What To Expect At Home
Home care for dogs with Lyme disease is relatively straightforward. Doxycycline is usually given by mouth twice daily for at least 30 days. Improvement in the dogs symptoms should be noted within 24-48 hours. If the dogs condition fails to improve in 72 hours or worsens at any time, call your veterinarian.
Does Lyme Disease Treatment With Antibiotics Affect Antibody Levels
Antibiotic treatment affects the pathogen . It does not directly influence antibody titers. However, if the treatment is successful and bacteria are removed from the host, the B-cells are not further triggered to produce new antibodies. As a consequence antibodies levels decrease after treatment. Thus, antibody levels are indicators of treatment success .
If My Animal Is Positive On The Assay Should He/she Be Treated For Lyme Disease
If your animal is displaying clinical signs of Lyme disease and is positive on the Lyme Multiplex assay, it is advisable to discuss treatment options with your veterinarian. If your animal appears healthy, discuss the risks and benefits of treatment and develop a monitoring plan with your veterinarian.
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How We Eliminate Lyme Symptoms
Dr. Stephen Tobin is a holistic vet out of Connecticut who treated thousands of cases of dog lyme disease using homeopathy. He has treated over 1,000 dogs with Lyme disease.
He discovered that Ledum palustre in a 1M potency given three times daily for three days is about as close as you can get to a specific cure.
According to Dr. Tobin, this method has cured cats, dogs, and horses with recent and established infections, some of which were first treated with antibiotics. In addition, he uses the Lyme disease nosode, a homeopathic preparation of Borrelia burgdorferi 60x as a preventive, giving one dose daily for one week, then one dose weekly for one month, and one dose every six months indefinitely.
We used his protocol of 1M Ledum 3 times a day for 3 days and our girls symptoms completely disappeared.
Tiny Deer Ticks Transmit Lyme Disease
Although the tick prefers certain creaturessuch as voles, white-footed mice, or deerupon which to feed during the various stages of its life cycle, it is quite willing to feed on people or dogs. Regardless of its stage of development , if the tick carries the bacteria in its body, people and dogs can become infected if bitten. Once a tick attaches, it takes 1-2 days for it to transmit the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, so prompt removal of ticks is important. Risk of transmission is highest during periods when the nymphs and adults are actively seeking hosts.
Lyme disease in dogs has been reported in every state in the United States, but certain geographical areas are much more likely to harbor bacteria-carrying ticks than others. Infection rates of ticks vary, but can be as high as 50%. Areas in the United States where it occurs most often include the northeast , upper Midwest, and Pacific coast. The disease is actually named after the town Lyme, Connecticut, where an early outbreak was first described. Lyme disease is also seen in Europe and Asia. The risk of Lyme disease being transmitted to people is increasing. In the last 20 years, the number of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control has about doubled, to around 30,000/year. Although the rate of occurrence of the disease in a geographic area is similar in both animals and people, animals, especially dogs, are at significantly higher risk because of their greater exposure to ticks.
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When To Contact Your Vet
If your pet is showing any of the signs of Lyme disease, book an appointment with your vet ASAP, especially if you have found a tick on them recently. You know your dog best. If they dont have the symptoms listed above but you are still concerned, its always best to contact your vet.
Find out whether you are eligible for free or low cost PDSA veterinary treatment by using our online checker.
My Dog Is Lyme Positive
The increased prevalence of ticks in the Chittenden County over the last 10 years has led to a greater number of dogs testing positive for Lyme disease.
The first thing to know when your dog tests positive for Lyme disease is that this test merely identifies dogs that have been exposed to the organism that can cause Lyme disease, not the illness itself. Some time since, or just prior to, the last test, your dog was bitten by a tick that harbored the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi. According to a study at Cornell University, 94% of dogs that have been exposed will never develop disease symptoms. This means a positive test is not the end of the world.
Clinical Lyme disease manifests itself in a variety of ways but most commonly we will see limping that is often combined with a decreased appetite and energy level. A physical exam will typically identify joint swelling, pain, fever and sometimes enlarged lymph nodes. If your dog is exhibiting these clinical signs then treatment is imperative. The antibiotic Doxycycline is our first choice. Signs typically resolve within the first three days and improvement can be seen within 24 hours. Typically a 3-4 week course of antibiotics is recommended but longer treatments are sometimes advised.
