Natural Lyme Disease Treatment For Dogs

How To Treat Tick Bites

A dog in the wrong place at the wrong time can be bit by dozens or even hundreds of ticks. Deer ticks go through three stages of life , and feed only once in each of these stages a blood meal ends each stage.

Larval ticks dine on mice and other small rodents, but nymphs and adults are a threat to dogs. Because they are small and their bites dont itch, ticks are easily overlooked, especially adult deer ticks and the nymphs of any species. Ticks prefer warm, moist conditions, so double-check under collars and around ears. If you arent sure what a lump or bump is, inspect it with a magnifying glass. Warts, similar skin growths, and nipples can feel like feeding ticks.

Tick Removal

Be careful when removing a tick to grasp it with tweezers firmly at the head, as close to the dogs skin as possible, and slowly pull straight back. Never twist, press, burn, or apply irritating substances like kerosene to an attached tick because doing so can cause the parasite to expel the contents of its digestive tract, creating an unwanted hypodermic effect.

Get instructions on how to remove a tick from your dog here.

Cleaning a Dogs Tick Bite

I Found A Tick On My Dog What Do I Do

If the tick is still attached, and your veterinarian is open and able to squeeze you in, prioritize this appointment. If you cannot get in to your vet right away, removing the tick yourself is your next best option. Use fine-tipped tweezers to remove it as close to the dog’s skin as possible. It’s most important to remove the tick at the head, as this is where they can transmit the disease from. It takes at least 24 hours for an infected tick to transmit the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, which makes removing the tick promptly so important.

If possible, take a clearly focused picture of the tick before removal to show your vet and then save the tick in a zip-lock bag. If the species of tick can be identified, then your vet will know what diseases the tick can potentially transmit.

Tips To Help Prevent Tick

• Keep grass mowed as short as possible. Keep leaves and garden debris picked up.
• Inspect your dogs after walks. Check carefully on your dog’s paws, under the tail and around moist areas, such as the lips, eyes and ears.
• If you see a tick, remove it right away. Make sure you remove the entire tick. Tweezers can be very helpful.
• At your next visit, ask your groomer or veterinarian to check for ticks.
• Check with your veterinarian to see what vaccinations and/or flea & tick preventatives are recommended in your area.

Also Check: Dr Jay Davidson Lyme Protocol

How Can You Tell If Your Dog Has Lyme Disease

Here’s the thing, even if a dog has been infected, the dog may not show any symptoms at all.

If a dog does show symptoms, usually the symptoms show up two to five months after the tick bite.

Unlike in people where the classic symptom is a red, “bull’s eye” rash, dogs don’t develop such a rash.

Instead, one classic canine Lyme disease symptom is the sudden onset of lameness, and quite often, that’s the only symptom. You will notice that one or more of your dog’s joints has become swollen and painful to the touch. The dog will limp, and may walk hunched over. The lameness may last for only a few days, although in some cases it may last longer or recur for months.

Other symptoms that an infected dog may develop include:

• Fever
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Lethargy and weakness
• Loss of appetite

In more serious cases, an infected dog may develop severe kidney disease leading to kidney failure. In rare cases, the heart or the nervous system may also be affected. Understandably, these problems are more difficult to treat and can be fatal.

Natural Solutions For Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of one of several types of ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash that looks like a red bulls-eye. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Typically, a diagnosis of Lyme Disease means rounds and rounds of strong antibiotics which kill of the good gut bacteria which are a major contributor to a healthy immune system.

However, I have found it is nothing more difficult for the body to eliminate than any other stressor such as heavy metals, and it does not have to be a scary chronic condition. In fact, often the reason people cannot get over their Lyme infection completely is BECAUSE they have heavy metals or other toxicity suppressing their immune system. Once those are removed it is quite easy for the immune system to get rid of the infection.

Lyme seems to have both a bacterial and a parasitic component, and antibiotics only address the bacteria portion. When I work with Lyme clients, we address both components, providing plenty of support for the lymphatic system to clean out all the junk, and clients start feeling better right away.

In clients with a history of Lyme , I find they generally do have a low level of Lyme remaining in their body due to other toxins being present. Within a few months of being on their customized nutrition program the infection is able to go away completely.

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Heres The Common Symptoms:

• Your dog will become lame very quickly.

• Depressed.

• Dog lyme disease affects the joints and causes debilitating pain. You might notice limping and notice him or her walking gingerly on the front right leg. Then you notice that your dog walking gingerly on the front left leg. Then its not the front legs anymore, but the back legs. Youre not sure what is going on. This is what the disease does. The symptoms will shift from leg to leg. It doesnt stay in one leg. This is one of the best ways to tell that it is indeed Lyme Disease.

• If a dog has chronic pain in one leg and it doesnt rotate from one leg to another, chances are it is not Lyme disease.

• Tripping.

• Stiffness.

Your Dog Does Not Have Lyme Disease

Have you ever gotten a diagnosis of Lyme disease for your dog? I can say your dog does not have Lyme disease and likely be right over 90% of the time. More accurately your dog had a positive test for Lyme. It is highly unlikely your dog now has or ever had Lyme disease. An understanding of the test and the disease will help in understanding why this is so.

