Can dogs get lyme disease from ticks
Have you ever heard of diseases that affect animals and humans and are transmitted by some ticks? If yes, then Lyme disease is also one of them and is caused by a bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease carrier is a tick that carries this bacteria to a dog or human’s blood through a bite.
This article will give guide you on knowing when dogs are sick. Is this disease preventable or not? And much more. So, let’s start.
Can Ticks Transmit Lyme Disease In Canines?
Dogs suffer from Lyme disease because of a tick bite that transfers the bacteria. This disease mainly affects your pet’s joints and leads to swelling of lymph nodes putting dogs in danger. In the worst-case scenario, it can cause kidney failure and eventually death.
Deer tick or black-legged tick is often the carrier of Lyme disease. Deer ticks are commonly found in the eastern United States, the Midwest, and Canada, mainly in Ontario. They are usually present on tall grasses, marshes, and woods, where they can easily infect dogs passing nearby.
Can Lyme Disease Affect People?
Yes, but Lyme disease is not included in those diseases you can get from dogs. Humans get this infection due to a tick bite that also infects dogs. That’s why making yourself and your pet less vulnerable to these ticks is essential.
Are you still here, curious to get more knowledge on this topic? If yes, then keep reading to get some more interesting facts.
6 Signs That Show Your Dog Is Sick
Unfortunately, Lyme disease is common in canine animals. Here are some dog infection symptoms related to Lyme disease that indicates your pet is sick. These include:
- Loss of Appetite
- Fever
- Low Energy
- Joints swelling
- Stiffness, pain, or discomfort
- Weight Loss
In the case of Lyme disease, you might get a bull’s eye rash between 3 to 30 days after a tick bite. So, such a condition can be diagnosed in no time. However, such signs do not develop in cats or dogs.
It’s best to take the affected dog to a vet because of the lack of appetite and pain he is suffering from. In this condition, they just feel like they are walking on eggshells. Dogs suffer from high fevers and also start limping.
In some cases, it takes a year for symptoms to appear. By that time, this disease affects their entire bodies. If prolonged, it might result in chronic kidney disease in dogs that can be fatal. Some common signs of kidney disease in dogs are lethargy, vomiting, and anorexia.
What Is Kidney Disease In Dogs?
A bacterial infection like Leptospirosis leads to severe kidney disease in canines. These pathogenic bacteria get transmitted through animal feces and urine. The bacteria can also cause food and water contamination. People having weak immunity can suffer from kidney failure or meningitis because of Leptospirosis.
Now, how many stages of kidney disease in dogs are found? There are four stages of kidney disease in dogs; the most severe is 4th stage involving significant symptoms.
What Can I Give My Dog With Kidney Disease?
Different types of kidney diseases can occur in dogs. Medications are sometimes effective, while other severe conditions need veterinary help. Also, ensure enough nutrition and keep your pet hydrated in this case.
What Not To Feed Dogs With Kidney Disease?
Food containing high amounts of salt (sodium) and fats is unsuitable for dogs. Your dog can become sick because of it. Therefore, commercial dog food low in salt is ideal for dogs. Some best dog food for kidney disease in dogs include Hill’s Kidney Care (Canned), Hill’s Kidney Care (kibble).
Critical Components of Dog’s Diet Having Chronic Kidney Disease
Protein | 14-20% |
Sodium | ≤0.3% |
Phosphorus | 0.2-0.5% |
Omega- 3 fatty acids | 0.4-2.5% |
How To Prepare Homemade Dog Food For Kidney Disease?
Luckily, you can make home recipes for dogs with kidney disease. The better way is to mix chicken and potato or eggs and potatoes. Mix all the ingredients well and give them to your pet. A suitable diet for dogs having kidney disease should be rich in protein and low in salt.
How To Treat Kidney Disease In Dogs?
Usually, treating kidney disease in dogs because of bacterial infection involves fluid therapy and antibiotics. The primary purpose is to prevent further damage and infection. Also, give them enough fluids and take care of their rest. In addition, supplements are good for them for enhancing immunity. Besides, keep their surroundings clean and make sure their water is free from contamination.
If you observe your dog has infection symptoms related to kidney disease, take him to a vet without wasting time. The treatment of Leptospirosis at the initial stage makes his survival better. One way to prevent Leprosis is to take care of your hygiene. Wash your hands properly after getting in touch with your animals or their waste.
How To Know If My Dog Has An Infection?
Generally, symptoms like fever, joint swelling, and lameness show that dogs suffer from Lyme disease. However, these symptoms can also appear because of other conditions. Few tests are done for confirmation and to clear doubts.
