Canine Lyme Disease

Canine Lyme Disease
Canine Lyme disease is a disease that is caused by a minuscule bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacterium is difficult to find, considering the fact that even their carriers, deer ticks, are impossible to identify because they are tinier than the head of a pin.

These ticks grab onto dogs, and people, similar to all other ticks. After a period of one or two days, however, the victim's blood becomes too thick for the tick to drink it comfortably. At this point, the tick injects a substance that makes the victim's blood thinner and therefore makes it easier for the tick to drink. Therefore, the first one or two days are your window of opportunity to get rid of the ticks on your dog before he is infected with the disease.

After two days, there's no going back as your dog is most likely infected with the disease. Only ten to fifty percent of deer ticks actually carry this disease, but it might be more than that based on which part of the country you are located in, and they are still not good chances for your dog.

This bacterium lies dormant for many months and only then do the symptoms show. If your dog has recently run around a field during tick season, then these are some of the signs you need to keep an eye out for:

Fever

Lethargy

Painful, swollen joints

Swollen lymph nodes

Loss of appetite

If you find that your dog is showing any of the above symptoms, then be sure to tell his vet that your dog might have ticks, because these symptoms are signs of several different illnesses. Thankfully, today there is a simple way in which vets test for Canine Lyme disease and all they need is a blood sample from your dog.

There are many ways to prevent your dog contracting this disease in the first pace. You can use tick repellents and preventives to make sure that he doesn't get this disease, even if you cannot keep him out of areas that are infested with ticks. Your vet will most likely know what brands are best to use and how strong they need to be according to the area you live in.

Humans can't actually catch this disease from your dog, but the same ticks that are on his body can latch onto yours, and if it happens to be a disease-infected one, you could get the disease too. You should find it and get rid of it in time, or you will have Lyme disease.