What lameness can look like with Lyme disease :
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Reducing Future Lyme Disease Risks
How Lyme Disease Is Diagnosed In Dogs
If your vet believes that your pet could be suffering from Lyme disease they will review a full medical history of your dog health, discuss with you any instances when your dog may have come into contact with ticks, examine your pet’s body for ticks, then perform a number of tests which may include, blood tests , urine analysis, fecal exam and x-rays. If painful joints is one of your pup’s symptoms, your vet may draw fluid from the affected joints to be analyzed.
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Questions To Ask Your Veterinarian
If your dog has a positive Lyme test but no symptoms of the disease or protein in the urine, ask your veterinarian why he or she is recommending treatment. Experts currently recommend against antibiotic therapy under these circumstances because the dogs immune system is holding the bacteria in check and antibiotics are unable to eliminate the infection.
Dogs who have contracted Lyme disease do not develop prolonged, protective immunity and can be reinfected at a later date. Talk to your veterinarian about how best to prevent future infections. Options include measures to prevent the ticks that carry Lyme disease from biting your dog and Lyme vaccination.
Remedy: Ledum Palustre 200c
Ledum is the foremost remedy for any kind of animal bite.
- Give the first dose of this remedy at the time you remove the tick.
- Continue dosing with Ledum every 3 hours for the first day
- Then, dose twice daily for a week
- After the first week, dose twice weekly for a month
- Then once per week for another month
This is probably overkill, but worth the extra effort to be certain.
If the tick was discovered in the last few days, Step 1 is likely all youll need.
But if your dog has been diagnosed with Lyme disease that is older and more entrenched, follow Step 1 as above, then add Step 2 at any time after using Ledum.
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Topic 4b: Treatment For Bbseropositive Dogs With Pln
For clinically stable seropositive dogs with mild changes of PLN recommendations include antimicrobial treatment, evaluation for evidence of other possible causes of proteinuria , and management of proteinuria, hypertension, and hypercoagulopathy based on established standardofcare guidelines including a reninangiotensinaldosterone system inhibitor blocker), antithrombotics, protein and phosphorusrestricted diets based on IRIS staging, omega3 fatty acids, and antihypertensives if needed., , For dogs with more severe, persistent, or progressive glomerular disease, or complications such as vomiting, dehydration, edema, effusions, or worsening azotemia, additional recommendations include antiemetics, crystalloids or colloids, aldosterone antagonist diuretics, phosphate binders, and treatments for chronic kidney disease as needed., , In addition, immunosuppressive agents are indicated if there is biopsyconfirmed evidence of an active immunemediated pathogenesis ,, or even without biopsy confirmation in nonresponders or those with rapid progression, severe azotemia or severe hypoalbuminemia ., ,
Natural Treatment For Lyme Disease In Dogs
Lyme disease in dogs is the leading tick-borne disease in the United States.
And while Lyme disease may not be common and many dogs never develop any symptoms, it is something that you need to treat if your dog starts showing signs
But if your dog does get this infection, dont run to the vet for drugs without trying these natural alternatives first.
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Treatment Options For Canine Lyme Disease
Four weeks of doxycycline is recommended at either 10 mg/kg once daily or divided twice daily. CS of Lyme Arthritis should rapidly improve within one to three days. Treatment of pain is best with gabapentin rather than NSAIDs to avoid the need for a washout period in case corticosteroids are needed for a persistent immune mediated polyarthritis. Although considered beyond the scope of this article, treatment of Lyme Nephritis includes doxycycline along with the standard treatments for glomerulonephritis, (including a low protein diet, ace-inhibitors, aldosterone receptor blockers, antithrombotics, antihypertensive agents, omega-3 fatty acids, and immunosuppressive agents.
Diagnosis Of Lyme Borreliosis In Animals
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Based on a combination of history, clinical signs, laboratory data, response to therapy, and exclusion of other diseases
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Serology is important, but positive results have a low positive predictive value of clinical disease
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Culture and PCR do not reliably detect spirochetes
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Cytology and histopathology of affected tissues may show characteristic inflammatory changes
A diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis is generally reached through the exclusion of other diseases, in tandem with a history of exposure to ticks, clinical signs, supporting laboratory data, and response to therapy. Because clinical signs are nonspecific, other diseases may mimic the signs of Lyme borreliosis. Moreover, most infected animals are asymptomatic, so a positive test result for B burgdorferi has a low positive predictive value for clinical disease. In other words, a positive test neither demonstrates that current clinical signs are caused by infection with B burgdorferi, nor suggests that the animal is likely to develop clinical illness in the future. Thus, a positive test result in a clinically ill animal may be an incidental finding.
