Lyme Disease

[mackeyr22]

My border was diagnosed with Lyme Disease when he was 2. Two different vets confirmed this with their in-house tests as well as a more definitive test that was done by a laboratory. The vet said that they can't cure it, they just treat the symptoms as they come. He was tested again when he was 4 and another supposedly accurate lab test said he didn't have Lyme Disease, so I'm not sure what to make of that. He is 6 years old now and up until now, I have never noticed any symptoms of the disease. I'm not sure whether to attribute these signs to the disease, his age or something else.

 

He sleeps most of the day, I would guess 18-20 hours/day. His favorite game is catch, he used to play it for hours on end, now he goes and lays down after a few throws. I really have to get him excited just to get a few more throws in. But he does have good energy on our daily 30 minute walk as well as good energy with a particular game that involves him jumping to catch a ball bouncing off a wall, however the vet said to take it easy on that game because he doesn't know what's wrong with his leg. If he is very active, which that game causes him to be, after he takes a nap he will wake up with a limp that lasts the rest of the day usually.

 

I recently moved and we now have a new vet, I'm not sure if he knows about the possible Lyme Disease and I didn't think to mention it since there has been no symptoms in years. He thinks the tiredness is from age (I didn't think 6 was that old) and he doesn't know what to make of the limp, he couldn't find anything even on x-ray. What do you think?

[desertranger]

Age will have someting to do with it. However it sounds like he's not that active for a border collie. My dogs get minimum an hour out twice a day in all weather. Others even more. However I've had BC''s that were not very active as BC's go including one in particular, Fuzzer. He was just a lazy dog so I put him to gentle work pulling a medium loaded wagon which he could do at a walk or light trot. He also acquired an occasional limp that manifested itself after a walk, nap. I always figured it to be a soft tissue injury same as people get. I found out when he was 8 that it was arthritis. The treatment I used was a childrens Tylenol and 15 mins opf a cold pack on the injury followed by 15 mins of a hot pack.

 

If you feel Lymes disease or something else may be the matter ad if you can afford it you might have a blood workup done. He could be carrying anyone of a number of nasties lying passively. For example I've read that adult dogs can carry Parvovirus and not be effected by it whereas it can kill a puppy.

[bcnewe2]

Tylenol is deadly for dogs. Just so you know.

My dog was diag. with Lyme Disease at around 14 months old. By then it was chronic. He had lots of symptoms but I couldn't get a diag. until I was on the 4th vet. From what I understand if they had it, it will always be there but doesn't have to show up with symptoms. And that doesn't mean it will show positive on lab work if inactive.

For us, my dog is not a healthy dog. He never was and I think it has more to do with other things along with residual LD.

If I'm not home or doing anything my dogs will sleep all day too, they range from 3 to 13 yrs in age. But all of the are raring to go if I say the word.

I would think 6 is an age that when playing fetch they might get more tired than when younger. I let my dogs dictate how much they play or activity they do. If we play fetch and someone poops out, then they rest till ready to play again. I don't push on any of them to keep doing something.

They dog with LD has been diag. with spondylosis and some pretty bad arthritis. He is almost 6. He is active and will work as much as I let him. I watch for signs that he's over doing things and call it quits usually before he does.

 

My daughters dog (13 and bro to my old girl) still wants to play fetch. He'll catch a few rounds then go lay down in the shade with his ball till he's ready to go again. But he's old. Some Border Collies do know their limits and I think you should respect them.

 

Good luck with you dog and if it were up to me. I'd let him rest if he doesn't want to play ball as much as you think he should.

 

 

BTW there are some great sites on Lyme Disease and there is a list you can join that will give you more information than you could ever want on TBD's. Someone here will have a link I'm sure.

[MaryP]

My youngest dog tested positive for Lyme Disease a couple of years ago. He didn't show any obvious symptoms except that his coat got really, really thin. My vet put him on a course of antibiotics in case it was a result of the LD. The last time Skittles was tested, he tested negative. He's not had any other symptoms since he first tested positive.

 

You know your dog better than anyone. If you don't think he is acting normal, then you should get him back into the vet. Let the vet know that he tested positive for LD, so that your vet knows that that could be a possibility. JMO.

[mbc1963]

Around here, lots of dogs get Lyme disease, and most get treated. (I think it's 4 - 6 weeks with Doxycycline?) My dog was diagnosed 6 months after I got him, because he was limping. The limp went away within days of the antibiotic. He still tests positive, but in the low range. They don't retreat unless symptoms appear.

 

Mary

[Journey]

4 to 6 weeks of Doxy is not enough when dealing with a TDB. You really need to advise your new vet, re-check the titers and get him on Doxy for at least 8 weeks, if not longer. The limp, while it could be anything is also an indication of LD. You may want to join Tick-L as they are a world of info for owners. Many vets don't see TBD enough to stay on top of the new research and protocol. The dosage of Doxy id relatively high when dealing with TBD, I "think" it's like 5mg per 10 pound BID.

[juliepoudrier]

Okay, I'll post it again: You'll want to go to the Tick Links page. At the top you will find directions on how to join Tick-L. It's a very useful list, and includes at least one vet and a number of people who are well versed in dealing with tick diseases.

 

If you look partway down the page under the FAQs and related material, you'll see Gil Ash's page. I find that particular site to be very helpful regarding the disease, treatment protocols, helping your dog deal with doxycycline, etc.

 

Lyme can become chronic. Just because your dog tests negative, doesn't mean he doesn't have a TBD. In many cases, vets who are up on TBDs will go ahead and treat with doxy and if the dog improves, then that's taken as positive evidence that the dog had a TBD, despite what any test might have said.

 

If this were my dog, and I thought his behavior had changed enough to make me question and post here, I'd probably be off to the vet exploring the possibility of a Lyme relapse, or even another TBD. It's not uncommon for a dog to be infected with more than one.

 

J.

[jenkshipley]

Hi. Lyme disease is very much on my radar these days as I believe my Border Collies two seizures were triggered by Lyme.

I would have a C6 test performed on your dog and you could also contact Dr. Holland at Protatek lab, send blood to her and ask her to test for tick bourne disease that are common in your area. You need to find a vet or insist that your new vet treat with an aggressive dose of Doxy - 5mg per lb of body weight for a minimum of 8 weeks it a tick disease is found.

 

Here is Protatek's website: http://www.protatek.com/reflab/index.html

 

Six years old is not old enough for age to be causing your Border Collie to slow down that significantly imo.

 

Best,

Jen Shipley