lyme vaccine

[GryffinsMom]

Hello All,
I live in Southern CT. My vet said that since several dogs tested positive for lyme last year, and STRONGLY recommends the lyme vaccine for my puppy (he also is protected with frontline plus). Any thoughts on this? He said that there were rumors that the vaccine causes joint probelms but that the rumor is completed unsubstantiated.
I don't want to give any unnecessary vaccines, especially if their is any risk... but I do trust this vet for the most part..

[Scorpio118]

I live in "western" Connecticut - maybe more southwest.... :032

Maddie is 14 weeks old and received her second Lyme vaccination on Monday. Since my 14 year old daughter was diagnosed in March with Lyme disease and since we have NO IDEA where she got it....... Maddie was definitley getting that shot!!!

Kinda like your children... if the doctor says they need it - then they get one.

Since I don't know anything about dogs - if my vet recommends she get something - then she's going to get it.

[timberwolfe13ca]

Here is an article I found, although it may be dated, it seems to suggest that with dogs the threat isn't as great. Many dogs don't get the disease even thoug they are infected. Just something else you may want to ask your vet about. Weigh the risks.

Although Lymes disease presents a serious threat to humans it does not
present the same risk to dogs. The majority of Lymes disease is confined to
several areas of the country; ie. the north central states and the central
to north Atlantic region. The movement of dogs although significant does
not present the same risk as it does to humans. It appears that in high
incidence Lymes disease areas about 2/3's to 3/4' of the dogs are infected
with the disease, that is they have high levels of antibodies against B.
burgdorferi. Only a small percentage of these dogs that are infected
actually come down with signs of the disease. Therefore in areas where the
disease is very prevalent a positive test for Lymes antibodies does not
indicate recent infection, only that the dog has had some exposure to the
disease. The high incidence of infection with a relatively low rate of
signs of the disease suggests that dogs seem to tolerate the organism or
possibly defend themselves successfully.

[goldenjack]

I live in Southern CT. My vet said that since several dogs tested positive for lyme last year, and STRONGLY recommends the lyme vaccine for my puppy (he also is protected with frontline plus). Any thoughts on this?

--We live in what I consider to be one of worse states in the union for ticks, New Jersey. My dogs have received the lyme vaccine with no problems. Also, I think it's a good idea that you are also using a topical. If your vet has a lot of patients in his/her office that were diagnosed with Lyme, you should factor that into your decision.


About ticks:
I discovered that the lyme vaccine does not protect your dog from all tick-borne diseases. If you live in a high-risk area, you really do need to protect your pet as much as possible from ticks. Ticks carry potentially deadly diseases, and if not caught early enough, they can kill your dog. Unfortunately, I found that one out the hard way. Oh, and did I mention that they (ticks) are also harmful to humans?!



He said that there were rumors that the vaccine causes joint problems but that the rumor is completed unsubstantiated.

--Interesting. This is the first I am hearing of this.



I don't want to give any unnecessary vaccines, especially if their is any risk... but I do trust this vet for the most part..

--I don't blame you. But as I said above, if there are a lot of diagnosed cases where you live, you must consider that.

[samndig]

One of my dogs(not a Golden) reacted to the lyme vaccine and was very sick for a day or so. I don't get it anymore for any of them.
Sam

[Goldenheart]

<span style="font-family:georgia; color:purple;">I think if it were me I would have to first ask myself a lot of questions before I would consider it. One being, is the golden going into woodsy area's and such, how new is this vaccine, how many is several dogs that your vet reported to you, and how bad are ticks in your particular area, etc. Then go from their.

Frontline kills ticks that contact it within 24-48 hours.

Gosh, I hate having to hit these goldens with all these chemicals sometimes, but at the same time...if it can save a golden I almost have to go with it.

I don't have any data as far as how many dogs are taken by Lyme Disease, but it is a very serious disease that can attack your golden.
I think the best way is to check the golden daily if the golden is not in bad areas, but these goldens do have that thick coat and one could be missed.</span>

[ldpusateri]

I also live in NJ in one of the worst counties for Lyme Disease. Holly has had the 2-part vaccination with no problems. Different dogs will react to different vaccines... While Holly had no problem with the Lyme vaccine, the rabies vaccine made her sick for 2 days and gave her diarhea for a week.

Holly is also protected by Frontline Plus. But like Goldenheart said Frontline kills ticks that contact it within 24-48 hours. Problem: Lyme ticks will drop off of their own accord in 24 hours. By that time the damage is done. (I had Lyme disease in 97 - I'm one of the few who actually found the tick on them within the 24 hours and I STILL got Lyme disease).

As far as it not affecting dogs the same way as humans...well actually the disease varies from human to human as well so I guess it would be hard for a vet to determine.

