Can Lyme disease lay dormant in dogs? Here’s What to Expect

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is a crippling, and sometimes fatal, tick-borne disease that affects a variety of animals. In areas of dense vegetation, marshlands, and thick forests, Lyme disease is one of the most common canine diseases.

A bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi carried inside certain ticks, like the black-legged “deer” tick, causes Lyme disease. The disease can cause severe problems for your dog, like cardiac and neurological disorders. If left untreated, Lyme disease can lead to kidney failure, which is often fatal.1

How can I prevent my dog from getting Lyme disease?

The key to prevention is keeping your dog from being exposed to ticks. Ticks are found in grassy, wooded, and sandy areas. They find their way onto an animal by climbing to the top of a leaf, blade of grass, or short trees, especially cedar trees. Here they wait until their sensors detect an approaching animal on which to crawl or drop. Keeping animals from thick underbrush reduces their exposure to ticks. Dogs should be kept on trails when walked near wooded or tall grass areas. Vaccination against Lyme disease is recommended for pets that live in endemic areas or that travel to areas where Lyme disease is prevalent.

There are also several products available that can help to kill these ticks and prevent disease transmission. Some products are available over the counter, while others are only available through your veterinarian. There are effective monthly preventatives that are typically applied to the skin at the back of the neck and represent a convenient method of control for these external parasites. This includes Frontline Plus® (only available in the USA) and Advantix®. In recent years, the topical Bravecto® has been developed and lasts for 3 months when applied topically. Additionally, there are chewable products such as Nexgard® and Simparica® that are given monthly or chewable Bravecto® which is given every 3 months. Your veterinarian will make specific recommendations to keep your pet parasite free.

Which antibodies does the vaccine from Merial induce?

It is a recombinant vaccine based on Osp A. Vaccinated animals should develop high antibody levels to OspA and maintain negative antibody levels to the remaining two antigens. Infected/non-infected animals can be identified based on OspC and OspF antibody values. Detection of the early Lyme infection stage is possible after using this vaccine.

Lyme disease in the dog. Dr. Dan explains Lyme disease

It’s a dreadful sight: you get home from taking your dog on a nice long walk and spot a tick on its body. Your first reaction might be panic. It’s important to stay aware of ticks and remove them from your dog as soon as possible. It’s also important to educate yourself on diseases ticks can carry to dogs, such as Lyme disease.

Before talking about symptoms or treatment, it’s important to understand what Lyme disease is. Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. Ticks carry these bacteria and can transmit them to another animal when they hook into its skin.

The most common carriers of Lyme disease are certain subspecies of ticks. These include deer ticks, castor bean ticks (commonly found on or around sheep), taiga ticks, and black-legged ticks. Not all ticks carry the disease, but there’s no way to know which ones are or aren’t carrying Lyme disease just by looking at them.

If you live in an area where ticks are common, you should proceed with caution. Of dogs exposed to Lyme disease, only five-10 percent will develop an infection. Many dogs can fight it off. This does not mean you should be less cautious because Lyme disease infections are very serious when they occur.