Tell me about Lyme disease in dogs

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

For the past few days, my little dog has been on and off 3-legged lame. We thought we noticed a bit of lameness over the weekend, but Monday morning he was completely 3-legged for almost the whole day. The only way the vet would see him that day was if I dropped him off and left him, which I didn’t want to do, and then in the late afternoon, he was racing around completely normal.

Tuesday morning … 3-legged lame. Then not. Then 3-legged lame again (always the same leg, left front). Never seems to be painful, just holds that foot up to walk or run around.

Tuesday afternoon, we go to the vet and he tests positive for Lyme, so we’re treating him with doxy.

I asked about taking him to his agility class. Vet said I don’t need to restrict his activities other than what he (the dog) tells me.

So the past few days he limps a bit, then doesn’t … throughout the day.

Our agility class is today, and he was limping a bit this morning (not quite as 3-legged as previously), but he might not be when it’s time to go.

I’m thinking I could take him, and if he’s OK, he can run. If not, we’ll just watch the others.

Anyway, I’m wondering what to expect since he’s started the doxy. It’s a 30-day course. Should I expect improvement soon? What should I expect long term? Complete recovery?

Would love to hear others’ experiences with Lyme in dogs.

[wendy]

If your dog actually has lyme, which is doubtful, his symptoms should completely go away within a day or two of starting on doxy. Note, however, that doxy has a strong anti-inflammatory action, so he might feel better just from that even if all he has is a sprained toe.

Practically all dogs in many areas “test positive” for Lyme and practically none of them ever show any symptoms. There’s big study I’ll try to dig up where they followed a bunch of dogs that tested positive for lyme and a bunch that did not, and there were no differences in outcomes after two or three years in either group- the same small percentage of dogs in each group developed lameness.

In the lab they have to immunosupress dogs and heavily expose them to infected ticks in order to get them to become infected- and even then they never show any overt clinical symptoms of lameness.

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

Yeah, I understand that most dogs test positive. I live in central PA, so I’m in one of those areas. But the on-and-offness of his lameness seemed consistent with Lyme, according to my vet.

On Monday, for example, when he was lame, his one paw was clearly warmer than the other ones, so I assumed some sort of inflammation in his foot, and then when he wasn’t lame in the afternoon, that foot felt just the same as his other feet.

Very reminiscent of a hoof abscess in a horse, which I know from experience can come and go as the abscess drains and then fills up again, although not quite on such a rapid time frame … and repeatedly … within a day.

Anyway, the back and forth between warm foot/lame and normal wouldn’t seem to fit with any kind of injury like a sprained toe, would it?

[S1969]

Well, it is certainly possible that your dog does have Lyme disease, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the lameness is related. I agree with Wendy that if the Lyme disease is the reason for lameness, the doxy should counteract that fairly quickly. If not, then I would be looking at two different issues.

Heat in a foot/joint could be many things - but my vet does not generally consider on and off lameness to be a symptom of Lyme (we had a recent issue with intermittent lameness). They generally see a symptomatic dog as an overall NQR that goes away soon after starting treatment.

I personally would not run your dog in agility - give him a few days on the doxy. Then see if the lameness disappears completely or not. If yes, then I would just keep an eye on him and finish the treatment. If no, then finish the treatment anyway, and pursue other possibilities (arthritis, tendonitis, sprain, strain…etc.)

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

He’s just slightly gimpy right now; he’s putting weight on the foot, but slightly limping, so no agility today.

He had his fourth dose of doxy this morning, so if it’s going to help, I should see improvement tomorrow, I guess.

Forgot to mention, too, that he had a low-grade fever Tuesday.

My vet mentioned the “shifting-leg lameness” seen with Lyme, which is not what’s happening with my dog (it’s always the same leg).

[Marshfield]

Just in my own house I have had at least two who were clinical for lyme disease, one for anaplasmosis with accompanying thrombocytopenia, and the youngest was briefly crippled by ehrlichia this fall. I’ve also seen a few dogs die in the ER of lyme nephritis. So, I would argue that the threat of tick borne illness is actually very real.

That said, for affected dogs, there is usually marked improvement at the 36 to 48 hour mark. For our OP’s dog, with just one leg affected, I’d probably be looking to other causes

[LauraKY]

I had two dogs with Lyme. One had shifting leg lameness, the other didn’t…she also had body sensitivity and kidney involvement.

I would never give less than 6 weeks of doxy.

