Canine Lyme Disease

What causes Canine Lyme disease?

A bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi and it is transmitted through the bite of a tick.

Do you think your dog needs a vaccination, testing or treatment?

TICKS AND LYME DISEASE

The small deer tick that carries the bacteria which is Lyme Disease must feed on it's victim for a minimum of 12 hours before transmitting that bacteria. Regularly checking and removing ticks should be enough to ward off the disease.

What if you live in a Lyme-infested area? Most dogs in an infested area acquire Lyme antibodies without ever showing symptoms of getting the full-blown disease. In fact there is some disagreement whether dogs even react to the bacteria unless they have a weak immune system or have had the lyme vaccine.

Should you get your dog a Lyme Disease vaccination? No! Take this one off your dog vaccination schedule. The vaccine does more harm than good. See vaccine side effects for an overview.

Many specialists do not recommend routine vaccination because so few dogs actually develop symptoms of Lyme disease. When it does occur in dogs, usually it is easily treated with antibiotics.

What is worse, cases of this disease in areas previously not reporting Lyme disease carrying ticks, began AFTER thousands of dogs were vaccinated. In this case, was it the vaccine that actually created the disease? Most likely.

LYME DISEASE TESTING

The test for Lyme disease is notoriously unreliable. It can come back positive when in fact it isn't. If the test shows a strong positive and the dog has symptoms, then it can be assumed the positive test is correct.

PROPER TICK REMOVAL

Grasp the tick's body with tweezers (I use my fingernails) close to the animal's skin. Pull and twist at the same time away from the skin. Check to see that the head is still on the tick.

Uh-OH, NO HEAD

Don't panic! Wash the area with soapy water or put hydrogen peroxide on it. Watch the area for a week or two to make sure infection does not develop.

My experience over the last 20 plus years has been I've worried for nothing. I give my dogs a little extra garlic . The worst that's happened is a small amount of redness and swelling while the dogs immune system is working to push out the foreign body (in this case the head). Note: I usually just find ticks here and there. The most I ever picked off a dog during a bad season, was 15 in one day.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The problem I have with the symptoms is they could be caused by other things besides the canine Lyme disease. I am not a veterinarian and don't claim to be. None of my dogs have gotten the disease, so I am reluctant to list the symptoms. Most of the information on this site is from personal experience and backed up by several books by veterinarians, both naturapathic and allopathic. The most common symptom is lameness.

• fever
• decreased appetite
• swollen, painful joints (dogs may be reluctant to move)
• lameness -- limping which may be mild at first, then worsen, and may also shift from one leg to another
• lethargy
• swollen lymph nodes


FINAL NOTE

Please remember that dog health and nutrition are the best ways to combat and avoid disease. Find a healthy supplement for your dog, avoid unnecessary dog shots and remember this motto: A carrot a day, keeps the doctor away! Stop laughing, I'm serious!







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