Lyme vaccine

[Christine]

Hi, Does anyone get their dog the vaccination for Lyme each year? Does where you live dictate if they should get it?
Thanks so much, Christine

[Amy and Annabelle]

I get one for Annabelle. We live in the country where there is a ton of deer and ticks.  Annabelle had a vet appointment last week and the vet said where we live should be considered tick season all year. In January she had a dog come in with ticks. I live in Michigan and it was unseasonably warm this winter. Annabelle was out the other night and during her tick check before she came in, I found 2 on her. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I get Lyme vaccinations every year for the dogs. We have lots of deer ticks.

[EJ & Dante]

yes. We live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Lots of deer and tics

[Nancy & Echo]

The CDC says that 95% of verified laboratory HUMAN Lyme disease is in 14 states as of 2015. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/index.html

But it is spreading.

I'm sure it depends on where you take your dog.

The blacklegged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) spreads the disease in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north-central United States. The western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) spreads the disease on the Pacific Coast. https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html

My friend's poodle in the San Francisco Bay Area (in California), who sometimes went to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, got Lyme's, and the vet was going to charge her some $800 for doxycycline treatment.  She found another vet who charged her some $200 for the several weeks' treatment.  The poodle is fine now, after treatment with doxycycline.

They are apparently working on a human Lyme's vaccine. http://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2017/01/fda-gives-green-light-to-...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is some belief in the veterinary community that Lyme disease is similar to autoimmune diseases which are never actually cured; the doxycycline can cause it to go into remission, but antibodies remain, and there is also often kidney damage. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I suggest you consult a vet in your area as lyme is not universally found in all areas.

[Amy and Annabelle]

If you live in New Jersey, it is a fairly high ranking state for Lyme. Here is the CDC map for reported cases that are in blue.

[Stacy]

I live in Kansas - so not one of the big lyme states. I did ask my vet about it and he said they didn't need it. They do get Bravecto to help ward off the creepy crawlies. 

I think I've mentioned it before - I had an experience with my very first dog and tick paralysis. It was absolutely terrifying. I hate ticks. I would be the first in line to get a lyme vaccine if the vet thought they should have it. 

[JoAnne Terry]

Hi, I would like to weigh in on this post. I live in southeast Michigan, north of Detroit and my previous goldendoodle, Bella tested positive for Lyme's and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in December 2015. Her immune system started attacking itself and she passed in June, 2016 a couple of days before her 7th birthday. I don't know if there was a Lyme's vaccination but what do now know is that her flea chewable didn't protect against ticks. My new doodle, Cali will get the vaccination along with Nextguard which has both flea and tick prevention. Finally, I live in a subdivision, not a wooded area and she was always on a leash.I have seen deer nearby but never in my yard so we really don't know how Bella got Lyme's disease but, in my opinion, it's better to prevent the disease then try to cure it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am so sorry about the loss of your sweet Bella, JoAnne. Thank you for sharing this painful experience so that others can learn from it. Your advice is excellent. Many people don't know that are several other tick borne illnesses besides Lyme Disease, most of them much worse. 

[Nancy & Echo]

Thank you so much for sharing this, JoAnne.  My sincere condolences about Bella.  I didn't mean to imply that antibiotics are better than prevention.  I only wanted to point out that the cost of doxycycline  (one of the treatments) has gone through the roof.

Prevention is MUCH better.   Even if the vaccine is not 100% effective, along with tick control, its much better to prevent than to treat. In this study with beagles, All unvaccinated dogs' Western blot profiles were consistent with infection. Two of 15 vaccinated dogs had at least one positive spirochete culture which cleared 91days post-challenge, and Western blot profiles were consistent with vaccination alone. No dogs, vaccinated or unvaccinated, exhibited clinical signs consistent with borreliosis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27692092

Blacklegged ticks can feed from mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The ticks need to have a new host at each stage of their life, as shown below:   https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/

Of course, the Lyme's vaccine will only protect against Lyme's disease, not Rocky Mountain spotted fever, etc. 

Here's a long list of HUMAN pathogens that are carried by ticks:

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/

[JoAnne Terry]

Nancy, I didn't think you were implying anything. I don't read too much into people's posts so honestly I just thought you were providing facts :-) I can't believe the costs of meds that one vet was charging. The medicine cost at my vet office was pretty much in line with the no insurance costs for meds at places like Costco and Walgreens. I know it wasn't $800 for the doxy. Also, I try to live my life with no regrets so I don't concentrate on things like maybe I should have listened closer about the tick prevention or maybe I should have done more research. Like you, I'm just sharing my story so maybe someone else can make an educated decision. God gave me 7 wonderful years and I know that Bella and I know that we will meet again. <3 <3.