Canine Lyme: What's New?
There are few areas in which my own thinking has undergone more change in the last few years than on the subject of tick borne diseases. I lost a dog to acute renal failure probably caused by a disease known as Lyme nephritis, and diagnosis of Lyme disease has become much more useful and sophisticated in the last couple of years as well. Furthermore, recent research suggests that Lyme is a more serious disease in dogs than previously (and still frequently) believed.
I used to say "no" to treating asymptomatic Lyme titers, and a lot of vets still do say "no." This is because early research indicated that most Lyme positive dogs never have any symptoms of the disease (“Why I Don't Use Lyme Disease Vaccines,” Meryl P. Littman, VMD, ACVIM; Department of Clinical Studies School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian, November 1997). More recent research is suggesting, however, that this approach may not be the best.
In a 2005 study of 62 beagles infected with Lyme, 39 of the 62 dogs showed some symptoms of Lyme disease; only 23 did not. On necropsy, almost all the dogs had some signs of Lyme disease in the form of synovitis (inflammation of the joint lining) - including the asymptomatic dogs. Fourteen of the 62 dogs had very severe signs of Lyme infection, including inflammation of the blood vessels and nerve sheaths (“Histopathological Studies of Experimental Lyme Disease in the Dog,” Journal of Comparative Pathology, July 2005).
Lyme Vaccination for Dogs
OK, you say, you're convinced me. This is a serious disease. Should I vaccinate my dog for it?
The Lyme vaccine can cause an untreatable form of Lyme disease and, like all bacterial diseases, provides short-term immunity and needs to be repeated frequently. It is not recommended at any of the vet schools in the United States. The human Lyme vaccine was withdrawn from the market. And there is one more, very compelling, reason to question the benefit of Lyme vaccination for dogs.
There are other tick borne diseases that are much more serious than Lyme, for which we have no vaccines. So even if a very safe and effective Lyme vaccine were developed for dogs, vaccination isn't going to lessen the need for tick prevention. Which to my mind puts tick prevention in the forefront of Lyme prevention, and the vaccine’s risk vs. benefit analysis heavy on the risk side.
Diagnosing Lyme in Dogs
There is a new test for Lyme disease in dogs, known as the Canine SNAP 3Dx, which tests for C6 antibodies to Lyme disease, along with heartworm and ehrlichia canis, another tick borne disease. It is done in-office and unlike earlier tests that can react to Lyme vaccine antibodies, is extremely accurate in detecting Lyme infection in dogs.
If you get a positive on the C6 SNAP test, a follow-up test should be done, called the Lyme Quantitative C6 Antibody Test. This will establish the baseline values you'll want to see affected by treatment, making it a useful tool for therapy and not just diagnosis. These tests are only available to your veterinarian through IDEXX Laboratories.
Treating Lyme in Dogs
Conventional treatment for Lyme in dogs is an aggressive course of doxycycline or amoxicillin. Most knowledgeable practitioners prefer doxycycline because it will also treat several other tick borne diseases that may exist as undiagnosed co-infections.
Can Lyme be treated with alternative medicine? Yes, it can be, but an experienced holistic veterinarian should treat it. Do not think that this serious infection can be treated at home. It requires expert care.
After treatment, whether with antibiotics or holistic alternatives, you would expect to see a 50 percent or better decrease in antibody levels on the C6 quantitative assay, and a cessation of all symptoms during the treatment itself, if the dog was symptomatic.
For more information on Lyme and all other tick diseases in dogs, and to join Tick-L, one of the best resources on tick borne diseases in dogs that you will find anywhere:
posted by Christie Keith @ 11:41 AM
20 comments
20 Comments:
One thing you didn't mention and I'm having trouble finding info on. If your dog has been found to have Lyme Nephritis, and estimates that 25% of the kidney is functioning, phosphorus is up, anemic, bun @ 100 creatine @ 6.5 -- what to do?
I don't want to abandon my dog, but is radical treatment going to make any marked improvement? I don't want her last days to be miserable and in a hospital. Have you had experience in seeing dogs improve dramatically from treatment?
I wish I could give you more specifics, but having lost a dog to this, it's pretty dire. We fought for ten days, including taking him to UC Davis for dialysis, and lost him on the tenth day. It was hell.
On the other hand, more and more dogs lately are surviving lyme nephritis, not just because care has improved, but also because some vets are observing it appears to now and then be less severe.
Without much more information than you gave here, such as age and breed of dog, other health conditions, and how deep your pocketbook goes, it's hard for me to compare your dog's case to my dog's. If you want to post more info I'll be glad to give you my opinion, but I think that what you really need is to go to a vet school hospital for a complete workup. You'll almost certainly have to go in through the ER, this is not something you can wait for an appointment.
