My Allie has Lyme Disease :'(

[Kim]

Our Doodle Allie was diagnosed today with Lyme disease - I searched the discussion topics in here and didn't find much on it. I'm not quite sure why or when this happened. We vaccinated her for it because we are in an area where there are a lot of ticks. I'm not sure why it didn't work for her???? We were also very diligent in giving her the flea and tick medication monthly.

Our Vet is on vacation this week so we had to see his "fill in." The Vet that we saw noticed the symptoms immediately. She acted like this was common and didn't fret at all. She took Allie's blood and had us leave and come back 45 minutes later to pick her up. When we came back a Tech told us the news that Allie is positive for Lyme (she didn't seem worried either). I'm not understanding this. Is it nothing to worry about? They put her on Doxycycline (sp) antibiotics to help her get the infection out - but the disease will be in her body forever. They are also sending her blood work to a lab to see how high the level is, so that we can do another blood draw in 6 months to see if the levels have gone down. I don't quite understand why they were so unconcerned, because when I think of Lyme disease I think of a horribly painful life. Apparently it must be different for dogs?

This does answer our question as to why she is such a drama queen - she isn't!!! She actually WAS in pain all along - my poor puppy :'(

Just wondering if anyone has experience with Lyme disease that might be able to help me understand????

[Kim]

She is GREAT with pill giving! She has no idea she is even getting them! I stick them in peanut butter and she can't even tell!

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

I'm so sorry your adorable Allie has such an upsetting illness so young! Thank goodness it was caught early. She is just adorable! I can relate a little because I took my 3 yr old F1B named Beau to have his teeth cleaned yesterday, and he was just terrorized by his day at the vet's, and being anesthetized and all. So I can just imagine and I empathized with what you are experiencing. I too use a hot dog to hide the meds and he takes it right down.....I have to give Beau antibiotics too for a few days. Know that we are all praying and hoping all will be well for Allie.

[Cindy]

Hi, Kim -- My son was treated for Lyme disease a year ago. After that, we paid a company to treat our yard every three months. We got our doodle, Macy, after that. We religiously applied Advantix from the time we got her. In spite of our efforts, Macy was diagnosed with Lyme disease in December at her regular annual appointment with the vet. She took Doxycycline for a month. Our vet was similarly unconcerned. Given that Macy got in even with everything we went through to prevent it, I'd say it's darn near impossible if you live in an area (as I do) that is known for Lyme.

Having said that, there are some things you can do to reduce the tick population in your yard. Rake up old leaves, keep your pooch away from "ecotone" areas (where the woods or gardens meet the open yard). If you Google "ticks ecotone" you'll find more info. If you're in MD, check out savatree.com

[Kim]

Thank you for the information - It will be useful. How is Macy doing now - any symptoms after taking Doxycycline for a month? I was talking to one of the Assistants at the Vet's office and she said that her dog has Lyme disease and has shown no symptoms for 6 years. I hope we are that lucky.

I gave Allie her pill this morning and she got sick twice since, so I'm sure this mornings pill will do nothing for her! Hopefully we don't have to switch the antibiotic because it seems to really be working already. She is back to being my playful puppy.

Thanks again for the info.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Does the directions say, "Give on an empty stomach?" She might be better if given with food if it doesn't say that. The pill might sit better if food in there first.

[Ginny Nightingale]

My last dog before my doodle had Lyme several times--he was much better after just a day on the antibiotics--and no symptoms after that except for some sensitivity in his feet--he didn't like it when you handled his feet to clip nails, etc. Otherwise, he was fine. This was primarily because i got him to the vet very quickly when he showed signs of having trouble walking--he would go to bed fine and wake up lame! I think that dogs that are untreated for a long period or get severely ill right away--some people have lost their dogs to Lyme because it was undiagnosed.By the way, my dog was on a tick and flea repellent all year round and still got Lyme!
In your case, it sounds like you caught it early and that is why the vets are not that concerned. Your Allie should hopefully feel better already!
We live in the number one county in the US for Lyme disease. My husband and I have eah had it several times. I have had some permanent effects due to letting it go too long---it tok me a while to convince the doctor to give me antibiotics!

[Ginny Nightingale]

And one more thing--the ticks that cause Lyme are VERY tiny--they look like specks of dirt--it is very hard to tell that they are on you, much less a dog. I once walked through a filed and later found 13 of them on one leg! None of them had bitten me yet, though, they were just crawling around---eeww!

[Leslie and Halas]

Sounds like you caught it fast, and Allie will be fine. I don't know much about Lyme disease, so I'm learning a lot from this discussion. I'm glad your Allie is going to be ok.

[Karen & Lucy]

Huggs to you Kim for taking such good care of Ali by taking her to the vet and getting her all fixed up. Kisses to your precious Ali too. She is going to be fine and she is such a cutie.

[Kim]

Thanks to everyone for their concern and responses. I just love this website!!!

Allie is doing much better now. Thinking back, I think she has been showing gradual signs of Lyme disease for weeks. I just chalked her change in behavior to a recent spay. According to the Vet, Spaying a puppy doesn't take the "playful puppiness" out. As of yesterday - I officially have my puppy back! She is being a crazy puppy again!!!! I'm so excited for her.

Again I thank everyone for the concern and helpfulness - especially you Lynne. You were quick to respond with good answers, and you helped me through my panic (lol).

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Anytime, Kim! I am glad Allie is feeling better.

[Cindy]

Kim -- I think we gave Macy her doxycycline a little after she ate because she vomited the first couple of times when we gave it on an empty stomach. At first we wrapped it in cheese (which was a mistake because you're evidently not supposed to give it w/dairy), but the stuff must taste awful because she quickly started refusing cheese -- even the plain cheese we used to trick her. Then we tried peanut butter, but she managed to somehow spit the pills out -- and it was quite a mess on a cream doodle! We discovered that she was somehow spitting the pills out no matter what we did (found them on the floor even though we were *certain she had swallowed them). Ultimately, the only way we could be sure she took them was to put it way back in her throat right in the middle where she had not choice but to swallow. It was a two man job and took a little practice, but it was worth. Macy is doing fine now :) I know Allie will be feeling fine, too :)