Lyme disease is a disease that affects the pets. It has recently been accepted and recognized and infects the pets. It is a dangerous disease which is known to cause paralysis in advanced stages. Hence, one should be aware of this disease so that timely medical help can prevent your beloved pet from further suffering. Humans too can be affected by this. Pets are more prone to this disease from spring through fall.

The Lyme disease is common in Northwestern and Midwestern parts of US. Over 40 states have reported numerous cases since 1975. The carrier of this disease is deer tick which is transmitted to pets from white-tailed deer and white-footed mice. The deer tick can not hop or fly on its own and needs to be carried over. It waits on the grounds among the plants in wooded areas or tall grassed areas where the deer, mice and ticks are found in abundance. The ticks then stick to the bodies of these animals whenever they pass by.

These ticks generally stick and bite the head, ears, feet and neck of the dog. Unfortunately, the bite is not like the bees and mosquitoes and causes no pain. Thus, it is difficult to detect the disease until advanced stages. At times, the full bodies of the pets can be infested by ticks and yet the pets do not show any sign of pain. Hence, one has to be alert and get the dog regularly checked up.

Lyme disease symptoms include fever, sluggishness, plus sudden lameness accompanied with pain, warmth and swelling in the joints of the pet. At times, the tick bite can cause inflammation of the skin and round areas around the bite are formed. However, this can go unnoticed due to the thick fur and coat of the dog. If you suspect anything amiss, consult the vet immediately as an early treatment is good and beneficial for the dog. As the disease advances, both rear and front limbs are attacked. Later on, both the chest and respiratory muscles are attacked. At times, the respiratory muscles can become non-functional which can suffocate the dog. As the disease progresses, paralysis occurs and the hospitalization of the dog is inevitable in the advanced stages.

You can always learn more of this disease from the amazon.com site which has a host of books, literature by using search phrases like Lyme disease dogs. You can also modify your searches by your choice like rank, name, price etc. This can be done via the drop down option available on the search page. In case, you are short of money, you can always note the names of the books you liked from the Amazon site and search your public library for them or even more books. You can then borrow them and read them in the spare time at home or office. You can also search ebay.com for a host of information (books, cassettes, videos etc.). You can check out the prices at the price comparison site, MySsimon.com. Besides, you can also perform an online search via google.com.

Written by Jeff Nenadic from My-DogShop.com

Lyme disease in puppies is a sickness that is newly recognized. This type of dog disease is transmitted by deer ticks. Lyme disease in pets not only infects puppies but could also infect humans. The two seasons for the largest number of exposure to Lyme disease in pets is during spring through fall.

This dog disease appears mostly in the Midwestern and northwestern part of the US. Since 1975, several cases of Lyme disease in pets have been reported in more than 40 states.

White-footed mice and white-tailed deer are the hosts for the deer tick that is the direct cause for transmitting Lyme disease in pets. Since the ticks do not fly or hop, they wait on the ground where plants grow in tall-grassed or wooded areas that are heavily inhabited by mice, deer, and ticks. They wait patiently and eagerly to stick on to anything that brushes up against them.

Deer ticks can strike a dog on any part of the body, although they often attach and bite at his head, ears, neck and even his feet. This is where Lyme disease in a dog begins. A tick’s bite barely causes sensation, unlike the painful bites from bees and mosquitoes. Dogs and other animals can be saturated with ticks and not show any distress.

Symptoms of Lyme disease in pets include fever, slowness, and sudden onset of lameness mixed with warmth, pain, and swelling in his joints. Sometimes a round area of inflamed skin around the tick bite may emerge with Lyme disease in pets, even though it may be hard to notice this due to the thickness of a dog’s coat.

Call your vet right away when you notice any symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs. Those who recognize the early stages of Lyme disease can prevent your dog from suffering. When Lyme disease in your dog reaches its progressive stages of infection, your dog could suffer from paralysis. If this disease is left untreated, Lyme disease can attack the front and hind limbs. It will then attack the muscles in the chest area and even disable the respiratory muscles. This can cause the dog to suffocate.

If you believe your dog has Lyme disease and that the disease is in its progressive stages of infection, immediately call your vet. Hospitalization is necessary for progressive stages of Lyme disease in a dog.

