My Dog has Lyme Disease

[poohbear1029]

This all started New Years Eve Day. The dog was healthy, happy and energetic. He had his rabies shot. When they give it to him, they must also give him steriod IV because 3 years ago he had an anaphylactic reaction....that's a whole 'nother trauma.

He started acting lethargic and stff 3 days later. We assumed it was the shot. He also stumbled 1/2 way down the stairs.....still not better the next day...off to Tufts we went. They ran regular blood tests, and poked and proded. Blood test fairly normal, no alarms.....poking -- he has arthritis probably aggravated by fall.

Monday, still not better...Tuesday am, falls down entire 13 stairs! (Hips are most affected by arthritis) Mind you DH had been trying to carry him down, but he moved to quick! The dog is 69 lbs! So, took him to vet again. Tested for tick borne illness. Found out last night he has Lyme. They think that the steroids weakened his immune system and made a dormant disease active.

Supposed to start antibiotics tonight. DH gave him the meds and then the dog ate (as directed by vet)......10 minutes later all comes back up.....ggrrr! He needs to be on these meds for 28 days to hopefully clear up! He can not puke them up!

Anyone go thru this before with their dog and have any tips?

 

[battricia]

Haven't been through it with a dog, but I'm sorry to hear your dog's not feeling well, and I hope that he feels better soon.


tricia.

 

[NC Belle]

Can you call the vet?--there should be an after hours number--to seek his or her's advice or get medicine for the vomiting? Our dog threw up a year ago, and our neighbor (she works for a vet) who lived across the street said that Pepto Bismal should help----but check with the vet first. It might have a bad interaction though. Please call the vet asap. We get regular vaccinations for Jessie (our lab mix) which includes lyme disease. I had a family dog growing up, another lab-Twilight, who had been on steroids for several due to a severe flea allergy. She gained a lot on them. She swallowed pills easily though. We usually try to get shots, powder, or chewables for Jessie. I usually hold Jessie's mouth close and rub her chin down to her throat after she swallows a pill directly. She is good natured which allows me to look around the mouth easily. We have a good medical plan with Banfield (they are in Petsmart stores) which includes most of her shots/care with discounts on heartworm prevention shots.

I hope this helps.

P.S. I feel so bad for your dog. I had a tick bourne illness as a child (Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever). I felt ill for a while after that bout. Please check you and your loved ones frequently during tick season & check between the webbing on the paws---Twilight used get a lot of fleas and ticks there after going out in the tall grass/woods/swamp.

Good Luck and Pixie Dust to you all.
NC Belle

 

[Dan Murphy]

No tips or ideas, poohbear1029, but sure do hope the best for your little pooch. Always tough when they are hurting.

Dan

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

{{{HUGS}}} to you and your furbaby. How awful for him!!

Please call the vet and see what they say. Hope he feels better soon!

 

[DisneyObsessed]

I'm sorry, I don't have any advice, just hugs to your poochy.

 

[dumboiu]

I am very sorry to hear about your dog. I would call the vet and see if there is a more "taste friendly" pill. Maybe that would help.

I would also suggest that you and your family are tested for Lyme disease. If your dog has it, there is a chance that you might also.

 

[poohlover]

HI, we had a rottie with Lyme about 5 years ago now. He was in terrible shape one day, lame on his back right leg & so very lethargic. It came on so quick, I really thought he wasn't going to make it!

With only a few days of antibiotics he was much better. Our vet did suggest a "bland" diet for a few days.

We actually cooked hambuger & rice for him. Our other dogs like cottage cheese.

Keep talking to your vet & good luck!

 

[CRB#33]

When my cat was ill and on antibiotics, they always made him sick.

The vet prescribed another medicine to take along with the antibiotic that is supposed to keep them from throwing up. It calms their stomach and the antibiotic isn't so nauseating.

I have the same trouble with antibiotics

I hope your furbaby feels better soon.

