Canine Lyme Disease

Here in New Hampshire after a long snowy and wet winter the snow is finally melting and with that, brings the emergence of the blood-thirsty tick and the possibility that your dog could contract Lyme disease.

Canine Lyme disease affects thousands of pet dogs on a yearly basis, and is considered the most often reported tick borne disease in the country.  It is common within the Northeastern states from Maine to Maryland, along with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon and Northern California.

It's brought on by a bacterial infection that is acquired through the bite of the tick.  It's typically transmitted through the deer tick or black-legged tick. The particular bacteria that triggers Lyme disease is Borrelia burgdorferi and can take many weeks for the illness to show itself in the dog following exposure.

It's a complex and generally perplexing disease and for that reason, screening for canine Lyme disease can serves as a sentinel for human Lyme disease infections.

The disease can result in complications in a variety of areas of your dog's system and may result in severe and in some cases fatal health conditions in most dogs.  Symptoms of the illness trigger serious joint pain and among the first warning signs of Lyme disease are often a limp, particularly one front leg. For successful transmission of the bacteria, the tick has to be in the dogs skin for a minimum of 1-2 days.

According to research carried out pertaining to Lyme disease in dogs, it's learned that the bacteria exists in the tick's saliva, which is then transferred to the dog's system during bites.  Currently, instances have already been documented in 44 states in North America and several other locations around the globe and the occurrence is growing.

 When Lyme disease goes undiscovered for long periods of time, it can wreak chaos on a dog's immunity process.   It's a disease that impacts thousands of dogs each year.

Decoding the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can be a little bit complicated at times because they are typical to several other dog diseases.  And this is what makes the disease tougher to diagnose quickly and it is found that preventing the disease is less complicated than managing the disease.

Of the typical tick-borne diseases only canine Lyme disease has a distinct vaccine.

Doxycycline or amoxicillin are two of the most typically recommended prescription antibiotics to treat this disease. They are both effective. Dogs need to be on antibiotics for a minimum of 14 days, however, 30 days is recommended dosage.

 If you think your dog could possibly have Lyme disease, waste little time in seeing the vet. Early treatment will help protect against serious permanent damage.  Most dogs respond effectively to treatment and have no long-term problems or lasting damage from the disease.

Canine Lyme Disease