Lyme disease is a tickborne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgorferi. The syndrome was first documented in humans in Lyme, Connecticut, giving the disease it’s name. The Ixodes tick (deer tick) is the species responsible for transmitting the B. burgdorferi organism. The bacterium is transmitted to the dog when an infected tick attaches to the dog’s skin. The two syndromes associated with the disease that are of concern are glomerulonephropathy and polyarthropathy.

What is glomerulonephropathy?

The glomerulus is a part of the functional unit of the kidney. It is a network of capillaries that is responsible in part for filtration. Inflammation related to this part of this kidney in Lyme disease is thought to be an immune mediated process that can lead to protein loss via the kidneys and kidney failure. Clinical signs include anorexia, increased thirst and urination, vomiting, and edema. In the Unites States, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers seemed to be more commonly affected with this syndrome. 

What is polyarthropathy?

Polyarthropathy, or multiple joint arthritis, is the main clinical disease of concern when talking about canine Lyme disease. Clinical signs associated with this manifestation of the disease include fever, joint pain, lameness, and malaise.

Though almost 90% of people exposed to the organism show clinical signs of Lyme disease, only 5% of experimentally exposed dogs become symptomatic. Most infected animals do not become sick. In experimental studies, all of the adult dogs exposed remained asymptomatic (no clinical signs) and only puppies less than 26 weeks old were the subjects that showed clinical signs. Clinical signs in these animals tended to be self-limiting and did not last more than 4 days.

How is Lyme disease diagnosed?

Unfortunately, there is no single test that can be performed to determine that a dog has a clinical disease related to Borrelia. Diagnosis is dependent on history of known exposure to Borellia, clinical signs of Lyme disease, ruling out other causes of the clinical signs, and response to treatment.

When a dog in exposed to the Borrelia organism, their body develops antibodies against the bacteria. Most in house screening tests detect whether or not your pet has antibodies against Borrelia. This next point is a really important one. Just because a dog is positive for antibodies does NOT mean they have Lyme disease. All it tells us is that they have been exposed to the organism. This is an important point because even in endemic areas where greater than 70% of dogs have antibodies against the organism, only a very small percentage actually go on to develop clinical signs consistent with Lyme disease. Your veterinarian will be able to decide which tests to run and piece the results together with their exam findings to decide whether or not your dog should be treated. Most likely, your veterinarian will also run some basic blood work and perform a urinalysis.

How is Lyme disease treated?

A one month course of antibiotics is the treatment of choice. Dog’s with glomerulonephropathy may need a longer course of antibiotics and will receive other treatments aimed at addressing renal failure. Dogs with arthropathy tend to respond to treatment within 1-2 days, whereas dogs with a glomerulonephropathy tend to respond more slowly.

What about the Lyme disease vaccine?

The vaccine for this disease is very controversial. The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine published a consensus statement in 2006 and stated that, “the only consensus reached is that immunization of dogs in nonendemic states is unneeded.” The 12 states considered endemic areas by the Center for Disease Control for Lyme disease in people are: PA, NY, NJ, MA, CN, RI, WI, MD, MN, DE, VA, and NH. If you are interested in the vaccine, please talk with your veterinarian to help decide if it is right for your pet.

Prevention

Tick prevention is not only important to prevent Lyme disease, but protects your pet against acquiring other tickborne illnesses such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Anaplasmosis. The deer tick can be found in fields, areas of low vegetation, wooded areas, and overhanging branches. Be sure to check your dog, and yourself, for ticks after returning from walks and hikes outside in these environments. If you find a tick, it is best to remove it and contact your veterinarian with any questions.

There are still many unanswered questions and a lack of consensus on the topic of Lyme disease. Always consult your veterinarian with any questions and before initiating any preventative or treatment protocols.

Ashley Yanchik, VMD

YOUR PET

Each pet that is on flea or flea and tick preventative has its own unique circumstance.  The species, breed, age, weight, health of your pet and the environment all play an important role in determining the best product to use.  Cats should not use dog products.  Additionally, some preventatives can cause serious toxic effects on sick pets, certain breeds of pets, or even very young pets.  If you are dealing with a severe infestation of fleas versus trying to prevent a flea problem, this will also help to determine the proper product(s) you will use for your pet.  Keep the fleas from making you and your pet’s lives miserable.  Discuss options with your veterinarian to help you to choose the safest and most effective flea and tick preventatives for your pet.

