Tick Season

We had a tick scare yesterday. I haven't given much thought to fleas and ticks because it has been so cold at night. Last weekend in Kalamazoo someone mentioned a possible tick sighting at the park. Of course I have been itching my head constantly since the word tick was said.

This Sunday I saw the dogs rolling in the grass....rolling in the grass.... I ran out there and found that they were rolling on a very smelly, dead baby bird.
That night when I was giving Miss Dusty a bath so I could stand to bring her in the house, I found a lump on her hind leg.

I took her to the vet yesterday. He said he wasn't sure what the lump was from. It could be from a tick, but there isn't a tick in there now. He gave Dusty the Lyme Disease vaccination (not that it would help this occurance). Both dogs got their Frontline dose last night. I am still itching.

My friends had said that they had their dogs vaccinated for Lyme's disease. I just shrugged it off as them being paranoid because I hadn't heard much about the vaccination and they didn't ask me about it when my dogs received their other vaccinations. Well you know we got the darn vaccination yesterday!

I am wondering 2 things:
Why doesn't the vet bring up the subject of Lyme's vaccination when you are there getting the "regular" yearly vaccinations?
Should I get the vaccination? (from a human doctor)

So, now is the time to do something about feas and ticks if you haven't already.

A few years back my husband and Chase (our GSD) were doing some cadaver training when they both walked through a hatch of ticks. I kid you not, I quit counting the number of baby ticks that I pulled off of Chase when I got to 70! Regardless, Chase had had his monthly dose of frontline earlier that same day so I thought he was good to go. As a result of this hatch, he developed a case of not only lymes disease but also anaplasmosis (sp?). We are religious with the frontline apps on all three dogs (we were prior to this incident but now moreso) and now are sure all three get a lymes vaccination yearly. Our vet does recommend it (we're in Wisconsin and the ticks have been noticeable for nearly a month here already). Chase is fine now however, he still tests positive for lymes (the vet thinks he might for quite some time - we just go through about a month of antibiotics after each test if it is positive.) He was not able to go back to working cadaver as we think he may associate the training my husband was doing with him with the pain and discomfort he was feeling from the anaplasmosis and lymes - which unfortunately was not immediately diagnosed but in his system for probably two or more months.

As with any medical/vaccination question, I would be sure to talk to my vet until I was comfortable - and while I'd love for Alyssa to be able to work as our vet (we LOVE the blabadors!!! ), moving out east, though tempting, just isn't feasible for us right now!

bigyellowdog wrote:
As with any medical/vaccination question, I would be sure to talk to my vet until I was comfortable - and while I'd love for Alyssa to be able to work as our vet (we LOVE the blabadors!!! ), moving out east, though tempting, just isn't feasible for us right now!

Thank you, Dawn. That is very nice of you to say! We feel the same way about you!
:heart:

I can't speak for your vet, but we definitely discuss Lyme vaccination, as well as review what each pet gets with respect to vaccinations and which ones should be continued. But, then again, Lyme disease is rampant here, much to my dismay!

I can you that the Idexx in house 4 way snap test is awesome , but does have it's limitations. It tests positive to the antibodies that an animal makes when it is exposed to these diseases. It does NOT always correlate to actual disease. In other words, you can get a positive result when the dog is actively making antibodies to mount a response to exposure. Not all dogs will get the full blown disease. Having said that, many vets will opt to treat with a positive result, just to be safe. The other part to that is that once an animal is positive for the disease, it is unknown how long that test will remain positive. Some dogs may only stay positive for a month or two, some more like 6-9 months. Because you never really CURE a lot of these tick diseases, you can have relapses of the same infection, or you can have a new tick bite and get re-infected! UUGGHH!!! It is a tough one to sort out!

I know zero about the human vaccine , except anecdotally from clients that have had the vaccine. It sounds to me like it doesn't work all that well, and that some may have even been sick from it. However, I have no frame of reference as to what vaccine was given, when it was given, and clearly no knowledge of their own medical issues (thankfully!!! LOL!!!! ). IN other words, don't take my word for it... ask the MD's!!!

Does that help at all?

ticks are real bad here in north dakota im told this year is worse than the past. i check the dogs after every trip out side. i didnt know there was a vaccination for lymes but i think its some thing ill be talking with the vet about.

We have one on each Falon and I in the last few weeks but nothing on the dogs. They look like wood ticks which don't seem to have the ability to transmit Lyme's disease. There are a few other rare things they transmit but I agree JT with the checking them over just to be safe.

Obviously, I think Alisa is a great source of sound advice and information. If your vet isn't mentioning Lyme vaccines to you, and you live in Michigan, I'm wondering if you may consider changing vets. My vet always recommends Lyme due to the heavy tick habitation in the St. Clair County area. My girls get titres run for all of the other vaccines before they are given, however my vet said that the Lyme should be given every year. I have deer that occupy my yard regularly so it is a potential problem. I also check the girls regularly and ticks are hard to find in Chessie fur.

Yes, Miss Dusty has a coat more like a Chessie. You can't find much in there. She is shaved during the warm months, so I can get a better look.

The lump is gone and the only thing that remains is a spot where she is missing a couple of hairs. Trust me, it is so close to her rat tail that the horrible groomer shaved.....that no one will notice a few missing hairs!

Yes, I am not real happy that the vaccine conversation didn't come up earlier. It does seem like a good time to change vets.