Dogs with lyme disease.

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billinpa
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Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by billinpa » Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:22 pm

During a routine trip the the vet today and some routine testing, I find out my 1yo gsp has lyme disease. Anyone what a dog with lymes? What course of treatment? They are suggesting antibiotics. What can I expect from him down the road. Swollen joints? Early arthritis?

RayGubernat
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by RayGubernat » Tue Aug 12, 2014 7:09 am

I am not a veterinarian.

There is a HUGE difference between a dog testing positive for Lyme disease and a dog actually having the disease.

Does your dog have any symptoms? Just testing positive may or may not mean something. apparently There are a lot of false positives with this testing.

If no symptoms, then put the dog on a 28 day regimen of doxycycline and forget about it. That is my advice for what it is worth.

If your dog has developed symptoms, most notably a pronounced front leg limp...it is fairly certain that the dog has an active infection and needs treatment, which is usually 28 days(or longer) of doxycycline.

RayG

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P&PGunsmith
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by P&PGunsmith » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:07 am

RayGubernat wrote:I am not a veterinarian.

There is a HUGE difference between a dog testing positive for Lyme disease and a dog actually having the disease.

Does your dog have any symptoms? Just testing positive may or may not mean something. apparently There are a lot of false positives with this testing.

If no symptoms, then put the dog on a 28 day regimen of doxycycline and forget about it. That is my advice for what it is worth.

If your dog has developed symptoms, most notably a pronounced front leg limp...it is fairly certain that the dog has an active infection and needs treatment, which is usually 28 days(or longer) of doxycycline.

RayG
My dog had the limp in one leg and then the other and my vet diagnosed lymes disease. He was 9 months old and got the doxycycline, the dog is now 13 years old so it worked well.

GSP7
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by GSP7 » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:16 am

Can lyme desease effect the back legs? My brothers 3 year old has something going on with control of its back legs. Been to a couple different vets several times. They cant figure out whats wrong , got him on antibiotcs.

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Grange
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by Grange » Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:24 am

GSP7 wrote:Can lyme desease effect the back legs? My brothers 3 year old has something going on with control of its back legs. Been to a couple different vets several times. They cant figure out whats wrong , got him on antibiotcs.
Yes. When my setter tested exposed she was completely lame in both back legs. It started out with a limp in one hind leg and within 24 to 36 hours she was lame in both. She went on a three week Doxy treatment and within 48 to 72 hours I could not tell she was ever sick. The recovery was pretty remarkable considering how hard she was affected.

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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by mask » Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:39 am

My one experience with lyme was bad it seemed it affected every joint in the dogs body. It is unheard of in this part of the country so I didn't know what it was. The tick was picked up on an out of state hunt. The dog was in constant pain and nothing seemed to help. I would have the dog on a maximum dose of doxycycline for 6 weeks. I did see improvement within about 4 days from the start of treatment. There are people here that have far more experience than I on this subject so take this for what it is worth. Good luck with the pup.

GSP7
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by GSP7 » Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:55 am

Yes. When my setter tested exposed she was completely lame in both back legs. It started out with a limp in one hind leg and within 24 to 36 hours she was lame in both. She went on a three week Doxy treatment and within 48 to 72 hours I could not tell she was ever sick. The recovery was pretty remarkable considering how hard she was affected.
That sounds exactly what my brother described

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Sharon
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by Sharon » Tue Aug 12, 2014 2:13 pm

billinpa wrote:During a routine trip the the vet today and some routine testing, I find out my 1yo gsp has lyme disease. Anyone what a dog with lymes? What course of treatment? They are suggesting antibiotics. What can I expect from him down the road. Swollen joints? Early arthritis?
Most dogs would test positive for lyme disease; doesn't mean it is going to be a problem for that dog.

(On doxy myself right now for a deer tick bite - on my bum. .. no I wasn't streaking in the woods. :)

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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by Superhawk » Tue Aug 12, 2014 4:14 pm

I recently lost my 9 year old GSP to lyme. The antibiotics can cause side effects such as vomiting. If the dog will not hold food down with the medication change it immediately to something milder. My dog actually had it for years and it went unnoticed until all of the typical symptoms hit him all at once. The antibiotic treatment just killed him. Try and knock it out with treatment and of course hunt as much as you can with him. Good luck

billinpa
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by billinpa » Tue Aug 12, 2014 10:42 pm

He does have a slight limp. Seems to favor his right front. It's not bad and only after a long run or walk.
He starts his meds next week.

It's good to hear some positive experiences. It's pretty grim reading on the Web.

The vet did tell me some dogs react badly to the doxy. He is only giving me a weeks worth, to see how his does on it.

Thanks guys.

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mm
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by mm » Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:21 am

How many times can you treat with the doxy, do they build up imunity to it. Can you do a treatment before symptoms appear when you know dog has it instead of waiting for dog to go lame. My dog seems to show symptoms about once a year or so usually in the middle of trial season. I thought of treating before the season when there are no symptoms to prevent but not sure if its ok. My vet does not know what is up he is just looking to find ways to charge me money with more tests and drugs that he sells.
mm

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Boolywooger
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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by Boolywooger » Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:23 am

Doxycycline is an antibiotic. It's the bacteria that would develop the immunity, not the dog, and that shouldn't happen if you give the full dosage.

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Re: Dogs with lyme disease.

Post by dog dr » Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:52 am

a positive test just means your dog has antibodies against the bacteria that causes lyme disease in its system. and antibodies mean that the dog has been exposed to that bacteria, not that they actually have an active infection.

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