lyme and k9s

[scout]

The lyme disease article prompts me to add a point about the problem with dogs. My young shepherd, high energy, couldn’t stand one morning two years ago. I just lost a bloodhound to stomach torque two weeks earlier, so I wasn’t happy. The vet did an IV with antibiotics and keep him over night. The next morning all was well and he was bouncing off the kennel; he apparently had lyme, even with tick control and the vaccine. This happened up north, in the country.

That’s not the end of the story. About six months ago he started coming up with symptoms of allergy-like problems with his pads and elbows. Since the lyme problem, he also appears underweight, no matter what or how much you feed him. Feed him a lot, he just poops it right out.

Anyhow, I kept treating him with the over the counter high end anti-itch cream, which worked. But I couldn’t figure what he was allergic to as he is running concrete in this San Mateo County house. Last week, he started gimping around with a weak rear end. I finally knew what the problem was: Lyme. Apparently, the stuff stays in the critters. I immediately put him on antibiotics, and within hours, he was literally bouncing all over the place.

You get the point. Lyme is somewhat of a low grade problem that stays. I suspect that this k9 will be on antibiotics for years. Everyone be aware that the vaccine and tick control may not work, and, upon recovery, it may strike again.

[jerry]

Here is the article referred to in the above post:
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=63155



The lyme disease article prompts me to add a point about the problem with dogs. My young shepherd, high energy, couldn’t stand one morning two years ago. I just lost a bloodhound to stomach torque two weeks earlier, so I wasn’t happy. The vet did an IV with antibiotics and keep him over night. The next morning all was well and he was bouncing off the kennel; he apparently had lyme, even with tick control and the vaccine. This happened up north, in the country.

That’s not the end of the story. About six months ago he started coming up with symptoms of allergy-like problems with his pads and elbows. Since the lyme problem, he also appears underweight, no matter what or how much you feed him. Feed him a lot, he just poops it right out.

Anyhow, I kept treating him with the over the counter high end anti-itch cream, which worked. But I couldn’t figure what he was allergic to as he is running concrete in this San Mateo County house. Last week, he started gimping around with a weak rear end. I finally knew what the problem was: Lyme. Apparently, the stuff stays in the critters. I immediately put him on antibiotics, and within hours, he was literally bouncing all over the place.

You get the point. Lyme is somewhat of a low grade problem that stays. I suspect that this k9 will be on antibiotics for years. Everyone be aware that the vaccine and tick control may not work, and, upon recovery, it may strike again.