La Lyme's desease it is one of the most common diseases transmitted by ticks It exists worldwide, but it only causes symptoms in ten percent of affected dogs.
This sickness It is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi and it occurs when a simple infection transmitted by this tick ends, it is this disease in dogs, with a clinical characteristic that will show us that our dog suffers from the Lyme's desease, being the recurrent lameness due to the inflammation of the joints.
Know the symptoms of Lyme disease
As well there may be poor appetite and depression, although the most severe complications of this disease include kidney damage and in some cases heart and nervous system disease.
This is one renal disease which is very common in "Labradors", they are even often seen in the "Bernese Mountain Dog" breed of dog.
The young dogs are usually more susceptible to Lyme disease than older dogs. The transmission of this disease has been given more frequently in dogs found in the United States and Europe, being more frequent to see this type of disease in countries of the Midwest, on the Atlantic coast and on the Pacific coast.
The shifting leg lameness
As we have said before, dogs with Lyme disease suffer from a type of lameness due to inflammation of the joints, a limp that lasts only three or four days but that recurs again days later, hitting the same leg or other legs.
This is called as the shifting leg limp, where one or more joints may be hot, swollen, and painful.
Renal problems
Some dogs may develop kidney problems, since Lyme disease sometimes leads to glomerulonephritis, an inflammation that occurs within the glomeruli of the kidney, where the dog begins to suffer diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, poor appetite, increased urination and thirst and abnormal accumulations of fluid.
Other symptoms
Other symptoms that are associated with Lyme disease include tenderness to touch, arched back walking, nervous system complications, labored breathing, heart abnormalities, fever, and depression.
How to treat Lyme disease in dogs
To be able to treat all these symptoms you should have a complete history of the dog's health, since the entire history of your pet has to be had by your veterinarian, in order to give him clues about the organs that may be affected. The vet may perform some type of blood tests, fecal exams, urine tests, blood cell counts, and tests to diagnose Lyme disease.
Causes of Lyme disease
There are many causes of arthritis and the vet should focus on differentiating arthritis that has started from Lyme disease from others arthritic inflammatory disorders, such as trauma, degenerative joint disease or osteochondrosis dissecansa.
Doxicillin is the most common antibiotic prescribed to treat this type of disease, but others are also available that are equally effective.
The duration of this treatment usually lasts about four weeks, but in some cases longer treatments may be necessary, since the veterinarian can also prescribe an anti-inflammatory if the dog is uncomfortable. Unfortunately, treatment does not always completely eliminate the infection by a Borrelia Burgdorferi bacteria and although the symptoms can be treated, they may return in the future.
All the immune-mediated diseases are also considered to be a cause of symptoms, so an X-ray of the joints can allow the doctor to examine the bones and if the diagnosis results in Lyme's desease your dog will be treated as a lower priority patient unless the condition is unstable.