blackeyesue Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Took Billy to the vet Tuesday afternoon. Wasn't really eating, felt hot. Decreased energy. He seemed fine over the weekend. Had a temp of 105 when she checked. Used ice packs when we got hom. She gave him an antiobiotic shot of Baytril before we left. By the time we went to bed it was down to 102.7. She did a CBC/Chem too. Everything was normal except his white count because of the fever. Vet sends the bloodwork for Lyme out and she said yesterday he has it. So he's on Doxy for 3 months. He's acting completely normal now. He never got the Lyme booster, not that that is a guarantee he wouldn't of gotten it anyway. Monday I am going to pick up more Doxy and start him on Bravecto for the ticks. She told me the only flea and tick products that are working are the Soresto collars and Bravecto. No spot ons are killing the ticks. A woman I work with, her two Border Collies were diagnosed a couple years ago and she uses the collars. She said she's pulled maybe one off each so far this year. The Babesia and Erhilichia were negative. Billy is still young so I except good things. Stupid ticks. We have two cats also. In and out. I think I'm going to get the Soresto collars for them. I also think I may get some Tick Tubes to place around our property. Get started on being proactive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Good luck! Buddy had Lyme early on and always tested positive for it after that, but it didn't seem to cause any long-term problems. I've never had a smooth-coat dog before this one, but I must say the coat makes tick issues much simpler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 The Lyme vaccines aren't very effective. One of my dogs got Lyme Disease the same year she'd gotten the supposedly new and improved vax. And, yes, your dog will continue to test positive now, but that's no reason not to test because the other TBDs will still show up if he's infected. I'm not very far from you, Southern Tier of upstate NY, north of Scranton. I used Seresto collars for the first time this year and also for the first time didn't find a single tick on my dogs. I'm thinking about putting new ones on now with this mild fall we're having. Hoping Billy recovers fully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Good Luck! Doxy can work wonders on Lyme and other TBDs. The longer course that your vet prescribed should really knock it out. Each area of the country seems to be different regarding effectiveness of tick repellants. Your vet should have a handle on what works best in your area. For me, the Seresto collar was not effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackeyesue Posted November 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Thanks everyone for the kind words. Our vet said his antibodies were the highest she's ever seen. That's why the longer course. And it came on quick. Well, will BC's sometimes it's hard to tell because they don't sit still long enough. Our cats are on house quarantine until I get the collars. Our first BC used to get ticks, we'd pull them off. I always knew when one was on him because he would limp a little. Then it would go away and no other problems. There is so much more information now on the disease. When I was younger we never heard of ticks. All the time we used to spend in the woods camping and doing other stuff we shouldn't of been... That was in the 70's and 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aschlemm Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Are the Seresto cat collars breakaway so that your cats won't get caught on anything outdoors? I worry about collars on outdoor cats. Only one of my Borders every came down with active Lyme disease and she did fine once on Doxycycline. The other three have tested positive for it (4DX Snap test) and my male has been positive for Anaplasma for years and years. I don't know what it is like where you live but if you don't like using pesticides outdoors Guinea fowl are awesome at eating ticks. Chickens are too. I know people who live in the woods and keep Guineas and chickens just for that purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I don't know where u live but Seresto collar didn't work for us this year on our LGD. I tick piked nightly with 20 or more ticks. She was on Doxy 2x's. Is bravecto then month pill? That is what finally worked for us. We live near St. Louis MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Sorry double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Bravecto lasts for three months according to the manufacturer. Both the Seresto collars and Nexguard have worked well for me when none of the topicals did. We also treated the sheep (pour on insecticide) in the one back pasture that was a tick nightmare. I've been walking back there for months now and have found maybe just a couple of ticks on me. That's a huge difference. So not sure if treating sheep helped, but it might have! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLW1 Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 It's not true that once your dog tests positive for Lyme (or other TBDs) that they will always test positive. I've never had a dog stay positive on the SNAP4DX test after treatment. For me, the Preventic collar (on 2 dogs) and the Seresto collar (on one dog) worked great this year - everyone is negative so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Billadeau Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 Our vet has used retesting with the SNAP test to assess how treatment has progressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 You know, everyone says the vaccines aren't all that effective, but the one and only dog I've seen who got truly sick with Lyme that was vaccinated was shown through titers to have had no response to the vaccine. IOW, he was essentially unvaccinated. Yeah, he was my dog. Figures. Otherwise, the dogs with the Lyme vaccine current generally were asymptomatic when they tested positive for exposure or quite mildly ill. So, I still recommend and use the vaccine. I hope your dog makes a full recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackeyesue Posted November 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 I gave Billy the Bravecto tablet last night. I will let you know if it works. Our first BC was vaccinated almost every year. As I stated, he would start to limp and I knew he had a tick on him. Then it would go away. End of story. I don't know if he can get vaccinated now testing positive. I've read both. I'll discuss that with the vet when the time comes. We have some really nice trails on the back part of our property, very wide and nice (we got a brush hog this year) and we've been hiking out there, alot. Plus a pond-he is a swimming fool. In hindsight, not the smartest thing to do. He loves it as much as I do. And I would hate to stop that. I'm going to give the Bravecto another day before we resume our hikes. I'll be worrying the whole time too. I do expect him to make a full recovery. Guess you just never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandgabe Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 I'm a little surprised that he would limp as an indication of having a tick. I would think there's a few days gap in between exposure (getting bit by the tick) and seeing any symptoms of Lyme. We've had some serious tick issues this year, and Gabe also tested positive for Lyme with no symptoms. I try and do a thorough tick check every night, but certainly still find some engorged. Hope Billy makes a full recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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