Lameness in Dogs due to Lyme Disease

What signs of illness in your dog suggest Lyme disease? LAMENESS, and fatigue, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. Humans report headaches, dizziness, numbness, muscle and joint pain, and it’s likely that dogs also have these symptoms. If your dog has nonspecific lameness that doesn’t improve with rest, ask your holistic veterinarian for doxycycline and herbs to boost the immune system.

Lyme disease is carried by ticks and is spread when the ticks’ mouth parts penetrate the dog’s skin. Ticks attach to dogs to suck their blood and obtain the nourishment they need to mature to nymphs and adults.

After attaching to the dog’s skin, ticks release anticoagulant secretions from their mouths that keep the dog’s blood flowing. Along with these secretions come tiny little bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, that cause the disease we call Lyme’s disease.

We can prevent the spread of Lyme disease by removing ticks before they have time to attach strongly to our dogs, that is within 12 hours. We can use topical medications, such as Frontline or Advantix, to repel or kill ticks and prevent disease transmission.

If the tick attaches and transmits Lyme bacteria during its feeding period, some dogs have effective immune system that attack and eliminate the bacteria, but many dog’s have immune systems that are easily fooled by the bacteria. Borrelia has a sneaky method of evading the immune system—it hides within white blood cells, the very cells that the immune system uses to kill the bacteria. The unsuspecting white blood cells transport the bacteria throughout the body, and the bacteria flourish when they are transported to joints or to the brain and nervous system.

Fortunately, there is a treatment for Lyme disease, the antibiotic doxycycline. Doxy is given twice a day for up to 3 weeks. Pets taking an antibiotic like Doxy should also take a probiotic to replace the good bacteria in the gut that are inadvertently killed. The beneficial gut bacteria help make vitamins and fatty acids; if they’re wiped out by the nonspecific killing action of the antibiotic, pets are at risk for developing chronic diarrhoea and malnutrition.

How do we know if a pet has Lyme disease, because dogs can be lame for many reasons--get a blood test. Recently, improved tests to identify Lyme infection were developed by Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) at the College of Vet Medicine. The new test helps clarify whether an animal is infected, and if so, for how long it has been infected. The test can also distinguish between an infected animal and an animal that has antibodies to Lyme disease because it was vaccinated. Veterinarians can send serum or cerebral spinal fluid for testing to AHDC. http://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu or phone, 607 253 3900.

When I treat dogs with Lyme disease, I use Benefit Hips & Knees (Xiao Chai Hu Tang) from Kan Herbs or Open the Liver Channels, which is Xiao Chai Hu Tang with Turmeric. These herbal formulas help the immune system, give the pet more energy, and strengthen the liver & adrenals. Pets with deep-seated pathogens like Lyme disease strongly benefit from Xiao Chai Hu Tang in either formula.

Our pets have the best opportunity for healing when we combine both conventional medicine’s antibiotic and holistic medicine’s herbal formulas. Why have a pet needs that is lame, has headaches, and feels poorly when there are effective antibiotics and herbs available.