Lyme disease in dogs - can anyone help?
upset, and I really want to help her with this. It just about broke my heart when she said - Shell, tell me she isn't going to die. Her dog was at the vet for a regular checkup and shots and later the vet called and left a message that her dog has Lyme disease. Is it normal to have the lyme test done at a regular checkup? I have the same vet at she does, but she has never done this with my dogs - maybe this is a new thing? Her dog has none of the symptoms, and she did not ask for this test. I thought that was odd. The vet recommended bloodwork and a urine sample to see if it has effected her kidneys - this testing is very expensive. Something about this just doesn't seem right to me, but I can't put my finger on it. The dog did have a rash on her belly about a month ago, and it was cleared up with and antibiotic. I told my sister at the time to talk to the vet about lyme, because we weren't really sure about the rash. The vet never took a scraping or drew blood from the dog for lyme testing at that time. She did ask about lyme, but the vet wasn't concerned. Wouldn't you think if this is a test they do at a regular visit they would have thought to do it then? Like I said though the rash is gone now. It did take a while to go away. Does anyone else have any experience with this???? I'm not sure what to tell her. I did search it within the forum, but I didn't really find any answers. I did follow one of the links and that was very informative, but I would appreciate anyone's personal experience. Thanks a bunch - my sister thanks you too. Shellie |
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| Lyme disease is part of the standard heartworm test. Several pets in my family have been treated successfully with antibiotics and had a full recovery from it. Perhaps worth asking the vet whether the kidney testing is really necessary or whether he can just treat the condition. |
| Yes, it's normal. The new HW test also includes the Lyme's testing with it.
How old is the dog and when was the last time it had bloodwork done? |
| I don't know if or when the dog had this done last. I did check
my own dogs records, and we have not had this done before. I guess this is something new the vet is doing. We are not due for our checkup for a while. As for the bloodwork the vet suggested, it was actually several tests, 2 of which seemed unnecessary to me. The one has to be sent out - (the very expensive one) and I guess I don't see the point in that one. I spent some time with the dog today, and I really don't see any symptoms either. Is there another reason to do this test? I guess she'll have to ask the vet. Another question - I know the test in humans often produces false negative results, does it give false postitves in dogs?? This is an answer I was really hoping to find - and never did. Also - could the fact that the dog was on an antibiotic for a rash have masked any symptoms she may have shown? Thanks Valerie - what you said helped. Glad to know someone has had luck with the treatment. Shellie |
| I don't know about false positives. The animals I've seen with it are very stiff and sort of lethargic. Looks like arthritis. |
| I work for a vet and have never seen a false positive, but that's not to say there are none.
Most dogs with Lyme's show stiffness, swelling, lack of balance, fever, and arthritic like conditions. It can be managed and doesn't mean the dog is in dire straits right now. Bloodwork is never a bad idea. If the vet suggested it, it's in the best interest of the dog. We send bloodwork out of the office everyday, and it takes less then 24 hours to get results on most test. |
| She has no symptoms at all. Which is what brings me to
the question, if they treat the lyme disease sucessfully what is the point of further testing? Wouldn't they be treating the symptoms at that point? I'm not trying to be difficult or anything, it's just that the way the vet presented it didn't making any sense to me. Oh well, at least Sammy (the dog) is ok and she will get past this crisis. My sister is very relieved - big THANK YOU to everyone. Shellie |
| lyme seems to be able to return! It seems a dog is never immune, which is why they recommend repeated test and vaccinations(in hotspots). If not caught in time the bacteria can start attacking organs, such as, the kidney, the liver and, even the brian. I would get the test done, not all dogs show symptoms. |
| FWIW this is an old post, but odd that it should come
up again right now. Sammy (sister's dog again) is having another set of problems. Lyme was the first thing they tested for and she is still testing positive almost 3 years later. Is it completely normal for the tests to still be positive or should they not be any more? Some of the things this vet said are completely opposite of what I have read here and through links provided here. Just wondering if maybe the vet dropped the ball and this latest problem is related to not dealing completely with the lyme in the first place. Shellie |
| Shellie, I wouldn't assume the vet dropped the ball. First off, lots of dogs can test positive and not be symptomatic. Belle did (and was symptomatic, we think, since Lyme can be a great imitator, so we weren't 100% sure) and was treated fairly aggressively about five years ago and she no longer comes up positive on the IDEXX Heartworm plus tests I do every spring at least. But I'm pretty sure dogs can both be reinfected and as well it can be difficult to clear completely - the reason my vet had me keep her on the doxy about twice as long as conventional wisdom at that time at least dictated; and even with that there was no guarantee she would be completely clear - so there's really nothing to say that the current problems are either necessarily due to Lyme or somehow due to the vet missing something.
What kind of symptoms is she experiencing? 
Kristine |
hmmm. since medicine is an art and not really a science (as a friend would often remind me  ) there really are so many variables in every situation you shouldn't waste time wondering who was at afault (most likely no one) and figure out what the next steps are.
I have two Lyme positive dogs and two who at the last test were not Lyme positive. Both of the Lyme positive dogs have been symptomatic at various times and we treat and move on. i also make sure they get extra exercise to keep their joints flexible as long as possible and I try to kee them active in various ways to keep their minds active. But, I suspect that since there are more than one strain of Lyme like most other things and I don't se why they can't be reinfected. |
| Well honestly I'm leaning toward an injury with this
last problem. It came on so suddenly and severly that I'm thinking it must have been injury. The vet however has given such a laundry list of what they think that it's obvious there isn't a clear answer. I think since we don't know if or what the injury was, they can't say yes that was it, and we'll do x-y-z to treat it. The dog was on treatment for lyme for months three years ago. So I guess either she's reinfected or maybe she will just always test positive. I don't think she has had a negative result since then. I only questioned the vet dropping the ball because it always seems that this vet tends to throw any treatment available at the dogs hoping to solve the problem. It's like they just bombard with multiple treatments unsure of what the actual problem is, hoping to hit the target. Thanks everyone! Shellie |
Shellie wrote: I only questioned the vet dropping the ball because it
always seems that this vet tends to throw any treatment available at the dogs hoping to solve the problem. It's like they just bombard with multiple treatments unsure of what the actual problem is, hoping to hit the target. Thanks everyone! Shellie Yeah, that wouldn't exactly give me a nice, fuzzy confident feeling either. Though, frankly, if it's a soft tissue injury they can be notoriously hard to diagnose so maybe he's just trying to make sure he's covering all of his bases. In Belle's case I'm pretty sure she had a strained ACL or maybe a small partial tear. Board cert. orthovet I took her to swore she did not. Chiro vet swore she did. I pushed regular vet into testing and treating for lyme when she came back positive based on that same premise as above. Who knows what's what? All I know is Belle's pushing 12 and still herding, so no harm, no foul I guess. Hope Sammy heals quickly. Kristine |
| Kristine makes a good point - most regular vets are like GP's and don't have the specialized knowledge to diagnose and treat many issues. My vet is great - but i did ask him if I shouldn't locate a sports medicine vet for Marley at one point - and he agreed. We never did find one but we use a chiro and a rehab therapist in conjunction with our vet. |
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