How Common is Lyme Disease in Dogs?
Map credit: Centers for Disease Control. The geographic distribution of Lyme disease in dogs closely matches the distribution in people.
Our 10-year-old Terrier Jazz has been bitten by two
ticks this summer . How would I know if she has
gotten Lyme disease from them? How would I tell? We
keep her on heart worm and fleameds all the time.
Angel
Knoxville Tn.
Lyme disease (often misspelled lymes disease) is spread by ticks. It can infect humans and dogs. Lyme, Connecticut has the dubious distinction of being the place where the disease was first identified. The disease is named after the town.
A fair bit of misinformation circulates about Lyme disease. The bacteria that causes the disease is most commonly spread by a type of tick called the deer tick. Many people therefore believe that deer serve as reservoirs for the disease. That is not true. In fact, certain species of wild mice are the reservoirs.
Many people also believe that Lyme disease is common throughout the United States. That also is not true. As the map above shows, Lyme disease is very common along the northeastern seaboard and in the upper midwest. It is rare elsewhere.
In particular, Lyme disease is not common in the west or the south. Experts believe Lyme disease is rare in these areas because ticks prefer to feed on lizards, rather than mice, before they feed on people or dogs.
So, to answer your question, it is not likely that Angel has contracted Lyme disease.
However, that does not mean you don’t have to worry about ticks.
First, researchers have noted that tick populations are spreading and migrating throughout the United States, and their feeding habits may change. Therefore, the distribution of Lyme disease may change over time.
Also, although Lyme disease gets the most press, remember that ticks spread all sorts of other nasty diseases to humans, cats and dogs. These include rocky mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis, tularemia, Q fever and cytauxzoonosis.
The symptoms of most tick-borne diseases are vague. Affected animals may suffer lethargy, limping, swollen joints, decreased appetite or weight loss. In the later stages of the diseases, multiple types of organ failure may occur.
Veterinarians can run blood tests to check for exposure to the most common tick-borne diseases. I recommend that these tests be run on any pet who has been parasitized by ticks. Most tick-borne diseases can be treated if they are caught early.
The most effective way to prevent tick-borne diseases is to prevent ticks from biting your pet. Several combination flea and tick preventatives are available through veterinarians for at-risk animals.
For more information on the geographic distribution of Lyme disease in people, click here.
You have questions. 
Great post. We just posted on Lyme disease in dogs as well, over at the Lyme Disease Research Database.
Despite the fact that Lyme disease is a fairly rare in the West and South, the cost of vaccination made it a fairly easy choice for me, someone who’s dog is exposed to a large number of ticks several times a year.
Our dog, Alice, is exposed to the deep woods 6-10 times a year, so the $50 cost for the Lyme vaccine and booster, plus a new vet-strength ($15-$20) tick collar every 3 months is a pretty small price to pay compared to the ongoing cost to treat Lyme Disease.
She only wears the collar during our camping/fishing/hunting trips (stored in an airtight container when not in use). They lose their juice after 3 months. I’ve used the Preventic collar, which works terrific. We’ve returned to the cabin with all of the humans covered in ticks, but not one on Alice.
Would the author advise for or against vaccination for those dogs in low risk areas?
My dog Remington is vaccinated against Lyme Disease. It’s all to common here is Massachusetts that it isn’t worth the risk – ticks are everywhere. We go in the woods a lot, and I wouldn’t go in there without Remington being vaccinated and on frontline.
If Lyme is carried by mice, what if my dog gets a hold of a mouse that’s infected and bites it? Will my dog get Lyme Disease? Or can it only be transmitted by tick bites?
I beg to defer with you that Lyme Disease is “rare” on the west coast despite the low number of cases that have been reported to the CDC,. As a nurse and someone who contracted Lyme Disease here in California, I have learned that it is very “underdiagnoised” disease as physicians often fail to test for it and are often not aware of it’s symptoms.. I assume that some veterinarians are probably doing the same thing. Tick bites need to be taken very seriously, even if a “bulls eye” rash does not develop. People need to be careful about protecting themselves and their pets from tick expose. This can be a very devistating disease if left untreated.
I completely agree with Tootie Truesdell. I have suffered many symptoms of the joints, central nervous system and others (migraines, insomnia, numbness of limbs) for years and was just this year, finally diagnosed with Lyme. I went to an infectious disease doctor and an epidemiologist who are both Lyme literate. Also, I am in Georgia. The South. And Lyme does happen here.
It is a disease with many symptoms and co-infections. It’s serious to protect yourself. It certainly can be very hard to treat and *cure* after the acute stage.
My elderly mother-in-law has a small dog and perhaps this dog has lyme disease. The dog is limping on both hind legs, eating less, and has difficulty with her joints. Massachusetts is the home of this dog. What is the cost of having a lyme disease test for a dog? Being elderly, she doesn’t part with money very easily.
Let’s see…my dog had Lyme disease, my 15 year old daughter and myself are battling the disease here in FL. It was totally mis-diagnosed by all of our doctors. I know of cases here if FL where people have died as a result of Lyme. We may not currently have as many cases as the North East, but that is changing quickly. According to CDC estimates 300,000 new people are infected with Lyme disease in the US every year. This is the fastest growing epidemic in our country. Many people who have diagnoses of Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lou Gehrig’s ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and other diseses have Lyme instead. People are mis-diagnosed and suffering for many years. The vacccine for humans caused some to have arthritis for the rest of their lives and was taken off the market. Our animals have better tests for Lyme than we do, or are given antibiotics once they have symptoms. We are not as lucky because the Infectious Disease Doctors want a positive ELISA test and Western Blot to be positive, and once they are…Lyme has taken hold in your system. The wait to see positive antibodies ensures that you will have a hard time eradicating the bacterial infection. It is a sad state of affairs when our pets receive better medical care than we do.In summary, our tests are not accurate and we are not even tested because the doctors do not even think of testing for Lyme and other co-infections. What a debilitating disease.
People can get it from their animals, but they are just as likely to get Lyme Disease from a tick outside, or a mosquito than their animals. Unfortunately, what goes for humans and the fight against Lyme Disease, goes for animals. Testing isn’t good enough and prevention and awareness are the best. Even athlete are starting to get Lyme Disease- see Perry Fields, track athlete’s website : http://www.beatlymedisease.com
people should keep their tick and flea prevention on their animals all the time.