At Bayside Animal Hospital, we try to focus on local issues that affect your pets. One local problem is ticks and the diseases that they carry. With a large population of the pets we see being outdoor dogs that are active in the hunting and fishing community, it's very important that we share our information about these diseases to help prevent and protect those animals.

Often a tick becomes infected with these diseases by attaching itself to an infected animal, usually a field mouse or other small rodent. It then becomes a carrier and is able to transmit those diseases without getting sick itself. These ticks are specifically called Deer Ticks because they are commonly found on deer but often end up on our canine companions. The reason why the disease can spread so fast is due to the unaffected tick’s ability to infect several different animals in a small amount of time.

Lyme disease is one of the tick-borne diseases that we see often at the practice. It not only affects those hunting/fishing dogs but also reaches indoor-only dogs who spend most of their time in someone's lap. It's essential to understand the disease, how it works and what symptoms to watch for. Understanding what signs and symptoms there can be will ensure that your pet is safe in the future.

Clinical Signs of Lyme Disease
While the disease can affect animals differently, the hardest part about diagnosing this disease is seeing any signs at all. If our pets could tell us when they feel sick, this disease would be caught more often but sadly sometimes the signs are so subtle that we miss them.


Some symptoms you may see include:

• Limping
• Swollen or enlarged lymph nodes
• Fever
• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite
• Painful or stiff joints

Prevention and Treatment
Being the most common tick borne disease among humans, a lot of research has been done to develop a vaccination that protects against lyme disease. Sadly, there is no vaccine available yet for humans but your pet can be protected. At Bayside Animal Hospital, we have the lyme vaccine that has been proven to prevent the disease in dogs. Your puppy can start the vaccine as early as 9 weeks of age and your adult/senior dogs can start anytime. There is only one booster on the vaccine after 3 weeks of receiving the first shot and then the vaccine is good for one year. Getting the vaccine is the best way to ensure your pet is prevented.

Along with the vaccination, making sure your pet is on a flea & tick preventative like Frontline is essential. If you find a tick on your dog, carefully remove it as soon as you can. There are other things that can transmit from deer ticks to dogs but most need 48 hours. By removing the ticks as soon as you see them, you lessen the chance of infection.

For more information about lyme disease or the preventative vaccine contact us today!