Well, we took her to the vet Thursday. Wednesday night she was vomiting most of the night. The vet (not her normal one, he was out with the flu) said she had an infected tooth and gave some antibiotics. She ended up being sick most of Thursday night. We called the vet and they said she might be reacting to the medicine and we could hold off until we brought her in on Modnay. She seemed fine most of the day Friday, but was sick most of the night again. We called the vet again and said we didn't think it was the antibiotics since we stopped them. He said we should bring her in. We did and gave a blood and unrine sample on Saturday. Today we found out the news about it not being a bad tooth but L.N. instead. She's a purebred English Labraror Retriever and only five years old.
Two years ago, we took her to Memorial Hospital in Boston when she suddenly couldn't seem to move without extreme pain. We spent $1800 in tests but they never found out what was the reason. She seemed to get better on her own. On later research we determined she must have got Lyme Disease. We had a test later and she was positive for Lyme. Its our guess that this is the cause of her problems now.
She's going in tomorrow to be on an IV for the day.
OK, this sounds almost word for word what my dog went through, although we didn't have the false step with the bad tooth diagnosis.
He was only four years old. :(
Hopefully your outcome will be better than mine, but let me caution you, even without the dialysis this ended up costing over $10,000. No, that is not a typo.
Come join Tick-L, there is at least one member whose dog survived Lyme nephritis, maybe more. When you make your first post, put Dog with Lyme Nephritis right in the subject line so they will read it.
Here is where you join:
http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-pluto.exe?SUBED1=tick-l&A=1
I am sorry they missed your dog's diagnosis of Lyme in Boston before. What a tragedy! One of the nephrologists we consulted with at Davis was from U Penn, he said they see a LOT of Lyme nephritis there. I wonder if you could take your dog there?
Please keep us posted!
Thank you for the info; my dog recently had cookie cutter lyme symptoms, I recognized them right away and got her in, and on antibiotics. I am now going for a second opinion, and the info you gave helped me make that choice. The vet only gave me one week of Clavamox, and did not recommend doing a blood test! I am glad I can think for myself, and not have the vet's word be the last one....
Our dog Maisie was a wonderful pal, and rang true to the old saying that a dog is a
man's best friend. Her boundless energy, enthusiasm and eagerness to greet and
play were endearing. Her constant struggle to 'shark attack' and steal food
was admirable (although not always appreciated). Nonetheless, one could not
ask for a better companion in a dog. She was gentle around our young daughter and was a
good friend for her.
Maisie was energetic on the trail when hiking, and more than once her
contagious enthusiasm kept me hiking at a good pace. She loved the snow and
cold streams. She equally liked sleeping on the couch at Mittersill after a
hike, especially when there's a nice fire in the fireplace. She was always up
for a romp in the ocean – she never minded if the water was freezing or not.
Unfortunately, she contracted Lyme’s disease a few years ago. Normally it
doesn’t bother dogs, but a small percentage gets bacteria which then attacks
the kidneys. This small percentage is over-represented in Labs and Golden
Retrievers. This past Wednesday Maisie became sick, and when we brought her to
the vet’s office they thought she had an infected tooth. We started some
antibiotics to treat it and she seemed to react poorly to that medicine as she
continued to be sick. Bringing her back to the vet’s office to have them look
at her again, they took some blood and urine samples. Sunday we heard the bad
news – less than 25% of her kidneys were still functioning. We tried putting
her on an IV Monday to see if that could help her condition. It did not. On
Tuesday we brought Maisie to the vet’s office to end her suffering. She hadn’t
been able to keep food or water down since the previous Thursday and she was no
longer interested in food or water.
She will be greatly missed by many, and most certainly by me.
I am so very sorry to hear that you lot your Masie. :(
Christie,
I had heard a while back that after aggressive treatment, you might be able to expect a 0 on a titre.
What's your take on this?
Heather
Yes, at some point your dog might have a zero titer. But I don't think a zero titer is NECESSARY to know you have sufficiently treated the infection. Sometimes titers will linger for many years.
My 2 year old Rottweiler was Lyme + on a 3dx snap test in May 2005. Treated her with both 6 weeks of doxy and the Dr Tobin Ledum protocal.
in Dec our holistic vet re drew blood and sent it out for a lyme titer. It came back 2+
Since doxy made my girls stomach queasy they said to redo the ledum and we'd re draw in Feb to see if the titer was rising or falling. If rising we'd re start doxy
Thoughts?
My 2.5 year old chihuahua tested a slight positive for lymes today on the snap test. The doctor prescribed 2 weeks worth of clavamox. is this going to help? what should i do after the meds run out? please get back to me at kwazee4mybb@gmail.com Thanks!
Successful treatment is possible but follow-up care requires constant vigilance. In February 2005 my nearly 14 year old Bichon tested positive for lyme disease with almost all the symptoms (vomiting, lethargy, painful joints, etc) and renal failure including blood test readings for phosphorous around 8.75 and creatinine over 5.5. Initial aggressive treatment (IV fluids for two days), antibiotics for a month, change of diet ("kidney diet" type food only), and subcutaneous fluids (initially 300 ml every day for two months and since then 150 ml every other day) has reduced phosphorous to normal range and creatinine to 2.3 (high but not astronomical), until now. He recently suffered what is believed a recurrence of lyme (symptoms similar to above); however, there is no known exposure to new infection so although there's a possibility of successful treatment (14 months)there's always a chance it will flare-up again. He just turned 15 at the end of last month and it's difficult to say right now how he will fare under antibiotics this time around.
