My dog had a tick. When should I test them for Lyme disease?

Clinical illness typically occurs 2-5 months after infection, however only about 10% of positive dogs will ever develop clinical illness from infection. So your dog may not become clinical even if the tick was carrying Lyme. The best thing is to screen for the disease with a yearly test, especially if you live in an endemic area for Lyme disease. Also, make sure to use a flea and tick prevention, like NexGard, Frontline, Bravecto, etc. Also, talk to your vet about vaccinating for Lyme disease if your dog is not already protected.

I'm glad that you were able to remove the tick from Tom. Deer ticks need to be attached for about 24 hours in order to transmit Lyme disease. Other types of ticks can transmit other tick borne diseases, such as Anaplasma and Ehrlichia. In many cases, it can take up to 6 months for antibodies to develop and register on ELISA blood tests. As long as Tom is doing well, there is no need to take him to his vet at this point. Make sure that he is receiving a high quality flea and tick preventative once a month year round (examples include Nexgard, Bravecto and Adantix), and be sure to mention this tick exposure to his vet at his next exam.

The answer is a bit complicated. Yes, I would be concerned about tick diseases, however the test may or may not show a positive even if he did get infected with lyme disease because it takes about 4 weeks for antibodies to be high enough for the test to detect them. Furthermore, he could have been exposed to lyme disease, but have a different issue causing the signs you're seeing. So, it's definitely a judgement call -- and if your funds are more flexible testing again may give you interesting information, but if your funds are more limited, it may make more sense to just treat for tick diseases with an antibiotic like doxycycline. Of course, your vet may see something on the physical exam or general blood work or x-rays that makes them concerned about something else more than tick disease, in which case pursuing that makes sense. I know that's not horribly helpful, but hopefully it gives you some context to think about.

It is likely you will not see clinical symptoms for any tuck borne disease this soon if Otis were to contract one of the diseases. I would recommend starting a flea and tick preventative such as Nexgard and have Otis monitored for tick borne diseases once yearly. The test is cheap and your vet can run it in the hospital. It is a simple snap test that takes 15 minutes to run. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Just because she tested positive for Lyme disease does not mean she she has an active infection. It just means she was exposed to lyme disease. Most animals (95%) exposed to Lyme do not ever show signs of illness. In order to find out whether she is actually ill with Lyme disease you will need a) clinical signs b) an elevated Lyme titer and c) depending on a and b possibly some extra tests verifying that she has an active infection.

As long as the area on Miley's skin looks okay (no significant redness or swelling), then you don't need to take her to the vet right away after finding an attached tick. If the tick was attached for long enough to transmit disease, like Lyme disease, Ehrlichia or Anaplasma, then it takes about 6 months for a blood test to diagnose an infection. Unfortunately, there are no measures to take to stop any of these diseases if she's already been infected. I would certainly mention this tick attachment to Miley's vet the next time she goes in for an exam because her vet will most likely recommend running a tick-borne disease blood test about 6 months from the date of tick exposure. In the long run, definitely add some tick prevention in for Miley. Seresto collars, K9 Advantix II, Bravecto, Nexgard, Simparica or Credelio are all great options to discuss with your vet. I hope this helps and that everything goes well!

Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! Those particular Lyme tests do not distinguish between exposure and active infection. Personally I recommend treating the first positive a dog has (not subsequent if not clinical). On these tests dogs can stay positive for life or for several years. I recommend aggressive tick prevention with the Seresto collar or one of the new edible preventatives (Nexgard, Bravecto or Simparica) and start the Lyme vaccines. I treat Lyme disease with 5mg/kg twice daily of doxycycline, which is around 25mg twice daily. These medications need to be prescribed by a Vet that has examined Teddy. I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your questions. After the treatment of 4 weeks with Doxycycline, you can test Dash for Lymes by sending out a test called a PCR. This particular test is usually expensive but will tell you if Dash has a current active infection of Lymes. Unfortunately, with Lymes disease, it is never eradicated from the body, treatment gets it down to a very low bacterial burden to the point where no symptoms are evident. The snap ELISA test that is done in the veterinary hospital, will likely always show positive, but this is because it tests for antibodies to Lymes, which Dash will likely have for years (if not forever). His creatinine being elevated could indicate early kidney disease. I would recommend having the veterinarian assess his urine to see if it is adequately concentrating and also check an SDMA test to help establish whether or not he has early renal disease and what stage it is. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction.

It takes about 2 months for a dog to be positive for Lyme disease. I would wait another 6 weeks and make an appointment with your veterinarian. I would do this earlier if he starts to show signs of Lyme disease. These signs would be limping, not eating, just basically not himself. Thank you for using Boop by Petco!

Hello, given the tick exposure, there is always a risk that your pet may contract a tick born disease. Unfortunately, there is no accurate diagnosis of infection until some time has passed. You should consider speaking with your veterinarian about checking a tick disease snap test (4DX), if available in 3-4 weeks or sooner if Zoe develops any signs of illness (limping, decreased appetite, lethargy, pale gums, collapse). Zoe should be on strict monthly, flea and tick preventative to avoid continued exposure to ticks. Hope this helps and best of luck.