Lyme vaccine

[Alicia]

Does anyone have their Newf get the Lyme disease vaccine? If so, how old should the dog be?

 

[suzsmile]

We have had our dogs vaccinated for Lyme. Our vet is conservative about the vaccine, but after hearing that we can have upwards of 20 deer on our property and that I have been treated for Lyme twice, he decided to vaccinate the dogs. In retrospect, we think we lost two of our labs to Lyme. The vaccination is actually two shots, one month apart. Maddie was 9 months old for the first vaccination. The second one was one month later. He was very specific that we will also need to use Frontline or Advantage.

 

[Bojie]

I just got the lyme vax for my 4mo old puppy...and saw two 5 deer in my back yard the following week...He did fine with the two shots.

 

[Bluedog]

Since I travel with Emmy to several states,she gets the Lyme vac. No reaction to it. The first time is a two shot vac, one month apart. Every year after that it is only a one shot booster. It's not 100% fool proof, but if you are in an area with a high rate of known Lyme cases, I feel that some protection is better than none. Florida is not one of the high rate states, but since we travel to high rate states, Emmy gets it yearly. Also K9 Advantix is much better at repelling ticks, but is toxic to cats and can have more local skin reactions in some dogs. Frontline will not repel ticks, but will kill after biting, before they release toxins. Never had a tick on Emmy when using K9 Advantix.

Also just an FYI, Deer ticks are not only carried on deer. During the frigid winter months, they host on rodents (mice, squirrel, etc.). Our community in NW Indiana did a study on Lyme, as we had a very large deer population, and some mistakenly believed that culling the deer population would help reduce the probablility of Lyme. Yes it originates from deer, but infested ticks can host and survive harsh winters on burrowing, or hibernating animals. So even if you do not have deer on your property, infested deer ticks (different and much smaller than the common dog tick, which does not carry Lyme) can be transported through mice, etc.

[ 04-29-2007, 07:46 AM: Message edited by: Bluedog ]

 

[sarnewfie]

i dont get the lyme, becouse according to the vets it is only 70% affective.
i want something that is a bit more.
i also saw to many of my clients dogs, though they were small breeds, react to the shot, and not in good ways.
i do not give the lymes.

 

[suzsmile]

I was concerned about reaction to the Lyme vaccine, but Maddie did fine. As I said, our vet is conservative about the vaccine and as soon as I said that we have 20 deer in the yard every night and that I have been treated twice, he told me that he thought we should have all the dogs vaccinated.

 

[NewfMom]

We use the vaccine. We started doing in PA after a neighbor got Lymes and have continued here in VA. I think Kimber was 2 when she first got it and she's 9 now. She's never had a reaction. I know of 3 dogs in our neighborhood our vet had to treat for Lyme. There were probably more I don't know about but knock on wood, Kimber and Moose have never had it.

 

[Tobysmom]

Since Toby had Lyme disease last year that was really hard to get rid of, i'm not taking any chances this year. He's going Wed for a Lyme vaccine. I also use Advantix on him too.. We live in the woods, and my husband leaves for work just before dawn and sees deer in our yard almost every morning. Tons of ticks around here. The vaccine may only be 70% effective, but between that and the Advantix I think he's a little more protected..

Lyme is a terrible disease, and some the symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions, or overlooked all together. When the disease is finally diagnosed it's sometimes to late, or very hard to treat at that point. I'm pretty sure we caught Tobys Lyme faily early, but it was still hard to treat. And my poor baby felt lousy for several months.. Looking back, his first symptom was loss of interest in eating. I thought it was just because of the heat, so I didn't think much of it. He would eat, just not as enthusiastically (sp?) as usual. They he would occasionally throw up after eating. Again, I thought it was from the heat. Then in the morning when we would get up, he wouldn't be in any rush to get out of his crate. I knew he didn't feel good. It wasn't until he started limping and having trouble climbing the stairs that I realized it could be Lyme and took him to the vet. Even then, the vet didn't think it was Lyme, she thought his odd behavior was from the heat, and his limping and trouble climbing stairs was hip displasia. She insisted on doing x-rays, and I insisted on waiting until he was at least a year old. She ran the Lyme test and it was positive. It took 3 rounds of antibiotics to finally get rid of it completely. Thank god for pet insurance!! And he was on the Advantix at the time he contracted it, but I didn't realize that it needed to be reapplied after having a bath, even if it was just applied a week earlier. So, I know he had gone unprotected sometimes due to my lack of knowledge about the proper use of Advantix.

Anyway, This isn't a disease to mess with. I say if you live in a tick infested area, protect your dog as much as possible..Better safe than sorry.

 

[sarnewfie]

of course we all make educated choices about what is best for our dogs.
having worked at 2 vet clinics and being a groomer for over 12 years, i have run across a lot of things.
still i refuse to give the lymes vaccine and we are in prime tick country, emmett and morgan ran SAR in heavily infested areas, and, emmett lived a long healthy life, and morgan still with me, is still going strong.
to each his own.
many vets will opt to give it. but, to me it is still not effective enough for my dogs.

 

[Alicia]

thanks for all the input, although I still haven't decided if my pup will get the vaccine. Still doing research...although I am leaning towards getting it due to the fact we have woods behind our house with lots of deer.