Anyone get their dog vaccinated for lymes?

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
My pug had his second shot on Monday & ever since he's had the sniffles & a little coughing. Boy, a runny nose on a pug is not a pretty picture!

I know lymes has flu-like symptoms, I'm wondering if these are typical side effects from the vaccination or if I need to bring him back to the vet. He seems OK otherwise--he's still upbeat & very playful.
 
You are a hoot, Shelley!

Laura,

I would check back with your vet. There have been reports of vaccine induced Lyme Disease in dogs. LD is very treatable if caught early.

Therefore, the vaccine is kind of controversial among vets. My vet won't vaccinate for LD because the potential risks of the vaccine don't outweigh the benefits.

If your dog doesn't roam through the bushes, and is mostly and inside dog, it is highly unlikely that he will be bit by a tick. Furthermore, the tick has to feed on the host for at least 24 hours to even be able to transmit, provided the tick in fact is a carrier for LD.

You may want to check this link, I think it gives great information

http://www.caberfeidh.com/Lyme.htm

But at least call your vet and tell them about Max's runny nose.

Good luck!
 
Our vet tested my dog after we adopted her. She tested positive for lyme. So, he gave her a lyme vaccine anyway and then put her on a round of antibiotics. If she shows any symptoms, stiffness being the common one, we start her on another round of antibiotics.

Wendy
 
Our last dog was vaccinated for Lyme and she got Lyme disease anyway. Needless to say we've not bothered with the vaccination with our current dog.
 
>If your dog doesn't roam through the bushes, and is mostly and
>inside dog, it is highly unlikely that he will be bit by a
>tick. Furthermore, the tick has to feed on the host for at
>least 24 hours to even be able to transmit, provided the tick
>in fact is a carrier for LD.
>

Actually this isn't true--lymes is prevalent in the northeast & I know of both dogs & humans who've contracted it. None of the humans roamed through bushes, & they were all indoor humans.

OK, off to call the vet.
 
Oh brother. The vet's office said this is not a typical reaction to the vaccine & he might've caught something from Cherry (who seemed in perfect health). Maybe kennel cough? They don't have any appts til Monday.

Hopefully this'll clear up before then & I can cancel. Now I'm worried. I don't know if I can handle another sick dog. :-(
 
Kennel cough is not that big of a deal, if that's what it is. It is like whooping cough for humans. I have 3 dogs hacking away with kennel cough right now, contracted it at the dog park or at the vet's office.

Sometimes vets will prescribe a cough surpressant but my vet and I decided to just let it run it's course. She says that it will take 2 to 3 weeks with or without treatment. Complications are only in rare cases, just watch out for lethargy, loss of appetite and fever. Since it is a virus, an antibiotic won't do any good. However, some vets prescribe it as a precaution, just like many human docs prescribe antibiotics for the common cold.

Kennel cough is highly contagious, it is not necessarily that he caught it from Cherry, it could also have been at the vet office, grooming facility, Petco/Petsmart .... Incubation time is anywhere from 2 to 14 days, not that that would help to narrow it down :)

My dogs are doing fine, aside from the coughing, they are running, playing, eating and being their usual pain in the butt. The vet isn't concerned.

Hope Max will be ok!
 
My doggie, who is a farm doggie and an intrepid groundhog killer, has been vaccinated for Lyme's disease, but not bordatella (kennel cough).
 
He's worse this morning. Coughing, running nose, lethargic (although his appetite does seem fine--he had his dinner last night & breakfast this morning, which I think is a good sig?).

I am getting worried. Not sure what to do for the poor little guy. Is baby cold medicine OK for dogs? I feel so bad for him. :(
 
Hello, Sorry to hear your puppy is sick. I live in MI and my dog gets Lyme vacs, we haven't had any problems so far. Not sure on the baby medicine but I do know that dogs can't have acetaminophen or ibuprofen, but they can have real aspirin, dosage according to weight. HTH!!:) Sandy
 
The best thing to do (and most effective) is to place him in a steam-filled room (like a bathroom with a running hot shower or really hot bath), close the door and stay with him for 15 to 30 min. The other thing would be one of those cold mist vaporizers.

Don't know if you have a health food store anywhere close. Mullein leaf helps really well. You can get it in a dropper bottle. Put 3 drops on a teaspoon with water and give it 3 times per day.

You can get Vitamin C and give 500 g 3 times per day.

If you can't find the mullein leave tincture, you can get one of those herbal cogh syrups at the health food store. It should contain either of the following wild cherry bark, licorice, comfrey root, colts foot, mullein, slippery elom or horehound.

Do NOT give him baby cold medicine! Most of them contain ingredients that dogs cannot metabolize, especially Tylenol or ibuprofen. Aspirin is okay for dogs for pain.

I know you are worried, just let him rest, give him the cough medicine stuff and let it run its course. It is probably a little more uncomfortable for him because of his short nose, you can do the steam "bath" a couple of times a day.

I know how you feel, by now I have 4 dogs hacking away and 1 sneezing and sniffling.

Some naturopathic doctors recommend to put the dogs on a liquid fast at the onset for 2 to 3 days. I am not doing it with my dogs, I think they'd be eating my sofa and curtains :)

Hang in there, he'll be better soon.
 
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