Lyme Disease is dangerous. The cure, only sometimes successful, is painful for the pet and expensive for the owner. Untreated pets usually die and treated dogs and cats go through weeks of illness while the disease is treated. Lyme Disease prevention is reasonably priced, easy to administer and good for your pet!
Call our office today at 727-5757 to schedule a heartworm check for your pet. If s/he’s due for yearly vaccinations, be sure to include a Lyme vaccination in the visit. Take advantage of our specials which are good through December 30th! (one special per pet please – just bring in this webpage)
Also, be sure to check out our new website and pet wellness plans at www.eberleanimalhospital.com.
The bite of a tick transmits a bacteria that causes Lyme Disease. Lyme disease is actually named after the town in Connecticut where an early outbreak was first described... Lyme, Connecticut. Lyme Disease in dogs has been reported in every state. Cats do contract Lyme Disease but very uncommonly.
Being fussy little bacteria, not just any ol' genus of tick will do as a carrier. At least three known species of ticks can transmit Lyme Disease. However, the great majority of Lyme Disease transmissions are due to the bite of a very tiny tick commonly called the Deer Tick, or Black-legged Tick. The adult stage of the tick prefers to feed on deer. As you know, we do have many deer in Iowa so these tick are a problem for our Iowa pets.
Often when I diagnose a case of Lyme Disease the dog owners are skeptical about the presence of ticks... "It can't be Lyme Disease, Dr. Eberle. This dog has not had a single tick all year. I know because I've checked her every time she's come indoors." Smaller than the head of a pin, these ticks are hard to see! They don't make the dog itch. And they are very quiet about what they do.
Of the many cases of canine Lyme Disease that I have seen throughout my years of practice, over 90% were admitted with signs of limping (usually one foreleg), lumph node swelling in the affected limb, and a temperature of 103 degrees (normal temperature is 101 to 102.5). The limping usually progresses over three to four days from mild and barely noticeable to complete disuse of the painful leg. One the dog starts to be affected by the bacteria, Lyme Disease can progress from a mild discomfort to the stage where a dog will be in such joint and muscle pain that it will refuse to move. Over the span of two or three days a dog can progress from normal to completely unable to walk due to generalized joint pain.
In addition to joint damage, the bacteria can affect the dog’s heart muscle and nerve tissue. If the disease is diagnosed in time, treatment with antibiotics can help the dog before permanent joint or nerve damage occur. Can a dog contract Lyme Disease a second time? Yes. But, quite honestly, we don't know for sure if the reoccurrence is a second, distinct infection or a flare-up of the original episode (because the bacteria replicates quite slowly). And, since dogs can harbor the bacteria in their tissues a long time before the disease is evident, Lyme Disease cases are showing up all year long.
We urge you to vaccinate your dog annually for Lyme Disease. We also strongly recommend using the new chemical agents that you apply once a month to small areas of the dog's skin; thereafter, the agent spreads over the dog's body via the oil on its skin and kills ticks before they get a chance to inject the bacteria into the dog via the tick's saliva.
I have found through my years of small animal practice that Frontline and Advantage are by far the most effective, safe, and easiest to use of all the available products. Frontline, and Advantage are available only through veterinarians. They are simply made by two different companies, but both kill fleas and ticks on contact (they don’t even have to bite the pet). Unlike the toxic insecticides in some products the ingredients in Frontline and Advantage are not absorbed into the bloodstream and are toxic only to fleas and ticks, not to pets or their owners.
Both products also repel mosquitoes and kill fleas. Caution! Do not "double up" on insecticides or repellants. If your dog is receiving a topical once-a-month flea and tick product, always consult with us before applying any additional insectide or repellent product! You don’t need it and it could be very harmful to your pet. By the way, insect repellents designed to be applied to clothing should never be used on your pets.
We recommend applying a flea and tick product April 1st and repeating monthly through November. Remember that the deer tick which causes Lyme disease is most active during the fall months. So..if you need more tick preventive, take advantage of our special. If your pet does not have a Lyme shot, get a discount on one now. And if you just want to mark October as National Pet Wellness month, bring your pet in for a free physical. We would love to see you!
Please call us at 727-5757 with any questions!
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