First, an antibody test that a vet performs with the help of a particular test kit. This test shows the presence of antibodies that appear because of interaction with the organism. It is usually performed after 4 weeks of a tick bite. Dogs having the infection for a long time show no antibodies for detection. After that, a QC6 test is done to find the numerical antibody level necessary for confirmation.
Some less common tests like PCR, ELISA, and joint-fluid analysis are also performed. Further, blood and urine test are carried out to analyze kidney function and loss of protein in the urine.
How To Cure A Dog Having Lyme Disease?
As bacteria cause Lyme disease, antibiotics are effective in this case. These antibiotics include doxycycline, amoxicillin, and azithromycin. Treatment is usually given for 4 weeks. Antibiotics relieve the symptoms rapidly; however, prolonged medications are needed if the infection stays longer. Besides, therapies are also effective in treating some specific symptoms.
But do antibiotics used in Lyme disease treatment affect antibody levels? Antibiotic treatment involves the pathogen B. burgdorferi in the case of Lyme disease. B- cells do not produce other antibodies in the possibility of successful treatment and bacterial removal from the host. Consequently, the antibody level reduces after the successful treatment. Hence, the success of treatment is indicated by antibody levels, so monitor them from time to time.
What Is the Treatment Cost Of Lyme Disease In Dogs?
The treatment cost of Lyme disease is dependent on the severity of the disease. Antibiotics are helpful at an early stage, and your vet may recommend you a regular visit to monitor your pet’s condition.
However, in severe cases, hospital care is usually required that involves supportive treatment, which can be more expensive. Diagnostics tests, medications, and regular visits can cost you more.
How To Know If Treatment Was Successful?
In case of successful treatment, the antibody levels reduce by 40%. At an early stage of infection, the level reduces more after 6 to 8 weeks or after 3 months if there is a chronic infection.
What Are the Stages Of Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease mainly involves three stages:
Stage 1: Stage 1 is early localized Lyme disease where bacteria don’t spread throughout the body.
Stage 2: Stage 2 is early disseminated Lyme disease. During this stage, the bacteria start spreading in the overall body.
Stage 3: Stage 3 is late disseminated Lyme disease.
4 Things That You Need To Know
Although Lyme disease can adversely affect your dog, luckily, this disease is preventable. Being a pet owner, here are a few things you should know to prevent this disease in dogs.
- Ticks Are Carrier Of Bacteria Causing Lyme Disease
The bacterial agent responsible for Lyme disease is transferred because of ticks. Once the bacteria get in their body, it travels to different organs of dogs and causes issues.
- Symptoms Take Time To Appear
Symptoms like joint swelling, pain, and fever usually take time to appear in dogs. It might be weeks or months, and sometimes infected dogs don’t show any signs. In this regard, some tests are done to show if he is infected. In fact, some tests take nine weeks to give positive results.
- Veterinarians Perform Tests On Dogs
Without a diagnosis, it’s difficult to know if dogs have an infection or not. Therefore, it’s recommended to consult your vet to diagnose and treat a dog having Lyme disease. Performing specific blood tests to check the presence of antibodies is helpful. Alongside this, some other tests are also done to see if the disease has affected his kidneys or not.
- Lyme Disease Is An Entire Year Risk
The risk of getting an infection for dogs is not only during summer but the entire year. It depends upon where you live, the temperature of the surroundings, and the abundance of infected ticks in the area.
Does Lyme Disease In Dogs Appear Suddenly?
Yes, the painful lameness appears suddenly and can affect one or both legs. It will disappear eventually if not treated but can reoccur after months or weeks. Some pets have had Lyme disease for over a year but don’t show any symptoms initially.
Ways To Prevent Dogs From Lyme Disease
It’s a common question from many pet owners, how can I prevent my dog from getting infected? One way is to never let your dog be vulnerable to ticks. Ticks are commonly present on the leaf surface, grass blades, or small trees. So, it is better to keep dogs from thick underbrush.
In addition, some products are available that can kill ticks and avoid disease transmission. One convenient method to control these parasites is to apply effective preventatives on the skin at the back of the neck. These preventatives are Advantix and Frontline Plus, which are only available in the USA. Further, the topical Bravecto remains effective for three months when used topically.
Moreover, some chewable products like Simparica and Nexgard are given every month. Explicitly considering the chewable Bravecto is provided every 3 months. You can also consult your vet to keep your dog free from parasites.
Moreover, brush your dog’s hair regularly. Watch your dog for any ticks; if present, remove them before they transmit to humans or other pets.
How To Check Your Dog For Ticks?
One way to examine your dog for ticks is to gently run your fingers through his fur and down on the skin. If you doubt anything, split his hair and go for a visual check.
