Lyme Disease Prevention
Although spring through early summer are historically considered "tick season," we see ticks on patients in our clinic twelve months out of the year.
In dogs, Lyme disease causes joint pain, lethargy, fever, decreased appetite and most seriously, kidney disease. Some of these symptoms may be obvious, while others are not and that's why we recommend screening all patients for Lyme disease annually.
This screening is part of the heartworm combination test, or 4Dx Snap test. This test can be run with only three drops of blood and tests for heartworm disease (spread by mosquitos) and three tick-borne diseases: Lyme, Ehrlichia and Anaplasma.
We also offer a Lyme disease vaccination that we now recommend for all canine patients due to the increased number of cases we have seen in our area. The most important step in prevention of Lyme disease is a good monthly flea and tick preventative and daily removal of any ticks that do find their way onto your furry friends.
Lyme disease not only affects dogs, but also people, horses, cattle and cats. Although there must be a tick bite to infect any animal or human with the disease, keeping your pets free of ticks helps prevent the spread of this serious disease.
Stop in with your questions about Lyme disease and we can help establish the best plan for your pets!
For more information about Lyme disease in dogs:
http://www.lymeinfo.com/index.html
For more information about Lyme disease in humans:
http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/
Lyme Disease Human Cases 2013:
http://module.lymediseaseassociation.net/Maps/
Although spring through early summer are historically considered "tick season," we see ticks on patients in our clinic twelve months out of the year.
In dogs, Lyme disease causes joint pain, lethargy, fever, decreased appetite and most seriously, kidney disease. Some of these symptoms may be obvious, while others are not and that's why we recommend screening all patients for Lyme disease annually.
This screening is part of the heartworm combination test, or 4Dx Snap test. This test can be run with only three drops of blood and tests for heartworm disease (spread by mosquitos) and three tick-borne diseases: Lyme, Ehrlichia and Anaplasma.
We also offer a Lyme disease vaccination that we now recommend for all canine patients due to the increased number of cases we have seen in our area. The most important step in prevention of Lyme disease is a good monthly flea and tick preventative and daily removal of any ticks that do find their way onto your furry friends.
Lyme disease not only affects dogs, but also people, horses, cattle and cats. Although there must be a tick bite to infect any animal or human with the disease, keeping your pets free of ticks helps prevent the spread of this serious disease.
Stop in with your questions about Lyme disease and we can help establish the best plan for your pets!
For more information about Lyme disease in dogs:
http://www.lymeinfo.com/index.html
For more information about Lyme disease in humans:
http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/
Lyme Disease Human Cases 2013:
http://module.lymediseaseassociation.net/Maps/
