Lyme Disease in Dogs: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

A natural aversion to arachnids and insects is one of humans’ natural defense mechanisms against the many diseases they can transmit to humans or pets.

How to remove a tick from a dog, how does Lyme disease manifest itself in dogs and how to treat it?

What is Lyme disease

Lyme disease affects dogs and people all over the world. Representatives of the medical community call this disease borreliosis. It is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Most often, dogs become infected through the bite of a tick that carries these bacteria. For a reason not fully established, cats are more resistant to this infection.

What to do if a dog is bitten by a tick

If you find a tick on your dog’s skin and the veterinary clinic is open at that time, it’s best to go there immediately. If it is impossible to get to the doctor, the best option would be to remove the tick yourself. Using tweezers or a special tick extractor available at the pet store, grab the insect as close to the dog’s skin as possible. The main thing is to remove the head of the tick, since it is through it that the disease is transmitted. It takes at least 24 hours for an infected tick to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, which is why prompt removal of the tick is important.

If possible, a well-focused photo of the tick should be taken before removal to show to the veterinarian. Then you should put the tick in a plastic bag with a zip-lock. If the veterinarian determines the type of tick, they can understand what diseases it can potentially transmit.

Is the probability of infection with tick-borne borreliosis of dogs high?

It is impossible to determine whether a dog will contract Lyme disease after a single tick bite. Most types of ticks do not carry disease-causing bacteria, but the time elapsed from being bitten to when the tick is removed is also an important factor in disease transmission.

Pets can be a food source for many types of ticks, but according to National Geographic, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease are carried by black-legged ticks.

Borreliosis in a dog: diagnosis and examination

It can take weeks for antibodies to develop. Because of this, tests for Lyme disease that are done before antibodies appear may be negative even if the dog is infected. 

If the pet is infected, a retest four to six weeks later should be positive. Even if the antibody test is positive, it does not necessarily mean that he has become infected. It simply means that at some point in the dog’s life, the dog was infected and her body developed a response. 

In many cases, this makes it difficult to determine the significance of a positive result, because, unfortunately, there are no reliable studies that would determine the presence of infectious bacteria in the body of a dog. Their interpretation depends on many factors, including the judgment of the veterinarian as to whether the dog’s signs are consistent with symptoms of Lyme disease. Ultimately, it will be up to the specialist to decide whether to test your four-legged friend for Lyme disease and what to do if it is positive.

Humans cannot get Lyme disease from an infected dog. In humans, as well as in pets, the main route of transmission of this disease is the bite of an ixodid tick. Symptoms of borreliosis in dogs

The symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs, often referred to as the “great mimic”, can vary widely. In many pets, after infection, the disease is asymptomatic with no symptoms even years later. Others show extreme lethargy and loss of appetite. Intermittent lameness is also possible. In humans, a characteristic concentric rash often develops after a tick bite, but this symptom is not observed in dogs.

If your four-legged friend exhibits any of these symptoms, you should discuss with your veterinarian whether to test for Lyme disease. Borreoliosis, if left untreated, can compromise kidney health and function.

Treatment Options for Lyme Disease in Dogs

If a pet has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, a number of treatments can help. For example, an extended course of antibiotics often gives good results. 

Unfortunately, there are no folk remedies for Lyme disease. Sometimes the disease is difficult to treat, and even after a long course of antibiotics, the symptoms of the disease may reappear. With available diagnostic methods, it can be difficult to establish whether a dog has recovered from an infection. That is why it is so important to strictly follow the instructions of the veterinarian.

Prevention of borreliosis in dogs

Since treatment for Lyme disease is not always effective, the best course of action is to protect the dog from infection. Strict tick bite prevention using topical or oral medications is a powerful way to prevent your dog from becoming infected with Lyme disease and other common parasites. . Any found tick must be removed on the same day.