I got this question from Nancy, a friend of a friend and there seem to be many misunderstandings here — both the vet’s and Nancy’s. Here’s the story as I received it:
Shamrock’s History:
I have always been very strict about using Frontline on Shamrock except giving her a break from it in the winter months of December, January and February. About 2 years ago the vet discovered she had lymes disease through a routine heartworm test. She was and has always been asymptomatic. They put her on 30 days of antibiotics and then asked me to have her tested in 6 months. She was positive again (the titers were still very high). They did another 30 days doxy and she was tested in 6 months again still asymptomatic but still a very high positive. I believe we did one more round of this and there was no change. They did a urine test discovered a little protein in the urine so they did 2 months of doxy no change so they continued (they wanted to do 4 months) but stopped it after 3 1/2 and did another urine sample. So ultimately now they believe she is a chronic lymes carrier, with no symptoms but with the beginning of kidney disease. She has recently started on prescription diet for kidney disease.
First of all, Nancy stated that she kept the dog on Frontline except for three winter months, which is already an error since on any warm day in winter ticks come out in force.
Secondly, when she stated that the dog “is and always has been asymptomatic” (not displaying symptoms of the illness) that is contradicted by Nancy’s later comment that urine testing showed protein was a kidney failure due to Lyme disease (which would certain by a symptom, if it were true!). Thirdly, it seems the vet does not understand how to utilize doxycycline with blood testing since the C6 snap test for tick-borne disease needs to be done right before and then immediately after the 30 days of doxy given to a dog with a high blood titer. By waiting 6 months, there is no way to know if that course of doxycylcine was effective, or more importantly whether the dog has been re-exposed to Lyme or another tick-borne disease in the interim. Certainly that is a possibility given that Shamrock had no protection for 3 months in the often mild winter months in the heavily tick-infested East end of Long Island.
Furthermore, Frontline has no repellent component, a huge drawback when repelling ticks and fleas is half the battle. With ticks, the transmission time for some diseases can be as little as 2 hours of attachment, so the sometimes quoted statement that a tick has to be on the dog (or person) for 24 hours of attachment has been proven false in numerous experiments. Therefore, she should be using K9 Advantix or, the newest topical that I am using, Vectra 3D (which uses the same tick repellent and killer as Advantix but has a much stronger and less toxic flea component. Old Towne Animal Hospital in Southampton carries Vectra 3D, which can only be prescribed by a vet so that a dog is under a vet’s care for the confusing aspects of tick-borne diseases.
This is a dog who is also a candidate for the Lyme vaccination, which is misunderstood by many vets and people but which is a first line of defense against the often debilitating disease.
Unless Nancy is simply confused about what tests were done and why, or what medication was used and why, it is especially odd that a vet didn’t know how to properly time the blood test, and then left off using it as a yardstick for infection and turned to urine testing instead. I wasn’t told the dog’s age, but if she is an older dog then declining kidney functioning would be a normal sign of aging and not of Lyme disease – since joint pain is the main symptom we look for in Lyme’s.
Then to add insult to injury, the dog is given a kidney diet in a bag. Both THE DOG BIBLE and numerous blogs and Q&A’s on my website make clear that the old-fashioned use of low protein vet kibble for kidney issues has been contradicted by more recent findings that we should not be giving a dry, dehydrating food with questionable ingredients to a dog whose body needs high quality protein and lots of moisture. The dog needs food that is minimally processed, preferably no kibble at all — with a high quality protein source in a can or from eggs, cottage cheese, sardines, or any fish or meat source from the human dinner table. Some raw freeze-dried vegetables from Dr. Harvey’s Veg-to-Bowl mix or The Honest Kitchen’s raw dehydrated food both provide lots of moisture and are truly nutritious and vitamin-packed. She definitely needs all the things I recommend for optimal nutritional health, with Nordic Naturals omega-3 fish oil at the top of the list, and Platinum Performance joint supplement to boost the immune system and reduce any inflammation or pain she may have from whatever source.
At the very least, a second opinion from a vet who is up to date on Lyme prevention and treatment is definitely in order.
Tracie
The Dog Bible