Certain areas of a dog’s body are tick’s favorites, and they love to bind there. These are:
- Armpits
- The bottom surface of the tail
- Between the toes
- Groin
- Face
- Soft areas behind a dog’s ears
How to Remove A Tick From My Dog?
Check your dog thoroughly to see if he has ticks attached to him. If you see a tick moving on your dog, remove it immediately, place it in rubbing alcohol or crush it. You can pull it out using fine tweezers or fingernails. But be careful, as the tick’s mouth can remain on your pet’s skin if you twist or jerk the tick. Ask your vet if you are unsure how to get rid of the tick from your dog’s body.
Also, use gloves while disposing of ticks from your pet’s body. While crushing the ticks, avoid getting their blood on your skin. It can be harmful as bacteria causing Lyme disease can get into your body through any skin wound or cut.
Can Vaccination Protect My Dog From Lyme Disease?
One safe option is getting the vaccination to protect your dog from Lyme disease. Generally, a safe and effective vaccine is present, which is given at intervals of 2 to 4 weeks. Vaccination against this disease is related to your pet’s lifestyle, as not all dogs are suitable for the vaccine.
Make sure to discuss the type and frequency of vaccination with your vet. He will recommend the vaccine if you live in an area abundant in ticks or if your dog mostly spends time outdoors.
Can Animals Get Infected After Vaccination?
Yes, animals can get infected even after vaccination. That’s because of the presence of low or short-living vaccine antibodies in an individual animal. Also, ensure to analyze the vaccine response annually, as animals produce sufficient antibodies after vaccination. The number of vaccine antibodies is determined with the help of Lyme Multiplex assay after two weeks of vaccination.
What Are Health Complications of Untreated Lyme Disease In Dogs?
If Lyme disease is not treated correctly on time, it results in several health complications affecting canines’ essential organs. This involves permanent damage to your dog’s heart, kidney, or nervous system. One of the most common complications in the case of untreated Lyme disease is kidney damage, which can be fatal.
Sometimes, nervous system disorders like facial paralysis or seizures are also common in dogs. The severity of these complications can affect your pet’s health and may or may not be life-threatening.
Other Dog Disease Carried By Ticks
In addition to Lyme disease, ticks also carry other bacterial infections that affect dogs. These include Babesiosis, Bartonellosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Anaplasmosis.
- Canine Anaplasmosis
It is also called dog tick fever and is transmitted with the help of Deer Tick and the Western Black-Legged Tick. Anaplasmosis has many symptoms similar to Lyme disease. These include fever, lethargy, diarrhea, vomiting, joint stiffness, and seizures.
- Canine Babesiosis
This disease is transmitted by the Brown Dog Tick or American Dog Tick. There are also a variety of symptoms in the case of babesiosis, including severe shocks, dark urine, and high fever. This disease involves the slow progression of the infection. Like Lyme disease, blood tests are usually helpful in diagnosing both disorders.
In rare cases, dogs and humans get sick because of the co-infection of multiple tick-borne diseases. In this condition, a single tick bite can transmit more than one disease-causing bacteria. Therefore, treatments are more challenging in these cases, and illnesses are difficult to diagnose.
What Causes Chronic Skin Disease in Dogs?
Generally, an overgrowth of normal bacterial or fungal skin flora leads to skin disease in dogs. Most allergic skin diseases of dogs and cats are because of Flea allergy dermatitis. A flea bite injects saliva into your dog’s skin resulting in an allergic reaction.
Dog skin diseases medicine includes topical antihistamines or antibiotic sprays like Betagen treats hot spots in dogs. Oral antibiotics are effective in treating secondary bacterial infections. However, ask your vet before giving your pet any medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What To Do If I Catch Dogs Having Ticks On Them?
What to do if I find a tick on my dog? Don’t worry. Tick bites won’t cause any harm to your pet in most cases. Even if you give tick prevention medication to your dog, a tick can still bite him. But it will die before causing any adverse effects on dogs.
- What Is Heart Disease In Dogs?
Numerous heart diseases can occur in dogs; congestive heart failure is the most common. In addition, some heart diseases like arrhythmias, valve disease, and cardiomyopathies can also affect dogs. Heart disease in dogs diagnosis is done with the help of an x-ray, blood test, and ultrasound. Dog food ingredients linked to heart disease include legumes, potatoes, and pulses (chickpeas, beans, and peas). Consult your vet if you find these ingredients in dog food causing heart disease.
- How Is Heart Disease Treated In Dogs?
