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My puppy can't walk after ticks. Lyme test negative. Should I retest?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Bernese Mountain Dog | Male | unneutered | 3 months and 17 days old | 26 lbs

My 15 week old Bernese is lame in his back legs, has a runny nose and has a swollen lymph that is near his rib cage. I pulled off 5-8 ticks on his 3-4 weeks ago. I took him to the vet 2 weeks ago and his lyme test came back negative. He mentioned growing pains. He really cannot walk and stand from laying down. Seeing the vet tomorrow- should I push for another lyme test?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 26th, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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