Lymes Vaccine

[Kristin & Hudson]

I'm wondering how many people give their dogs the lymes vaccine here in NJ?  We moved to Morris County last year and now have a new vet here who highly recommends the lymes vaccine.  I have an appointment for Saturday to give Hudson the vaccine but after reading online about it I am having second thoughts.  Most of the sites I've been on don't recommend getting the shot even in high risk areas because it is still a fairly new shot and dogs can still contract lymes disease even after vaccination.  They just recommend getting the dog on an antibiotic at the first signs of infection and they should be fine.  We do live in an area where there are a lot of deer and we do take Hudson for hikes, so I am torn.  I do use K9 Advantix monthly on him.  So I am wondering what everyone else does in the area.  If you do give the lymes vaccine what are your reasons for doing so?  Thanks!!

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Parker's vet kind of did it automatically as part of his annual shots last year...I didn't even realize until I just checked! (I am a bad mom I guess! lol). We also put the Pet Armor (Walmart's version of Frontline) on him monthly as well!

I don't know what you read but he never had any issues from it...though now I will mention it to the vet next time I take him for his shots!

[Kristin & Hudson]

Hey Katie!  It's not a required vaccine and there seems to be alot of people for it and alot against it.  I guess I'm really just concerned with the side effects.  this is what I've seen online from a few sites:

Minor Side Effects

o Because the Lyme disease vaccine tricks the body into believing it has the disease, in order to develop antibodies, dogs who are vaccinated may demonstrate symptoms of Lyme disease such as muscle aches, joint pain and fatigue. These side effects are temporary and do not appear to leave behind any long-term effects.

Severe Side Effects

o Severe side effects of Lyme disease-vaccinations include sudden kidney failure, heart problems, and nervous-system problems. Nervous-system problems include onset of seizures and mood changes such as aggressiveness or unexplained fear. Heart problems include heart failure and swelling of the heart. These side effects can be life threatening.

Long-term Side Effects

o Long-term side effects of the Lyme disease vaccine include arthritis and skin conditions. Arthritis can affect the joints of the hips, back and legs, making it difficult for the dog to move around. Skin conditions can include eczema, also known as mange, and hair loss.

 

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Yikes! It seems everything has a side effect and it's a lottery for what you get! It's difficult making these decisions because I don't want Parker to get Lyme's disease but I don't want him to have those effects either! Even with the liquid medicine on his back, we still found engorged ticks on him and we live near a lot of trees and woodsy areas so I don't know!

I'll talk to the vet...which I am kind of not impressed that he just did all these shots under the impression that they were his regular puppy shots and did not discuss them with me first! We may be switching anyway since we may be moving and with Parker's car sickness...a vet closer to where we move would be better!

Parker can't wait till summer comes so he can see his buddy Hudson again though! They are so cute together! lol Parker has been missing all the doodle romps and play dates in the winter weather and all the doggies around here are too small or too old to put up with him! haha

[Kristin & Hudson]

I know i feel the same way.  I would hate for him to get a bad reaction to the vaccine but I would also hate for him to actually get lymes from a tick.  Ugh I hate making these decisions!!  Because of where we live our vet highly recommends it.  But we've never found a tick on him yet even with all the deer on our property and the hikes we go on. It's so hard to see the ticks though because he's a chocolate. 

I've only been to this vet for his heartworm and his rabies shot.  We will do his yearly in a few months, but so far I think I like the new vet.

Where are you guys moving to?  We definitely need to get the pups together again.  They play so well together and he could use a good play date after being cooped up this winter.  We have a few trips coming up maybe sometime late April??

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

We are looking at an apartment in Westwood...still renting but we need more space! The wedding is coming up and as the gifts have trickled in, we are having to put stuff on the living room floor instead of being able to use them (toaster oven and coffee maker)!

The wedding is May 4th so probably won't be able to do a play date with Hudson end of April, but after the wedding, we can definitely set something up! Not going on a honeymoon till July because John wants to take off during a less busy work time!

[Kristin & Hudson]

Wow the wedding will be here before you know it!  How exciting!!  Where are you getting married?

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Bear Mountain, NY at their antique carousel...should be nice! Hopefully! We have a special dood as our ring bearer too which should make for some good photos! lol

[Kristin & Hudson]

Sounds awesome!  I'll pray for good weather for you :)

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Recommended by my vet to NOT do it. I am in Central NJ.

[Kristin & Hudson]

Thanks Lynne.  Why does your vet not recommend it?

[Joanie]

My husband and I are going to get the Lyme Vaccine for our dogs.  Actually, it was never reccommend by our original vet, but we live in Upstate New York and not only is it all woodsy around here but we definitely have a lot of ticks.  Roxie, our English Bulldog, ended up with Lyme Disease and it came on so fast.  No symptoms, and then one morning she couldn't walk.  When she tried she would literally scream.  We rushed her to the vet and they did a ton of testing and she tested very high positive for Lyme Disease.  She was immediately put on antibiotics and it was a week of touch and go.  It was really hard to see one of my children in so much pain.  She did recover completely, and the vet said dogs react differently to Lyme Disease than humans do.  He reccommended to us then to bring Rox back in six months, retest her and if everything is good, then we should give her the Lyme Vaccine.  So it's now 6 months later and we need to make her an appointment and if all goes well she is getting the Lyme Vaccine.  And, because of what we went through with Rox, Lan will be getting it too before Spring comes.  I can tell you, if your dog gets Lyme Disease it will break your heart.  I was a mess with Roxie, and I never want to see one of my babies in so much pain again.  So for my family, and because of where we live, we are going with getting the Lyme Disease vaccine.

[Kristin & Hudson]

I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Roxie but glad she is recovered.  I would hate for this to happen to Hudson because we didn't vaccinate him.  Thanks for sharing your story will definitely help in making my decision.  I guess I'm just worried about the short and long term possible effects from the shot.  Although Hudson hasn't had any type of reaction to any vaccine so far.