My dog has Lyme disease. Why isn't he improving after 7 days?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Loki. I recommend that she sees an emergency veterinarian today if possible. If not, then she must be seen first thing in the morning. While the swelling is not common, it may be due a complication of Lyme disease knowns as vasculitis. Blood vessels can become leaky due to inflammation and cause swelling of the limbs. Continue her medications as directed. Encourage her to eat and drink normally. I hope this information helps!

We certainly hear reports of dogs with arthritis experiencing difficulty with weather change. In this case, I cannot say that it is not out of the realm of possibility but in a 6 year old dog seems less likely. It is more likely the joint pain is secondary to Lyme disease as it can cause polyarthritis. You need to continue his antibiotics and follow up with your veterinarian to discuss joint taps. Joint taps are a diagnostic test that utilizes a needle to remove fluid from the joint space for evaluation. If we observe inflammation in the joints additional therapy may be needed.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Max! Most dogs with Lyme improve on doxycycline with in 3 days and STAY better. They don't relapse on meds. The most common reason for initially doing well on the doxycycline and then getting worse again is immune mediated polyarthopathy. That is treated with immunosuppressants like prednisone. I would get a second opinion. I wish Max a speedy recovery!

Hello and thank you for your post! I am sorry to hear Jasmine is not feeling well. For lymes disease I typically treat for 6 weeks or longer if symptoms persist. You can recheck for lymes and see if she is still infected by sending out a pcr test. Your vet can do this. The test they run at the clinic is typically a snap test thay checks for antibodies. After being infected with lymes, the body develops antibodies to the disease so animals can test positive for years after the infection has resolved. That is why pcr is better for monitoring treatment. This may also not be lymes. Has she been tested for heartworm disease as well? If not, I would have this done. If she has been declining and is showing new symptoms, I would get her seen by a vet and get her examined and have blood work run to ensure nothing serious is going on. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

It's very common for puppies to be a bit sore and lethargic for 24-48 hours after getting a vaccination, just like human kids. Many times, they may not want to eat much or go outside if they are sore. As long as he is alert and responsive, and not having any other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling, etc. it should be okay to give him some time and see how he's feeling tomorrow. If you're concerned, you can call your veterinarian at that point or take him in for a recheck exam to make sure that everything is okay.

It takes about 2 months for a dog to be positive for Lyme disease. I would wait another 6 weeks and make an appointment with your veterinarian. I would do this earlier if he starts to show signs of Lyme disease. These signs would be limping, not eating, just basically not himself. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If Rufus is still testing positive for Lyme disease, then yes he should continue to take the doxycycline. If you stop it and he's still positive for it, then the symptoms of it will come back. He needs to be treated until he is cleared of the disease. Studies have shown that some animals do not clear the organism after 30 days, and will relapse once the antibiotic is discontinued. While there can be side effects of antibiotics, the symptoms of Lyme disease can be quite severe and lead to fatal kidney failure. Not treating him will lead to much worse symptoms that the side effects of long term antibiotic use.