An engorged blacklegged (deer) tick. Photo: Wikipedia.
Many dog owners are concerned about ticks and the diseases they can carry, particularly Lyme disease though there are others such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis, to name a few.
"Fifteen years ago, a lot more dogs were dying of late stage Lyme than they are today because we weren't as educated about the disease back then," explains Dr. Judy Morgan, DVM, of Clayton Veterinary Associates in Clayton, New Jersey. "These days, we don't see nearly as many fatalities as we used to because of increased education."
Dr. Morgan and other local veterinarians now know to suspect Lyme disease when a dog or puppy has flu-like symptoms such as fever, joint pain or swelling, lameness, lethargy, and loss of appetite. If a dog has a history of exposure to ticks and has these symptoms or most of them, he should be seen by his vet as soon as possible.
"95% of Lyme cases are treatable with antibiotics such as Doxycycline, especially with early diagnosis," states Dr. Morgan, "but once the disease progresses, we start seeing kidney involvement and it's much more challenging to treat."
Part 3 Help dogs avoid ticks and Lyme disease
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Comments
My dog was bitten by a tick 2months ago. She started with a High Fever, limpimg on one hind leg and has lost about 12 ounds since then. When tested for lyme it came back negative but her vetr started to treat her anyway for it. after her inital cycle of anitbiotics I do not think she has gotten better. I took her for a second opinion and they stated that she has a terrible case of arthiritis of the spine. Along with a heart murmur. She just turned 11 yrs old. What do you think I should do test her again for Lyme?
Hi Arlene,
Thanks for stopping by, and I'm sorry to hear about the trouble your dog has been having.
If the dog still has a fever and doesn't seem to be feeling well, if I were you, I would make a written list of all the symptoms you've seen in your dog over the last few months, including appetite, thirst, energy level, color of gums, stool consistency (loose? hard? diarrhea? Any blood in it?), urine (normal yellow? Dark?) and so on--watch your dog closely and write down everything you can think of that seems unusual or different.
Then discuss the symptoms (if any) with your vet. Whether or not you should retest for Lyme is something your vet (or the new one) would want to decide on.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Leah
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