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;8062362]
For our OP’s dog, with just one leg affected, I’d probably be looking to other causes[/QUOTE]

Well, a search for “intermittent lameness in dogs” doesn’t bring up anything very helpful.

The sudden onset seems consistent with what I’ve read about Lyme, also the low-grade fever.

I realize I just have to wait a bit and see if he improves with the doxy, but I’m wondering what other possibilities there might be for the intermittent nature of this lameness. He cycles from completely non-weight-bearing to completely normal, racing and jumping around.

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

Oh, and if he improves on the doxy, I think I’ll request an extra 2 weeks when we get close to the 30 days. I have some doxy in the barn, too, and depending on the dosage, I might be able to use that.

[Marshfield]

Is it a front leg or hind leg where you’re seeing the issue?

For most of the dogs I see, there is a whole body soreness (they look like I feel with a fibromyalgia flare) and it’s tough to pinpoint a leg as THE problem spot

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;8062538]
Is it a front leg or hind leg where you’re seeing the issue?

For most of the dogs I see, there is a whole body soreness (they look like I feel with a fibromyalgia flare) and it’s tough to pinpoint a leg as THE problem spot[/QUOTE]

Left front leg, and even though he had that low-grade fever, he seems to be feeling just fine. He’s gotten quite adept at running around on 3 legs.

He’s had that thing in one of his back legs (blanking on the name now, something-or-other patella), so I know what that looks like.

[Marshfield]

I would check the toes carefully. I do see sprained–and painful–toes in dogs working in agility. Especially if they run on artificial turf

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

Marked improvement this morning. I noticed a few “off” steps (not 3-legged, though) and then completely normal. Fingers crossed, we’ve got it licked. I should have the rest of his blood work results this morning.

[MsM]

Sometimes you just cant tell what is causing it.
My dog had a mysterious front leg lameness. She would periodically limp badly. Then she would appear fine. Repeat. Now this was about 10 weeks after lower back surgery for a bad disc! So after a course of anti-inflammatories (which only worked for as long as she took them) the vet was suspicious of a bad disc in her neck, given her history.
So we did another MRI! And found - nothing. No disc problem, no evidence of other injury. Ended up just doing a longer course of rest and anti-inflammatories. Happily, she came sound and has remained so. We still don’t know what it was…

[kasjordan]

My current dog is the first one I’ve ever gotten the Borrelia vaccine for. I also live in Central Pa and know quite a few people who have treated for Lyme. I know it won’t totally prevent but I have health insurance on him and it won’t cover if routine vaccinations aren’t given so I broke down and got that particular one. Hope the Doxy takes care of his issue.

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

The rest of his blood work looks great, kidney parameters perfect, some elevated neutrophils, etc. indicating infection/inflammation.

So, I may never know if this would be resolving without the doxy or if it’s resolving because of doxy’s anti-inflammatory or anti-Borrelia action.

My scientist brain really wants to know, but my dog-loving heart doesn’t really care.

[Bicoastal]

No agility for intermittent lameness

[QUOTE=Miss Anne Thrope;8062240]
Our agility class is today, and he was limping a bit this morning (not quite as 3-legged as previously), but he might not be when it’s time to go.

I’m thinking I could take him, and if he’s OK, he can run. If not, we’ll just watch the others.[/QUOTE]

Hand me an oar. I’m in this boat right now and my advice is to not ask him to do agility. My dog is trotting soundly. Been to the vet 3x in 2 weeks with no clear diagnosis.

I quit class mid-run and am withdrawing from the trials and classes. I’m eating $$$ in entry fees and two paid classes. I think that is the most prudent course of action.

If you participate in class, how will you know if you encounter a training issue or a physical problem? You can’t.

If you can take him to class and not be at all tempted to pop him over a jump or try this sequence, cool. If you’ll be tempted, go out for an ice cream cone instead :).

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8064239]
Hand me an oar. I’m in this boat right now and my advice is to not ask him to do agility. My dog is trotting soundly. Been to the vet 3x in 2 weeks with no clear diagnosis.

I quit class mid-run and am withdrawing from the trials and classes. I’m eating $$$ in entry fees and two paid classes. I think that is the most prudent course of action.

If you participate in class, how will you know if you encounter a training issue or a physical problem? You can’t.

If you can take him to class and not be at all tempted to pop him over a jump or try this sequence, cool. If you’ll be tempted, go out for an ice cream cone instead :).[/QUOTE]

That’s a bummer. I ended up not taking him to class. At least we’re not entered in any trials anytime soon.