Heart disease in dogs cure depends on the type of heart disease, surgery, medication, and specialized diets. Generally, feeding whole fatty fish is good for heart disease in dogs. It contains omega-3 fatty acids that are necessary for cardiovascular health. Among whole fatty fish, sardines or mackerel are some excellent options.
- Are There Any Best Dog Food For Dogs With Heart Disease?
Some good choices regarding dog food for a pet having heart disease include:
- SquarePet VFS Active Joints Dry Food
- Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Chicken and Rice Dry Dog Food
- Purina One+ Plus Joint health food
Nutritional Value of Purina One+ Plus Joint Health Food
Protein Content | 27% |
Fiber Content | 5% |
Fat Content | 12% |
Grain Content | 0% |
- Can Cats Make You Sick?
Can your pet make you sick? Yes, sometimes cats contain germs that can make you sick. Therefore, to prevent infectious diseases, you must maintain your cat’s hygiene. Numerous pet diseases transmitted to humans are because of parasites.
Some of them include giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, and toxoplasmosis. Cryptosporidiosis leads to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal aches, fever, and dehydration in felines and humans.
- What Illness Can Dogs Catch From Humans?
Can you get your pet sick? Unfortunately, sometimes humans also transmit diseases to dogs, making them sick. These diseases are ringworm, MRSA, and salmonellosis. Research shows that humans also transfer flu viruses and mumps to dogs but don’t make them sick.
- Can A Cat Give A Dog A Cold?
It’s doubtful that dogs get a cold from cats. That’s because the bacteria and viruses responsible for causing colds are specific to species. Therefore, they make sick only one kind of animal.
- Why Do Dogs Get Sick?
Dogs usually get sick because of what they consume. Eating other animals’ food or waste material can adversely affect them. Living close to ill dogs or getting bacteria and viruses from the ground can make them sick. Lack of proper nutrients or any stress can also negatively affects your pet.
- Can A Human Get An Animal Pregnant?
Obviously not. It’s unethical, and human DNA differs from animals’ DNA. Therefore, their interbreeding is not possible at all.
- Can A Human Get A Dog Pregnant?
No, not at all. The breeding process involves a suitable male dog for dogs to get pregnant. That’s why it’s not possible with humans.
- How To Treat Dog Dental Disease At Home?
There are a few ways to treat the dental disease of your canines at home. First, brush your pet’s teeth regularly. Some dog toys like Dog Molar Toothbrush Chew Toy are also effective in reducing plaque. To keep your pet’s mouth healthy and hydrated, give him plenty of water to drink.
- Are There Any Best Vegetables for Dogs With Liver Disease?
Green vegetables like Brussell sprouts, kale, and broccoli effectively reduce the fat content in the liver during the disease. In addition, high-quality proteins like chicken, fish, and eggs are also suitable for dogs having liver disease. You can also give them plain pumpkin, rice, and oatmeal.
- What Is Respiratory Disease In Dogs?
Respiratory infections are related to a dog’s windpipe and large airways of the lungs. These infections include pneumonia and infectious tracheobronchitis. These infections can be minor to severe, and bacteria and viruses commonly cause them. Some common dog deaths also occur because of respiratory disease in canines.
- What Diseases Can Dogs Give To Humans?
What diseases can you get from a dog? Although dogs can be your favorite, they can make you sick because of the germs they carry. Can puppies make you sick? Yes, they can. They can cause minor skin infections as well as serious illnesses. Some of the diseases spread by dogs in humans are Pasteurella, rabies, and brucella.
- Can Dogs Give You A Cold?
No, dogs cannot give you a cold. Mostly, viruses are responsible for causing respiratory diseases which can’t be transferred from dogs to humans. So, dogs can’t give you colds. In fact, dogs have their own type of flu called canine influenza.
- What To Do If My Dog Has Liver Disease?
A vet visit is essential in case your dog suffers from liver disease. A diet change will be helpful in this regard. Antibiotics are suitable for a liver infection, and supplements like SAM-E or milk thirst will also be effective in liver recovery. Surgery is also a good option if your dog has cysts or tumors.
- Why Don't Dogs Get Sick Like Humans?
Most human illnesses are not found in dogs commonly. Dogs’ saliva is high in pH and contains helpful bacteria; therefore, they ingest bacteria that can make humans sick. However, humans can get human diseases from dog saliva, urine, blood, or feces.
Final Words
To summarize the above discussion, ticks are responsible for transmitting Lyme disease in dogs affecting their joints and kidneys. Medications and therapies aid in relieving the symptoms of this disease. Check your dog’s body for ticks, and remove them with fine tweezers. You can prevent this medical condition in dogs through vaccination. Ticks are also carriers of other canine diseases and badly affect your pet’s health. You can also get some fantastic products from loobani for your pet.