Could my senior dog's joint pain and infection be Lyme disease?

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.

Hello, sorry to hear about Maicah. It sounds like she may be dealing less likely with an infectious disease and more likely with an inflammatory disease. On her bloodwork her white blood cells, which are the first responders to an infection are in the normal range, hence why I would be less suspicious of something infectious. Her red blood cells are decreased, which could occur from a chronic inflammation, loss of red blood cells, and potentially destruction of red blood cells. On the other hand, if she has erlichia this could cause joint pain and anemia. However, you tend to see other changes in the bloodwork which are not shown in the pictures you posted. Doxycycline for 3 weeks should treat an erlichia that could be present. A snap test or a PCR for erlichia could confirm this diagnosis. The weakness in her hind end could be associated with a primary orthopedic disease or neurologic disease. Some neurologic diseases in poodles can arise from degenerative inflammatory diseases. An orthopedic and neurologic examination could test for these. X-rays could also outline a primary orthopedic issue or be suggestive of a neurologic issue as well. In summary, Maicah should be thoroughly evaluated for a primary orthopedic or neurologic issue. I am a little less concerned about the erlichia at this moment due to the lack of changes in her blood, however she should have a snap test or PCR performed to confirm this. Her albumin is elevated which could be an error from the machine or she could be dehydrated. If this is an inflammatory disease, the prednisone she was prescribed may help. I hope this helps and best of luck!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, Lyme disease is still possible. Sometimes a test could have a false negative result meaning that it says negative when the dog does actually have the infection. Of course, the other possibility is that she does not have Lyme disease and has something else going on. It would be indicated to test again if they are suspicious or check for other diseases or treat empirically with an antibiotic like doxycycline to see if things improve. Good luck and have a great day!

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!

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!

Although it's not common, lyme disease can progress to severe kidney disease, which can be difficult to treat and may lead to the death of the dog. Other symptoms of lyme disease include fever, lameness, swollen joints, swollen lymph nodes, lethargy, and anorexia. It can be successfully treated with doxycycline.

Unfortunately both lyme and erhlichia can cause an infection again, even after initial treatment. I would recommend treating her since she has clinical signs, but also ask your vet if they can run a PCR test to confirm active infection, rather than just exposure. That was you can be sure this infection isn't just from last year. I hope that helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!