme Disease far better than any vaccine will.

For more information on Lyme Disease Treatment and Prevention, contact the author at: JodyPaws@aol.com