There are numerous tick-borne diseases which can affect dogs. Lyme disease is one the most common as well as the most well-known of these diseases.
How Dogs Get Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is carried by ticks, particularly deer ticks, and your dog may be exposed if bitten by an infected tick. When a tick feeds on an infected deer or other infected animal, it is soon capable of spreading Lyme disease to your dog. Infected ticks can also spread Lyme disease to people.
The causative organism is a rickettsial bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi.
Though Lyme disease has been found in many parts of the United States, it is most common in the Northeast, upper Midwest and West Coast states, according to Susan Little, Professor in Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University in her presentation "Small Parasites...Serious Diseases" at the Western Veterinary Conference 2008.
Canine Lyme Disease Symptoms
Lyme disease symptoms in dogs include:
- lameness, often moving from one leg to another
- fatigue
- fever
- joint pain
- swollen joints
- lack of appetite
In addition, there is also a form of Lyme disease which affects the kidneys of a dog, known as lyme nephritis. How and why this condition occurs is unknown at this time, but when it strikes it can be a serious condition.
Other forms of Lyme disease noted have been carditis (affecting the heart) and neurologic (causing seizures). These forms are rare.
Diagnosis of Canine Lyme Disease
Diagnosing Lyme disease is not as straight forward as many believe.
Routine laboratory blood tests, known as Idexx SNAP 3DX or 4DX, can detect Lyme disease antibodies, but this does not necessarily correlate to whether or not a dog develops symptoms of Lyme disease. According to Dr. Craig Datz, Consultant in Immunology/Infectious Disease and Parasitology at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine, as many as 40% (4 out of 10) of dogs tested will test positive. However, of those testing positive, up to 90 to 95% never develop symptoms of disease.
A more specific test which quantifies the antibodies known as C6 antibody is available. However, experts do not currently agree on the interpretation of this test result either.
At the present time, diagnosing Lyme disease involves evaluating blood tests in light of physical examination findings.
Treatment of Canine Lyme Disease
Treatment for canine Lyme disease involves the use of various antibiotics, with doxycycline being the most commonly used. However, there is controversy among experts in the field concerning when it is appropriate to treat for Lyme disease.
Some veterinarians treat with a course of antibiotics any time a positive test for Lyme disease is obtained. Others feel that treatment is not appropriate in a dog which is not showing signs of disease.
All experts agree that dogs which test positive for Lyme disease need to be monitored for evidence of Lyme nephritis. This involves blood tests (usually chemistry profiles which evaluate kidney function) and urine tests for protein in the urine.
Prevention of Canine Lyme Disease
Preventing Lyme disease requires effective tick control. Tick and flea preventive medication should be used monthly year round. Remove any ticks found on your dog promptly to decrease the possibility of disease transmission. It is generally believed that a tick must feed on your dog for at least 48 hours before Lyme disease is likely to be transmitted.
Vaccination against Lyme disease is available but its use is controversial. It may be considered if your dog frequently acquires ticks, but it should be remembered that ticks can also carry other diseases which are not prevented by vaccination against Lyme disease.
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