When your dog tests positive with the standard titre test, he/she is testing positive for the antibody, but is not a test for the actual, current presence of the organism that causes the disease. Antibody is what healthy white blood cells produce upon exposure to a pathological organism. They will often produce that specific antibody long after the problem is resolved, to be ready for future exposures to the same offender. This is the basis for vaccinations. One exposure creates an anamnestic response that produces antibody, sometimes forever. So, a positive antibody test only indicates the presence of antibody from a previous exposure. That exposure could have been last week, last year, or last decade. Dogs keep their antibodies to the Lyme organism and stay positive testing for a very long time. Most often it is many years, even for the rest of their lives.

Holvet

Also Check: How To Avoid Lyme Disease

The Homeopathic View Of Lyme Disease

A well-known homeopath, Ron Whitmont MD, published an article on homeopathy and Lyme disease. It shows the great potential of dealing with this problem without resorting to drugs .

He first states that Lyme disease in humans has three stages. Lets look at the difference in the way Lyme progresses in humans compared to dogs

Stage 1 Early localized disease first 1-2 weeks. The famous bulls eye skin rash appears during this time.

Stage 2 Early disseminated disease from 3 weeks to several months. Polyarthritis, fibromyalgia-like symptoms, and less commonly kidney, neurologic and other deeper symptoms

Stage 3 Late chronic disease from ten months to several years. Humans develop more severe arthritis and neurologic, cardiac, and kidney diseases. This are also usually progressive.

Can Dogs Get Lyme Disease You Betcha

The good news is the vast majority of tick bites are relatively harmless. However, rising temperature and damp conditions favour the spread of Lyme disease and it is most certainly on the rise in humans and dogs. Unfortunately, our health sector is grossly unprepared to deal with this issue. If you havent done so already, I urge you first to check out my friends experience with Lyme disease. The story shows how difficult it was to get diagnosis and how close she came to being lead down the wrong road as a result of repeated misdiagnosis from various doctors. Really scary stuff. If this is how bad it is in the human health sector, imagine how hard it will be for the average vet to diagnose Lyme disease in dogs.

Like humans, dogs can get Lyme disease too. Apparently, only 5-10% of dogs will show symptoms of the disease. The most common symptom is lameness due to inflammation in the joints. There may also be a lack of appetite and depression leading to eventual organ damage and nervous dysfunction. Other symptoms include:

• Fever.

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Possible Complications To Watch For With Lyme Disease

Talk to your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns about your dogs condition.

• Some dogs who take antibiotics can develop loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea.
• Once infected, a dog will always have the bacteria that cause Lyme disease in his or her body. Therefore, relapses are possible, and owners should be on the lookout for unexplained fever, swollen lymph nodes, and/or lameness.
• A small percentage of dogs develop kidney failure as a result of Lyme disease. Clinical signs include vomiting, weight loss, poor appetite, lethargy, increased thirst and urination, and abnormal accumulations of fluid within the body.

Kidney Damage Caused By Lyme Disease

More serious complications, although uncommon, include:

• Damage to the kidneys
• Rarely, heart or nervous system disease 1,2

Lyme disease sometimes leads to glomerulonephritisthe inflammation and accompanying dysfunction of the kidney’s glomeruli .

Eventually, kidney failure may set in as the dog begins to exhibit signs such as vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, weight loss, increased urination and thirst, and abnormal fluid buildups that can appear as swollen limbs.

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Natural Ways To Cure Lyme Disease

Natural Remedies for Lyme Disease

Natural Remedies for Lyme Disease Essential Oils for Lyme Disease, It is believed that many essential oils have antimicrobial activities, and some people Naturopathic Treatment, Naturopathic treatment for Lyme disease takes a whole-body approach, Your naturopathic Herbs for Lyme Disease

Topic : Should Treatments Be Offered For Nonclinical Nonproteinuric Seropositive Dogs

This topic is still controversial 4/6 panelists do not routinely recommend treatment for such dogs ,, stating that: this practice potentially promotes overuse of antibiotics no data exists proving treatment of healthy dogs is associated with decreased risk of illness Bb may not be cleared from all tissues with treatment and, reinfection may commonly occur in dogs in endemic areas. Seropositivity indicates tick and wildlife exposure and possible coinfection. Tick control and possible vaccination should be readdressed . Panelists in North America recommend reevaluation for proteinuria at least 23 times per year, even if the dog is treated with antibiotics, because clearance may not occur, and because the pathogenesis of Lyme nephritis is unknown.

Read Also: How Do You Know If A Tick Has Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease Vaccination Controversy

Few holistic veterinarians recommend the Lyme disease vaccine, even in dogs that live where Lyme disease is widespread. Its side effects are so severe, says Beverly Cappel, DVM, that I would much rather treat the disease itself. I dont recommend the vaccine, dont carry it, and never use it. When it first came out, we treated dogs for seizures, kidney failure, paralysis, stiff neck, and autoimmune bleeding disorders. Some dogs died and some were permanently damaged. Vaccines dont always work, so a dog thats supposedly protected may get the disease anyway. The newer vaccine causes fewer side effects, but it still has some. No matter how you look at it, I think the risks of vaccination far outweigh the benefits.

