Lyme Disease in Dogs: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention

It’s that time of year where we need to keep an eye on our furry friends for parasites such as fleas and ticks. Ticks are parasites that feed off the blood of other animals, and unfortunately our dogs are a popular choice. While removing a tick from your dog is not too difficult, ticks pose health concerns that we do need to worry about. One of the most common tick diseases in dogs is lyme disease. Today I’m going over lyme disease in dogs: symptoms, treatment, and how to prevent it.

How Do Dogs Get Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that is transmitted from certain species of ticks. These ticks hide in tall grass, thick bush, and woods and attach themselves to any living thing that walks past it.

Ticks transmit lyme disease to dogs after being attached for 24-48 hours, which is why promptly removing ticks from your pup is important. The primary carrier of lyme disease is blacklegged ticks, more commonly known as deer ticks. 

What Are The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease symptoms vary but can include:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Reduced energy
• Lameness
• Stiffness
• Swelling

While some dogs may never experience symptoms of lyme disease, others may experience kidney failure, cardiac, or neurological effects.

How Do You Test For Lyme Disease?

Most vets test for lyme disease, along with other tick diseases, during your dogs annual heart worm test. A simple blood draw will show if your dog is positive for lyme, ehrlicia, anaplasmosis, or heart worm.

Many dogs go undiagnosed until this yearly test. However, if your dog begins to experience any symptom of lyme disease, your vet will test them early. The most common reason vets test for lyme is lameness in your dogs limbs. 

How Is Lyme Disease Treated?

Dogs who are lyme positive can be treated with antibiotics that will relieve them of any symptoms within 30 days. There are occasions where symptoms persist past that 30 day mark and additional treatment is needed.

As mentioned above, there are also cases where dogs are lyme disease positive but don’t experience any symptoms. In these cases, some vets may decide not to treat until needed.

How To Prevent Your Dog From Getting Lyme Disease

Lyme disease in dogs can be prevented using a variety of flea and tick prevention. Topical and chewable flea and tick preventions are often prescribed by your vet. Some vets may recommend a flea and tick collar or tag as an alternative.

It’s also important to check your dog for ticks frequently during the warmer months when ticks are prevalent. Whenever your dog comes inside from a long walk or time spent outdoors, check their body thoroughly for any sign of ticks and remove them as soon as possible.

If your dog is frequently outdoors or you live in an area with many cases of lyme disease, you can have your dog vaccinated against it. Most vets offer a lyme vaccine that will protect your dog should they get bitten by an infected tick.