THE FLEA

The flea life cycle is highly variable and can be as short as two weeks, to as long as two years.  It is important to remain vigilant even when you think the problem is under control.  The adult fleas have three pairs of legs and are known for their ability to jump.  The adult flea lives on host animals – cats, dogs, humans, etc.  Fleas eat blood from the animal and then defecate on the animal.  The dark black-brown specs are often referred to as “flea dirt” and is the product of digested blood.  The saliva of the adult flea can be very irritating to some animals resulting in severe hypersensitivity, hair loss, redness of skin, ulceration, crusting, and itching of the skin.  Adult female fleas can lay up to 50 eggs per day.  That’s 1500 eggs from 1 female per month!  The eggs fall off the host animal into carpet, bedding, floorboards, and soil.  The eggs hatch anywhere from 2 days to a few weeks.  After hatching, it becomes a larva and then a pupa.  In the pupa stage, it can hatch to an adult as soon as 3 days or it can remain for in the environment for years until conditions are right before it will hatch.  Warm temperatures, humidity and even vibrations will stimulate the pupa to emerge. 

THE ENVIRONMENT

Only 10% of the flea population lives on your pet.  The flea eggs, larvae, pupa and few adults living in your carpet, bedding and back yard make up the other 90% of the flea population.  Without addressing these areas, flea infestation will continue to be a problem.  

Vacuum Daily – this removes eggs, larva, pupa and adults from the environment.  Empty bags and dispose of them frequently.

Clean – Wash all bedding, vacuum couches at least once weekly.

Yard/Home – Flea bombs, foggers or professional exterminators should be used to kill all flea stages in the environment.

THE PRODUCTS

Flea products eliminate fleas by affecting the various stages of the flea life cycle.  Some products kill the adults, others prevent the egg from hatching, while others affect the larva making them unable to spin a cocoon and then die.  No single method or insecticide will completely eradicate a flea problem.  By selecting products that strategically affect the different stages of the flea life cycle, it is easy for a flea prevention program to be successful.

Flea shampoos-  Helps to remove fleas and flea dirt, but there is little to no residual effect.  Only effective for a day or less.

Flea Dips – Typically given by a groomer or veterinarian as the chemicals are stronger.  Removes fleas, mites, and ticks.  Residual effects may last up to 1 week.

Flea Collars – Work by either emitting a toxic gas to the fleas or by being absorbed into the animal’s skin fat layers.  Most over the counter flea collars emit the toxic gas and are only effective in the immediate area of the head and neck.

Flea Powders & Sprays – Provide short term protection of only 2-3 days by killing adult fleas.

Spot-on treatments – Products are applied between the shoulders to the pet’s skin and lasts for about one month.  Frontline, Revolution, Vectra 3D, Advantage, Advantix, etc.  These products are effective for adult fleas and some include ingredients to inhibit larva from hatching and some are against larval development.  Some of these products can also repel or kill ticks.

Oral medications – Products such as Sentinel work by stopping the larva form hatching from the flea egg.  Fleas ingest the blood from animals on the medication and eggs that are laid by the females can not hatch.  Sentinel is given every month.  Another oral product called Capstar works by killing adult fleas on a pet within 30 minutes.  Capstar does not have any long lasting activity.

CONCLUSION

With all of these variables to take into consideration regarding your pet, the flea, the environment and the numerous available products, the decision can be daunting!  Consult with your veterinarian to help you pick the safest and most effective flea prevention program for you and your pet!

-Dr. Alison Powers, DVM

There is a wide spectrum of clinical signs that infected dogs can display. Severity of clinical signs depends on the number of heartworms, how long the dog has been infected with heartworms, the age of the dog, and the activity of the dog. Early, mild infections may show no clinical signs at all. Other infected dogs may have a cough, exercise intolerance, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), heart murmurs, abnormal lung sounds, ascites (accumulation of abdominal fluid), and liver dysfunction.

Several diagnostic tests are utilized to aid in diagnosis of heartworm disease and determine the severity of disease. The most common diagnostic test is an antigen test.  An antigen is a substance that causes an immune response, typically a protein. This test detects an antigen associated with the adult female heartworm. As you remember from the introduction, adult heartworms take 6-7 months to develop after an infected mosquito bites your dog.  For this reason, puppies younger than 7 months old do not need to be tested for heartworm disease. In rare instances, an infected dog that has a single sex heartworm infection of only male heartworms will have a negative antigen test. This test is recommended on an annual basis.

