lyme disease

[Cindy S.]

I am having a problem with my big dog, Quinn, and want to know if anyone else has done any research on this. I live in CT - the state that gave you lyme disease! When I got my Quinn, I gave him the lyme vaccine - he tolerated it fine, and this is his third year to receive it. Shortly after the vaccine, he got up one morning with a terrible limp in his left rear foot, so much so, that he held it up and hobbled on it. We brought him in, the vet had just ran a lyme titer on him, and it had showed negative, before he had the vaccine. He then had another titer, and that came up negative. Because we had brought in my other dog, and hers came up positive for ehrliociosis, we thought maybe the tests were switched and ran another test on Quinn, still negative. She felt around, nothing broken, etc., but still limping. We gave him rimadyl, and that seemed to help. It seems to come and go, the lameness. He won't be limp in the a.m., but at the end of the day, when he gets up from laying down to go into his bed, he is really limping. We have been going to a chiropracter, and he has had some acupuncture. For about a week he was fine, and then this week it came back and he was really limping. The chiropracter vet thought she felt tenderness in his spine, so she said try a course of antibiotics. I am kind of at a loss right now. I guess I will try the course of antibiotics, but they are pretty strong, and probably will effect his tummy. Any thoughts from fellow doodle owners? Thanks!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

There have been some problems with the vaccine and many vets do not even recommend them now. If the titer came back negative it probably is not lyme's that Quinn has but a reaction to the vacc. The general thinking now is that the treatment, if done quickly, is safer than the vaccine. I live in NJ, another big Lyme's state. I never give the vaccine and I do titers every year. This year it came back positive on 2 of my dogs. We did a course of antibiotics. There was a little tummy upset, but I gave pumpkin & yogurt, in their dinner throughout the course and they are fine now. So the thinking is, the treatment is safer than the vacc. But vets don't want to push this because not everyone pays such close attention to their dogs health as we do. Vaccines are designed to serve the entire population and not individual dogs. Yearly boosters are also NOT recommended anymore. You might want to do titers every year instead of the shots.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Could this be something starting other than Lyme disease. When my Rottie started with the hip dysplasia she experienced days of limping around and would be normal on others, it was painful for her, and also she only had it in the one hip. Rainy weather really affected her, approaching Winter, Spring. Rimadyl is used for hip dysplasia, and if it helped my guess would be your vet should do an xray.
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What are the symptoms of hip dysplasia?

Dogs of all ages are subject to hip dysplasia and the resultant osteoarthritis. In severe cases, puppies as young as five months will begin to show pain and discomfort during and after exercise. The condition will worsen until even normal daily activities are painful. Without intervention, these dogs may eventually be unable to walk. In most cases, however, the symptoms do not begin to show until the middle or later years in the dog's life.

The symptoms are similar to those seen with other causes of arthritis in the hip. Dogs often walk or run with an altered gait. They may resist movements that require full extension or flexion of the rear legs. Many times, they run with a 'bunny hopping' gait. They will show stiffness and pain in the rear legs after exercise or first thing in the morning. They may also have difficulty climbing stairs. In milder cases dogs will warm-up out of the stiffness with movement and exercise. Some dogs will limp and many will become less willing to participate in normal daily activities. Many owners attribute the changes to normal aging but after treatment is initiated, they are surprised to see a more normal and pain-free gait return. As the condition progresses, most dogs will lose muscle tone and may even need assistance in getting up.

[Cindy S.]

Thank you for the comments and the wonderful article. I think the next step will be x-rays. I would have been surprised if it was hip dysplasia, but who knows? (his mother and father have excellent ratings on their hips). He is not limping today, but he has not been wrestling with his sister for a couple days. Oh, I hate this! I guess x-ray next - the vet chiropracter is really terrific - all the "dog" people at the training center use her, so I trust her. She said try the initial course of antibiotics and if he has any limpness within first 7 days, I will discontinue the antibiotics and go to the next step!
Thanks again!

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Praying its not this and also could be arthritis, either way I hope it's none of this. It was scary for me when Magic blew her hip, never thought it could happen, she came from 8 generations of Champion Rotties. There still are pics of her ancestors in Rottie books. All tested and she was tested at 3 years of age and came back excellent, 1/2 year later she blew the hip right before she was to be breed with her first litter. It's devastating. I purposley stayed away from certain breeders because of their lineage, I even asked if other litters were related and wouldn't buy, I looked for over 8 months before purchasing Magic because of hip dysplasia, and we still wound up with it. Best of luck and let me know please how this all turns out for you...lots of Prayers...
glitter-graphics.com

[Cindy S.]

Thanks so much for the prayers! I will let you know. He ran around a little this afternoon, but I got him because I don't want to have him strain himself. The funny thing was we were on vacation in the Adirondacks, and he went for walks with me, swimming, etc., and was fine! And then we came home and after a couple days he started limping again. We will call the vet Monday and get in for x-rays. I am thinking maybe it's a side effect from the lyme vaccine - I read somewhere where it can cause arthritis! It has not affected his appetite.

[Cindy S.]

Thanks for the prayers! It's been a week since he started on the antibiotics, and he is much better. I don't know if he is better because he had some kind of tick biting disease, or else whatever he had healed. I do think that all the energy work, acupuncture, etc., helped a lot. Even with the heat we are having, he is running around, and no limping at night. We will keep our fingers crossed and hope it is okay. Suzie Q. had the other kind of tick biting thing, and she is off her antibiotics finally. But now Quinn is on them! My husband when he feeds the doggies says, it's appetizer time! And gives Quinn his pills in some extra food, so Suzie Q. gets some little treat as well! Thanks again!