I own a five year old english setter who is positive for lyme. He is currently beginning another antibiotic regement for his second relapse.
I am cosidering breeding him so I asked our vet if the lyme can be passed during breeding. She did not know and I have been unable to find any information anywhere. Does anyone know if Lyme disease can be passed during breeding????
RE: Ledum Protocol
Can you please elaborate on this protocol? I am new to this forum. Our 3 year old male English Shepherd, Buster, came up totally lame a couple weeks ago. He could not walk on his own, and until that day had been a very energetic fun loving dog. My husband took him to the vet we have used, (we just moved to the area). This vet is old fashioned in my opinion, but my husband likes him. Buser's temp was 103.9. His immediate diagnosis was Lymes, no blood test required. He gave Buster a big injection of some antibiotic and steroids, plus sent him home with a 10 day supply of Baytril, which he just finished a few days ago. He is doing much better, but I am concerned that the vet is not requesting any follow up. He said just "keep an eye on him, and he will have arthritis". I am interested in any natural, holistic remedies that can help boost his immune system as well as help keep the arthritis issue at bay, if at all possible.
Thanks
concerned in MO
I HAVE A BOXER/CHOC LAB WHO IS A LITTLE OVER 3 YEARS OLD. HE IS NOW BEING TREATED FOR A 3 RELAPSE OF LYMES. THIS TIME WHEN I TOOK HIM TO THE VET. I TOLD THE VET IT WAS HIS LYMES, BUT BECAUSE THE COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING THEY DIDN'T DO A BLOOD TEST, UNTIL I CALLED BACK ALMOST 24 HOURS LATER AND SAID I THINK NOW WE SHOULD DO THE TEST. THE FIRST TEST CAME BE SHOWING LYMES, BUT THEY DID WANT TO START TREATMENT UNTIL THEY GOT THE 2ND TEST BACK. THE 1ST WAS ON WED 11/1 AND THE 2ND THE ONE THEY SENT OUT I DIDN'T GET THE REPORT BACK UNTIL TO DAY 11/6. WHAT MAKES ME SO MADD IS THAT BECAUSE HE THE VET HOW COULD I KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT. BUT HE IS MY CHILD AND YOU KNOW WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG IS IF THEY HAVE HAD IT BEFORE YOU KNOW HOW THEY ACT IF IT COMES BACK. ANY OF YOU VETS OUT HERE LIST TO US WE ARE NOT ALWAY OVER REACTING TO SOMETHING.
ANNE
MORRIS COUNTY NJ
My dog has Lyme Nephritis...
Christie Keith wrote,
"Come join Tick-L, there is at least one member whose dog survived Lyme nephritis, maybe more. When you make your first post, put Dog with Lyme Nephritis right in the subject line so they will read it."
I tried to join under the link but it didn't work. I thought leaving it here might get some people some hope.
My dog was diagnosed with Lyme then LN. Since we have brought him home(ten days now) he has improved more than I could have hoped for. His levels have been checked and they all have dropped even though he is still losing protien through his urine it is not as bad as before. Today the vet called my dog Bailey a miracle dog. We are not out of the woods and he gets home made meals and takes four different meds( he eats better than me) but he's still here and the vet didn't think it was possible.
I'm so glad to hear some positive news regarding your dog's battle with Lyme nephritis. Thank-you for sharing it. :-)
I checked the link and it still works. If you go to the page the link is to, you then click on "Subscribe, sign off, change options, or search the list archives from the TICK-L home page"
On that page is the "join" option.
Direct link:
http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-pluto.exe?A0=TICK-L
hi,
our pup has mild lethargy and quick-fatigue (if zooming around, she plops down sooner than usual). She was neg. for Lyme in 11/06, but recently (3/07) not only tested pos. for Lyme on the SNAP test, but (we learned a week later) is off-the-charts on the C6 Quant. test (value of 396). The C6 Quant test was performed after 6 days on 5 mg/kg/day of Dioxycycline.
My question is, given potential symptoms, and given a very high Lyme titre (396) even after antibiotics, should we insist on a high dosage of Dioxycycline? I understand that her current dosage is considered sub-par in many communities who recommend 10mg/kg TWICE per day, for EIGHT (rather than 4) weeks.
many thanks,
Jen
jwernegreen@Gmail.com
I think you would be doing your pet a great service as the only voice she has for the care she requires at this point and that you have received, by far, the best possible advice given by those on Tick-L (which I am also a member of).
Be the voice your dog doesn't have. :-)
my dog responded beautifully to colloidal silver. her symptoms were severe and they vaniched in just a few days
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