In the event that your dog tests positive on their annual screening test, a second test should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. The antigen test is very accurate, but no test is 100% perfect. Other diagnostics that may be performed by your veterinarian is testing for microfilariae, radiography, or echogardiography. Thoracic (chest) radiographs help determine the severity of disease and help develop a prognosis. Echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart) aids in determining the extent of heart involvement and enlargement associated with the disease.

Treatment of heartworm disease is directed at killing the adult heartworms and eliminating microfilariae. The traditional heartworm preventatives work by killing the microfilariae stage of heartworms. If your dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, your veterinarian will likely start your dog on the preventative prior to administering the adulticide treatment. Prior to adulticide treatment, it is recommended that most dogs be started on corticosteroids to limit their immune response to dying adult worms.

Melarsomine dihydrochloride is the drug used to eliminate adult heartworms. There are two different protocols for this drug. Your veterinarian will determine the most appropriate protocol for your dog. As with any treatment, there are risks. The largest risk posed is the development of pulmonary thromboembolism. This is caused by dead heartworm obstructing the pulmonary arteries and veins. Clinical signs of pulmonary thromboembolism include coughing, coughing up blood, exercise intolerance, and sudden death. For this reason, if your dog is being treated for heartworm disease, it is imperative that all dogs are not exercised during treatment. Any dog being treated for heartworm disease should be tested 4-6 months post treatment.

As the old adage goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While adulticide treatment of heartworms is usually effective, preventative is relatively inexpensive and wise. The macrocyclic lactones are the class of drug used in heartworm preventatives. The active ingredient, application, and label claim of each drug is different. Available macrocyclic lactone preventatives include:

-          Ivermectin (Heartgard, Iverhart, Tri-Heart)

-          Selamectin (Revolution)

-          Moxidectin (Advantage multi and the 6 month slow release injection, ProHeart 6)

As always, before initiating heartworm preventative or treatment, please consult with your veterinarian to decide which choice is most appropriate for your pet. For more information, please visit the American Heartworm Society’s website at: www.heartwormsociety.org

Ashley Yanchik, VMD

Kittens and puppies recover from surgery much quicker than adult animals. They have less body fat, so there is less tissue to cut through, making the surgery itself faster. The shorter surgery time means less anesthesia, and combined with a kitten’s or puppy’s fast metabolism, it makes for a quick recovery and many will be up and playing the same day of surgery. Kittens and puppies can be spayed or neutered as early as 8 weeks and 2 pounds. During kitten and puppy season more than half of the animals we spay/neuter are five months old or younger (we average 260 total animals a week), and we routinely spay/neuter our shelter animals at 8 weeks old. From experience, we know that kittens and puppies also have lower rates of post-operative complications.

There are also health benefits to spaying by 5 months of age. By fixing pets before puberty (which occurs in cats as early as 4 months, and in dogs around 6 months), you ensure that females never have a first heat cycle. Every heat cycle increases an animal’s chance of developing mammary tumors, which is like breast cancer in people. Female dogs are four times as likely as humans to develop mammary cancer, which is often fatal. By spaying before the first heat, you can almost completely eliminate the chances of your pet ever developing this cancer. Spaying and neutering before puberty also reduces the chances your pet will start urine marking; females may do this when in heat, and males tend to start this territorial behavior at puberty. Males also tend to want to roam in search of a female to mate with, so neutering before sexual maturity will reduce this hormone-related behavior.

Finally, a kitten or puppy spayed or neutered before puberty will never produce an accidental litter. More than half of litters born to pets are unintended, and each litter contributes to pet overpopulation. Overall, we recommend spaying or neutering by 5 months of age.

Sarah Moore

Asst. Manager

APL S/N Clinic

Advise:  The campaign for encouraging “Beat the Heat” by spaying the younger pups and kittens by 5 months is based on now 20+ years of studies and evaluation and, yes, rancorous discussions of what was called early age sterilization.  Those who hold to the old mantra of six months or over are simply uninformed of the knowledge and the inevitable damage caused by unintended, unplanned, and unwanted pregnancies.  Now advising anything over five months is tantamount to malpractice.

W. Marvin Mackie, D.V.M., retired

Practice limited to spay/neuter clinics

from 1976 – 2008.