The standard procedure for antibody detection is a two-tiered approach in which samples are screened with a sensitive rapid assay and only positively reacting samples are rechecked with specific confirmatory tests. Although quantitative antibody assays are available to test for C6, titer magnitude is a poor predictor of current or future illness.
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Discussing Symptoms And Treatments With Your Vet
Does Treatment Immediately After A Tick Bite Negate Signs Of Early Infection
Not every tick carries B. burgdorferi. The infection rate of ticks also varies with geographic region. Therefore, treatment should not be performed based on a tick bite alone. If the tick was found on the animal it can be sent in for B. burgdorferi PCR. PCR for Anaplasma can be performed simultaneously if requested. If the tick was infected, early treatment can be considered. However, a tick must feed for at least 24 hours on an animal or human for B. burgdorferi transmission to occur. Only a serological test will confirm whether transmission of B. burgdorferi occurred and the animal was infected. Antibodies can be detected in infected animals as early as 3-4 weeks after infection. Lyme Multiplex testing is recommended after that time. Treatment can be initiated immediately afterwards if antibody levels are positive. Treatment during this early infection phase is generally very effective.
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Treatment Of Chronic Lyme Disease In Dogs
The treatment of chronic lyme disease in dogs consists of antibiotics. Most commonly, doxycycline or amoxicillin are used. Your veterinarian might prescribe a minimum cure of 14 days to 30 days but sometimes the organism will not be free of the bacteria in 30 days and relapse when antibiotics are stopped, case in which your dog needs a longer antibiotics treatment.
If the dog also has joint pain, pain relievers may also be prescribed.
Should Tick Control Be Maintained
Tick control in Lyme endemic areas is not only important to prevent Lyme disease but also to prevent RMSF, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis and other infections. Tick control begins with avoidance of tick habitats, careful landscaping and daily checking for ticks.
Ixodes ticks are field ticks that quest for hosts, especially from leaf litter, low-lying vegetation, overhanging branches and wooded, brushy or overgrown lawns. State and other public health websites help owners analyze their property and create relatively safe tick-free zones.
Tick control products often recommended include fipronil, amitraz collar, permethrin / imidacloprid and other permethrin-containing products. In some situations, combinations of products might be beneficial .
Any of these products can be effective in reducing transmission of Bb to dogs. However, products that prevent tick attachment or repel ticks are needed to decrease transmission of other tickborne infections.
For example, although Bb and B microti require 2-3 days of tick attachment for effective transmission, R rickettsii and A phagocytophilum potentially can be transmitted during the first day of attachment.
Theoretically, transmission times might be shorter if a tick is detached and refeeds on another host, but after a tick cements itself to begin feeding, it is unlikely to become detached with intact mouthparts.
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Traditional Lyme Treatment For Dogs
The traditional treatment for lyme is to use the antibiotic Doxycycline for 30-60 days. Sometimes it works and some times it doesnt. The long term use of the antibiotics does have an effect on the gut though, so be sure to use a GOOD probiotic for your dog while using these. This is very important.
Strengthen the gut with good whole, fresh prepared food as well. Not junk kibble and canned dog foods.
Signs & Symptoms Of Lyme Disease In Dogs
The symptoms of Lyme disease vary. While many dogs infected with Lyme disease may not exhibit any symptoms, others may show severe signs, including:
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Lameness
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Bruising or unexplained bleeding
Lameness, painful or swollen joints, fever, swollen lymph nodes, loss of appetite, and lethargy are the most common symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs and can range in severity. If left untreated, Lyme disease can lead to more serious symptoms, like damage to the kidney or the heart and nervous system.
Lyme disease commonly affects the kidneys more than the nervous system or heart. Unfortunately, it is often fatal. In cases of Lyme disease that affect the nervous system, seizure disorders and facial paralysis can occur.
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