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flamingo-kid1 · 04-01-2009, 07:17 PM

OH CRAP OH CRAP OH CRAP
We have noticed over this winter that our Jack Russell Terrier rescue girl, Deafanie (yes, she's deaf) has really calmed down. She even snoozes during the day. I told the vet at her checkup last fall that I have a complaint.. she's being GOOD!

We got her at 16 months old, we are her SEVENTH (and last) placement. That was four years ago; she'll be 6 in August.

We have noticed her being quite stiff and not wanting to hop up into her basket in the window (remember, she's deaf)

She tried to get down from the basket, to a footstool, as usual, and she FELL hard. Poor thing.

So back to the vet we go, and we find that she has no temp, but her lymph nodes are swollen.

Dr thinks Lyme disease, and this is Chicago area weather so it's not from now.
It had to happen last summer.
When we come home from camping I always wash the girls (a trio of little white dogs) to look for any ticks or fleas.. Deafanie had a tick but I got it off before it got big.

This year I will be using Frontline. Supervision isn't enough.
Everybody be really careful!

CanoeStream · 04-01-2009, 07:48 PM

Thanks Rachelle. The same advice could go toward keeping teens from getting pregnant. Universal precautions is the only way to go.

rettoc625 · 04-02-2009, 07:29 PM

The area I live in has the distinction of being the only source for ticks used in vet research on Lyme disease. The reason...we have tons of deer ticks and it's guaranteed that they will have Lyme.

Around here, vets do something called a Snap 4 test for Lyme and a 30 day course of doxycycline. Even then once a dog tests positive, they always test positive.

I have also noted that as soon as daytime temps rise to the mid 40's the ticks come crawling...doesn't matter if it's June, January or November. They seem to come out of the grass as soon as the weather warms slightly. Chances are you pup was bit recently.

Mary

flamingo-kid1 · 04-02-2009, 07:42 PM

Thanks for the info! Guess what she's on.. 30 days of Doxycycline.

And I'm also sneaking a half tablet of Glucosamine/Chondroitin in a dollop of peanut butter 2 x a day.. the Dork can get it out of anything else :-)

flamingo-kid1 · 04-02-2009, 08:26 PM

I posted Deafanie's plight on Deafdogs Yahoo group, and got an immediate answer about this:

Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade

I have never heard of this!

BigAl · 04-02-2009, 10:50 PM

Diatomaceous earth is very abrasive. I am surprised that it wouldn't bother their eyes and breathing in the powder is not good for you either.
I literally scratches through an insects waxy outer layer and then the insect dries out and dies.
Al

Wayne&Sam · 04-03-2009, 05:09 AM

We always use Frontline as we find ticks almost daily. Our dogs are also tested and vaccinated for Lyme annually. But the Frontline kills the ticks (and fleas) so we don't have problems with them in the house. It is the first line of defense as far as I'm concerned.

SilverAvion · 04-03-2009, 06:24 AM

my rotty was diagnosed with lyme disease a 3 weeks ago. must have picked it up last summer, but it only manifested itself recently.

the Doxycycline is really doing the trick (and the metronidizol is really keeping things clean)

DEITZ645 · 04-03-2009, 07:03 AM

Our Bailey contracted it a few years ago. He went off his food on Friday and Saturday and by Sunday morning he couldn't get up and when we tried to pick him up he yelped. So off we went to the vet for an emergency visit. He testes positive for Lyme disease and they put him on Doxycycline regimen and he has been right as rain ever since. We always use the Front Line treatment.

Our vet has informed us that there is a vaccine for Lyme disease, but they are hesitant to give it to animals that have already tested positive for the disease. They also said that after a few years of the dog testing negative for the disease they would feel more comfortable administering the vaccine.

funkill · 04-03-2009, 07:25 AM

Hope all you with pups who have Lyme are feeling better soon! Poor pups.

**Stefrobrts** · 04-03-2009, 08:10 AM

We had Alki vaccinated for Lyme when we moved out to the rural area we are now and started hiking more, but she had a terrible painful reaction to it when she got the injection! We never did it again, and instead rely on Frontline to keep them tick free. Luckily it's not a big deal out here, for the most part, but it's still scary that it's even possible.

flamingo-kid1 · 04-03-2009, 07:10 PM

My vet doesn't want to use the vaccine. She says Deafanie can never have it since she's contracted the problem. She is doing a LOT better, though.. but she's just too much of a DORK knowing exactly where her pill is and eating all around it.

I'm not able to open her mouth and tuck the pill behind her tongue.. I think her jaws hurt! She doesn't bite but she does cry.

I heard that there's a pill pocket treat that Greenies makes.. but a chewy treat is working for now.. or a gob of peanut butter.

Deafanie is such a wonderful dog.. and beautiful, too.. she has a wonderful (terrier) rough coat...she came from rescue 4 years ago.. and had so MANY placements before us!

bolerama · 04-03-2009, 08:33 PM

Just a note to the Canadian folks out there. Know the symptoms of Lyme for humans and animals. My father was diagnosed with Lyme 3 years, but only after suffering from 3 small strokes and a heart attack. You see, the doctors kept telling him that we don't really have Lyme Disease in Canada (my parents live in the Niagara area). Apparently, ticks can't jump across the Canada-US border. The tests in Canada only test for a few strains, not like the comprehensive tests in the US. Even if my parents went to the US for tests, Canadian doctors wouldn't provide treatment because they didn't "believe" the tests. My dad suffered with the disease for one year, but because he didn't find a tick attached and didn't notice a bulls-eye rash, he wasn't considered a Lyme victim. He had been given a low dose of antibiotics at one time and that threw off the results off. Repeatedly he tested "false negative". It was frustrating. He lost 40 pounds, walked with a cane, had an eye droop, had pain travelling through his body. He felt like he was dying and this all happened around his 60th birthday. When he was finally admitted to hospital because of the heart attack, they took him seriously. The heart attack was caused by the bacteria building up around his heart and causing a cauliflower-like build up on a valve. Many hospital care workers kept coming in to his hospital room to talk about his condition because they were certain that someone they knew had Lyme, but they couldn't get a positive diagnosis. That year my dad was one of the 200+ patients diagnosed that year in ALL of Canada. I'm sure the number should have been over 1000, but remember, we don't have Lyme disease in Canada. Good grief! I'm happy to say that today my dad is back to good health. His heart has permanent damage, but that hasn't slowed him down.