Question About Lyme Disease

[ChiliDog]

 

I'm the first to admit I know nothing about Lyme disease so I hope this doesn't sound too vague:

 

An adopted dog tested positive for Lyme and was treated with antibiotics.

(The dog was not showing any signs of illness it just happened to be included in their "wellness screening")

 

2 questions:

 

Does Lyme disease ever really "go away" or do the antibiotics just make it dormant?

 

Secondly - the adopter wants to know that even though the dog was showing no symptoms of illness could he possible now or at a later date transmit it to her cat????

 

Any help with this will be appreciated. I want to calm the adopters fears but I don't want to give her false information.

 

 

THANKS!

 

 

 

[Guest scfilby]

I have no advice about treatments and dormancy, but I do know it is not contagious.

[Trudy]

You can treat and symptoms can show up again later - you just treat again. Just as long as the adopter is aware of what symptoms require a call to the vet for another round of meds.

 

Transferring to the cat. I guess if the dog gets a tick that latches on for a bit and then releases on its own and then latches onto the cat later, maybe, but I really wouldn't be too concerned about that.

[Robin1017]

Robin is positive for Lyme disease, as are both of my mom's dogs. We were told that Lyme is caused by bacterial levels in the blood, and the antibiotics make it go dormant, but it never fully goes away, just as you said. One of my mom's dogs has had a couple of flare-ups over the years and had to do a round of antibiotics, but the other dog (Domino) and Robin haven't had flare-ups since the initial test (it's been almost six years). Like your dog, Robin and Domino had no obvious symptoms at the time--they were just tested because the other dog, Shiloh, had symptoms and tested positive. Otherwise, we may never have known. (Though this did eventually explain the initial lethargy and a couple of midnight GSODs after we adopted Robin.)

 

So, stays dormant, and my guess is that if the dog you are speaking of had no symptoms, you're likely to have little problems with it in the future. Lyme disease in animals is much less intense than it is in humans.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

[ChiliDog]

Thanks so much - I shall pass this info onto our adopter... (who was freaking out for a bit)!!!!!

[Guest MZH]

We had one die because of the organ damage it seemed to have caused although this is probably unusual. His titer was over 100,000 when it emerged. He had previously tested negative for it a couple times even though he had symptoms of it. It must have been dormant at the times we tested. We kept treating and it went down to maybe 32,000 but it never went away.

 

So, some go negative, some don't. (I'm not a vet; this has been my experience with it.) Having a titer doesn't mean sickness all the time. It may actually mean immunity, like when we get shots.

 

If they're ill for no apparent reason, it may be time for another tick panel and a round of doxy. If they're symptom-free, it's probably not a big concern.

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

I have a lab mix that was diagnosed with Lymes a couple years ago. She is now 8 and I have never had to give her anti-biotics yet. I do have a cat, and although I know it is not transferrable, it is my understanding that cats do not get Lyme's. The reason I wanted to post though: when I got my greyhounds, and we all went to the vet last time, they ALL got a Lyme's shot. She even gave it to the lab mix, and told me that it would help her with the symptoms. She sometimes acts as though she has a minor cold, and since the shot she has not shown any symptoms. The cold symptoms are the Lyme's acting up, and it is very mild and has never caused us much concern. She eats normally and just seems a little tired. I personally do not like to put flea/tick medicine on my animals, even though we live in the northeast, and I never have problems with fleas (knock on wood -lol). Ticks are rare in my yard, and of course my hounds are not woodsy animals. But, somehow the lab found one somewhere and got the disease. I would recommend them talking to their vet about getting the vaccine to help with any future symptoms. I feel like it has really helped my lab, she even seems a little more spunky now.

[Guest MyBoys]

My Seany out of the blue started to limp, of course I feared the worse but it turned out to be lyme. He was put on antibiotics. My vet said sometimes it will flair up again but sometimes not but it can be treated. She said to watch for even the slightest limp or slowness getting up or down because it most times effects the joints. So far so good, no flair ups and he is 11 years old.