I do know of two dogs in this area (not Goldens) that died from "complications of lyme disease". One of them had liver failure and the other one renal failure.

Thats the way Lyme works though. It tends to "attack" the weakest link in your body and make it worse. Lyme doesn't kill you... the complications from Lyme kill you. Some people, it attacks the heart, others the digestive system, and so on and so on.

I'm not big on over vaccination of dogs....and there is STILL the chance that even with the vaccination that Holly could come down with Lyme, but I'm told that it wouldn't be as severe. I hope I never find out.

[SamsGoldens]

<span style="font-family:comic sans ms; color:red;font-size:small;">We live in Northeast CT. Both Molly and Sadie received their lyme disease vaccines. My in-laws Yellow Lab, Bailey was diagnosed with Lyme Disease about four years ago. Before realizing what it was, Bailey was pretty sick. She was put on antibiotics, and she recovered fine. But she had a reoccurrence a year ago. The disease seemed to affect her muscles where she had a hard time walking and was very sensitive to someone touching her. I do believe Bailey had been receiving the Lyme vaccine and she still got the disease. </span>

[GoldenLover]

I'm also in Southern CT. Both my pups get the vaccine.. So far, so good. I use fronline plus too :)

[Goldenheart]

<span style="font-family:georgia; color:green;">Today I ran into the vets office to pick up Bi's GlycoFlex and Frontline. I told them Bi at this point would be heading up too the Upper Peninsula most likely this weekend with my son.

They did highly recommend this vaccine though over Frontline. They said the vaccine has been around for quite some time.

Oh, my vet said they believed Frontline did very little for ticks do to the 24 hour wait, meaning its too late since the tick has already been on the dog for this amount of time.

No vaccine given yet to Bi, for now I am putting my faith in Frontline like I have all this time. Just can't make a decision yet on the vaccine, and I couldn't lift Bi to get her in their anyway.</span>

[honeyhunter]

Hi I worked as a vet assistant for 4 years. We are located in Southern Ohio and we never had one case of lyme disease. (maybe it just wasn't diagnosed as lyme)? We had alot of clients who did have the vaccine and never saw a bad reaction to it. All dogs are different and react differently though.;) I personally have not had my dogs vaccinated for lyme but probably should! They are always in the woods and the pond! I use Frontline Plus on all my dogs and cats. It doesn't seem to be working very well though. I have been applying it faithfully. I'm not seeing fleas but am seeing lots of ticks! My vet keeps singing the praises of Frontline but I don't see the same results as in the past with it. Not really sure why. I also never heard that lyme disease affects the joints but I've been out of the field for about a year. There is always a new study coming out with new results. ;) It's really hard to get an educated answer to our questions because different vets believe so differently and interpret studies in such different ways. Makes your head spin. :032 I have decided to vaccinate with lyme. I guess it is a personal decision based on the risk factors for your particular dog. Good Luck!

[Goldenheart]

<span style="font-family:georgia; color:blue;">I guess I am one of those people that like to know everything and get all the facts because this topic has really been bugging me. I just found today where the United States Police Canine Association is not recommending this vaccination till they get further info on some questions they have.

I would love to get more info yet on this so if anyone has anything to send in, please do.

Here is the site http://www.uspcak9.com/medical/lymedisease.shtml Hope it is ok to list it here.

I guess it still amounts to what a owner feels is right for their area and golden though, no matter what you read or what choice one makes.<img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif" /></span>

[Kerri]

We recently purchased our golden & are wondering if we should get her a Lymes Disease shot???

We have receieved a lot of opinions and are torn not knowing what information is correct. The breeder we bought her from is very, very reputable and suggests NOT getting it. He has been breeding goldens for 20 yrs and has never gotten it for any of his dogs. He claims it can cause liver or kidney failure and that using the Frontline is sufficient enough.

On the other hand, our vet suggests it saying that if a golden gets Lymes disease there is no cure.

We live in Northern NJ and are using the Frontline but should we also get her vaccinated? Any feedback would be appreciated. :054

[Andi]

If you have problems with Lyme in your area...by all means get the shot for your dog. When I lived in CT, Porter got one.

It's true that there is no true cure since the animal will have joint issues, etc. for the rest of their life.

Frontline does not protect a dog against contracting Lyme from a tick....it just prevents a tick problem/infestation.

I don't know about the adverse effects of the shot but I am sure that you could dig something up on it on the internet.

Good luck with your decision....

[Peggy]

I live in PA and we have a lot of ticks, including those that carry Lyme. Murphy has not had this shot yet, but I will definitely get it for him before the ticks come out in the Spring. My previous dog, Kodiak, got the vaccine regularly, with apparently no adverse effects, as he lived to be 14. Now, if they'd just come up with one for humans!!