Even the traditional veterinary medical community has some issues with the Lyme vaccine.

At the University of California at Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital , the routine vaccination of household dogs for Lyme disease is not recommended. According to the UCD VMTH Vaccination Protocol for Dogs and Cats, Lyme Disease is not a proven problem in California, therefore, most dogs are at low risk. Moreover, there is no evidence at this time that infection leads to any significant chronic disease problem in dogs or that infected dogs are public health risks. Vaccine reaction problems occur occasionally and may outweigh health benefits. We do not stock Lyme Disease vaccine.

Homeopathic Preventive Remedy For Tick Bite Lyme Disease

• On the day of the bite, immediately take Ledum 200C potency.
• On the 2nd day, take Hypericum 200C.
• On the 3rd day, take Nosode 30C one dose per day for one week followed by one dose per week for a month.

Many animals have been treated successfully with the aforementioned homeopathic remedies for Lyme disease. Many human sufferers of chronic Lyme disease too have used the remedy with good effect. Blood tests conducted on animals and humans after taking Ledum 200C showed no signs of Lyme disease.

For larger animals like horses bitten by ticks, homeopaths might prescribe Ledum 1M which is 5 times more potent than Ledum200C. However, this treatment should only be done under the guidance of an experienced homeopath.

If the tick is still attached to the skin, you must remove it and immediately apply Echinacea Mother Tincture to the bite wound. Alternatively, dissolve Ledum 200c in water and apply it on the bite site. Take one dose of Tick bite fever Nosode 200 C within 24 hours of the bite. Also take one dose of Ledum 200C and repeat 4 times, depending on how you feel.

Read Also: Dr Rawls Herbal Protocol For Lyme Disease

Consider Taking An Herbal Protocol

There are several of these available. I took Dr. Lee Cowdens Lyme protocol for 9 months and it helped me more than a year of antibiotics. Its available at NutraMedix. Others include Dr. Rawls and Byron White.

Several herbs have been shown to kill Lyme bacteria in test tubes. These include:

• black walnut
• Cistus incanus
• Cryptolepis sanguinolenta

While these herbs sound promising they can also cause side effects so be sure to talk to your Lyme-literate physician about what treatment course they recommend for you. And, please keep in mind that each case is unique.

How Are Dogs Tested For Lyme Disease

Diagnosis is made by a combination of history, physical signs, and diagnostics. For dogs, the two blood tests for diagnosing Lyme disease are called the C6 Test and Quant C6 test. Veterinarians perform both.

The C6 test detects antibodies against a protein called C6. Presence of the antibodies suggests an active Lyme infection. The C6 antibodies can be detected three to five weeks after an infected tick bites a dog and may be found in the bloodstream even before the dog shows signs of illness.

The next step is to do a Quant C6 test. This, along with urinalysis will help determine if antibiotic treatment is necessary.

Read Also: What Does Lyme Disease Rash Look Like

The Signs Your Dog Has Lyme Disease Are More Straightforward Than The Symptoms In Humans Know The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease In Dogs And How To Treat This Tick

When I opened her crate that morning, Samantha didnt move. Instead of racing around with a toy in her mouth, our bouncy one-year-old Labrador Retriever stared at us with wide brown eyes, looking frightened. She didnt object when my husband lifted her, but when he set her down, she stood as though frozen. He carried her outside and held her while she urinated. When he let go, she couldnt walk.

A few hours later, our vet announced that every joint in her body was inflamed and she had a fever. No wonder our puppy couldnt move. She hurt all over. Samantha had Lyme disease.

Lyme disease affects thousands of Americans and their dogs and horses each year. Named for Old Lyme, Connecticut, where it was discovered formally identified in the 1970s, Lyme is a regional disease, with 90 percent of its cases in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. The rest come from the upper Mississippi and parts of California and Oregon. A few dogs and people with Lyme disease live elsewhere, but they are believed to have been infected during travel or, in some cases, by ticks from migrating birds.

Preventing Lyme Disease In Dogs

Whenever your dog has been walking through areas where ticks may hide, its a good idea to check your pet for ticks once you arrive home. Removing ticks isnt as simple as you might think. If you spot a tick on your pooch, contact your veterinarian for instructions on how to safely remove the tick from your dogs skin.

We also recommend checking your own body for ticks. Lyme disease is much more severe in humans than in dogs. If you discover a tick has latched onto your skin, contact your doctor for advice on removing the tick.

Its important to note that your dog does not pose a risk to you or your family however you are at risk if you spend time in the same outdoor environment as your dog and are around infected ticks.

Also, keep up on tick prevention and parasite prevention year-round, and speak with your vet about vaccinating your dog against Lyme. Avoid brushing against shrubs or walking through long grass while on walks, and check your dog every day for ticks.

Note: The advice provided in this post is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice regarding pets. For an accurate diagnosis of your pet’s condition, please make an appointment with your vet.

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