Let's discuss some of the symptoms that are associated with Lyme disease in dogs. Now, Lyme disease has been around for quite some time. It's a rickettsial type of organism that lives in ticks, and the the nidus or focus of Lyme disease in dogs has been, ninety percent that is, has been in the New England areas of The United States, but there are cases all over the rest of The United States and seem to be on the rise every year. Now Lyme disease, when a hard shell tick infects a dog and attaches it needs to attach, it is thought, greater than eighteen hours to transmit this organism into the bloodstream of the dog. So, Lyme disease itself is a reaction to this organism so this organism can cause inflammation all over the body so you may see things like fever. You may see things like depression, decreased appetite, weight loss. Very, very commonly in Lyme disease in dogs you're going to see joint stiffness and pain getting up. Now, there are lots of different diseases that can cause all of these symptoms put together, and so it has to be determined by your veterinary clinic whether or not this is Lyme disease in the first place. A history of having ticks is obviously a good thing, so so think about that before going into your clinic; whether or not you can remember any ticks being on your dog within the past year or two. Testing sometimes can be difficult in dogs with Lyme disease. Testing isn't always one hundred percent reliable depending on which test is done, so talk to your veterinary clinic and they can help you with that, but Lyme disease basically is going to cause a chronic stiffness, depression, weight loss, fever type of scenario, and if it's suspected get your dog checked out.
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