 

[Auggietina]

My dog was diagnosed with Lyme disease 2 years ago. He was lucky and showed no signs of the disease. The Vet said some dogs have a higher tolerance of the disease than others and it affects each dog differently.

My dog was on anitbotics for a month, re-tested, and it was still there. We then had to put him on a stonger antibotics.

We fed him his antibotics mixed with soft dog food. Since we only feed him dry food - he gobbled it up like he was getting a treat!

I don't know how old you dog is, but ours was just 1 when he was infected.

He still to this day, runs and runs and runs and shows no sign of stopping. So I can offer hope that dogs can over come this.

I hope you dog gets better soon!

 

[luvmydogs]

No experience with Lyme, but I'm sending out my best wishes that your dog is feeling better and is well on his way to a quick recovery! Hugs to you and pup...

 

[helenabear]

I've had no experience with this either... wishing you all the best with your pup! I hope he is doing better soon

 

[poohbear1029]

It has been a rough week figuring out what was wrong with him. We dont have kids yet, so we are quite attached to our furry friend. He is an eight year old springer/retriever mix....such a love, too! He's had separation anxiety which we have painfully worked thru the training of, so we have our heart and soul invested in him.

Here is a link to a photo of him from a year ago: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=163520

I think I might try the rice and hamburger tonight. Our own fault yesterday....I came home and when I ate I gave him a little tomato (usually a favorite of his).....then DH gave him pill and put some tuna on his dry food.....may have been too much for his tummy. We have done the rice/hamburger when he was younger and would get "garbage gut"....you know....when they "taste" icky things in the yard.

Our vet is open tomorrow morning (Sat) so I think I will try the pill tonight with the bland diet and then if it goes down well, fine, if not, I can call her in the morning. He was a little perkier this am, so perhaps some of the meds were absorbed into his system.

Thank you to whomever was concerned for us. DH did pull a tick off himself this summer and has a physical scheduled next week anyway and will be discussing it. I also have a physical coming up where I will ask about it as well, just to be sure. Apparently it can be much worse for humans.

BTW - We leave for WDW the last day of his meds......vet had said he might need 6 weeks, not four...I may ask for the extra two weeks pills, so we can be sure it is knocked out b/c we can't have him retested until we return from WDW.....would consider postponing trip --- but it is DVC points and we are in our 30 day window.

 

[DisneyObsessed]

He's beautiful! Give him a hug from me

 

[DawnCt]

I have a standard poodle who bloated (gastric torsion) when she was 18 months old. The surgery required that she have her spleen removed. The result of this is that she is more suseptable to being infected with Lyme Disease, should she be bitten by a tick. Since then, we have made sure that she receives her Lyme vaccine when it is due. The cost is about $70 but it is cheaper than treating the disease.

 

[damo]

He's such a handsome dog. Sure hope you have some luck with the food. Our little cocker had a gastro problem a few weeks back and the vet had us feed her rice with hamburger but just little bits at a time so she wouldn't throw it back up. It worked very well and she was able to keep the meds down.

 

[poohbear1029]

Thank you for your continued support. The hamburg and rice seems to have worked well......when he was a puppy we used to joke that he ate yucky stuff just to get sick so I would feed him the burger/rice mix!

He had some more pep earlier tonight and is resting.......you know that yucky taste antibiotics leave in your mouth....I think he has that from the faces he makes! But, he's a dog so no scope or mints for him!

26 more days of meds! Here's hoping they all go as smoothly as today!

 

[Spinning]

we just went through this with our dog. She was fine with the first dose and the second day she tossed it right back up...I think it was more due to how hubby gave her the 5 pills...Shoved on then another...no food with it.
So then we gave the next dose just lightly coated with Peanut butter she loved it and no problems and needless to say for the next 4 weeks she would wait in the kitchen right before bed time to get her snack!
We had no idea she had lymes. They did a blood test so they could give her the vacine....
Hope she is feeling better!~