To learn more, head to Amazon.com and search for books on, “lyme disease and dogs” to see which are the most popular choices. Using the tool in their drop-down menu on their search results page, you can rank their listings accordingly and choose what you like.

Funds short for shopping? No problem. Key in titles you find form Amazon into your local public library search box. Borrow the books and read more at your leisure at home or during break times at the office.

Other places to search are eBay.com – for new and used books, videos, cassettes and more on the topic. And MySimon.com, a price comparison site.

Lyme Disease, a Silent Epidemic

Lyme disease, often a controversial subject among doctors and sufferers alike is, according to the CDC, diagnosed in approximately 25,000 patients in the United States every year. That number continues to grow. Europe is also a hot bed for Lyme disease, especially in countries such as England, France, Italy, Russia and many other Central and Eastern European countries.

What exactly is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease (LD) is a bacterial illness caused by what is called a “spirochete”. The medical name for LD is Borrelia burgdorferi. Europe has another version called Borrelia afzelii. Lyme is carried by deer ticks, which are small and often unnoticeable. Animals are also susceptible to LD, especially dogs and sometimes horses. Deer ticks can be passed to humans in a variety of ways, most often through an outdoor activity or coming in contact with animals who have deer ticks.

Lyme Disease Symptoms

LD has a variety of symptoms which often mimic other conditions, making it difficult to diagnose and easy to overlook. The most common and easy to recognize symptom is the bull’s eye rash that appears following a tick bite. The bite area develops an expanding ring of un-raised redness. Others symptoms include:

Headaches (migraines)
Joint swelling and pain
Flu-like symptoms
Stiff neck and other sore muscles

Getting tested for Lyme Disease

There are several types of tests that aid doctors in diagnosing LD. One of the most accurate Lime’s tests is performed by Central Florida Research Lab, in Winter Haven, FL. Central Florida Research’s test is called the Lyme Disease Antigen Test by Flow Cytometry. The test is more accurate than traditional tests (like the common Western Blot) because the blood antigen test detect the organism itself and, unlike antibody tests (Western Blot), antigen tests are not dependent upon a ‘sick’ immune system to produce antibodies. The flow cytometer, often used in DNA testing, counts the number of bacteria reacting with the Borrelia burgdorferi fluorescent antibody giving physicians more accurate results. Check out the Lyme Disease Antigen Test by Flow Cytometry and more information about Flow Cytometry on CFR’s website: www.centralfloridaresearch.com

Lyme Disease Treatment

Once a diagnosis is made, treatment for LD should begin as soon as possible. When creating a treatment plan, physicians often take into account how long a patient has had LD, the severity of symptoms and other physical attributes. In addition to homeopathic remedies, most which are not supported by traditional medicine, doctors often prescribe antibiotics such as:

Cefuroxime axetil (Ceftin) Approved by the FDA in 1996 for the treatment of early Lyme disease.
Amoxicillin
Doxycycline (not given to children or pregnant women)
Penicillin
Erythromycin (for people allergic to penicillin)

Acupuncture is sometimes used to relieve joint and muscle pain associated with Lyme disease.

Progress on two fronts

LD continues to plague many individuals and often goes undiagnosed for decades, thankfully the general public is becoming more aware of Lyme disease and persuading physicians to request tests, such as the test available from Central Florida Research to help confirm or refute their concerns. Although LD poses many challenges, they are challenges the medical research community is well equipped to meet. New information is accumulating at a rapid pace, thanks to the scientific research being conducted around the world and the persistence of the LD community.

Article by Kenneth B. Roberts

Mr. Roberts is a freelance SEO content writer helping inform the world about Lyme Disease.

There are ten tick borne diseases recognized in the United States. Three were identified in the last 25 years:

Lyme Disease (1970′s)
Human Ehrlichosis (1980′s)
Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (1990′s)

ticks are external parasites that suck blood from other animals to survive. They are most prevalent in wooded rural areas but can be found anywhere animals live. ticks bite dogs, cats, livestock, snakes, squirrels, turtles, ducks, robins, and people. Most ticks are just a nuisance but some transmit disease. For example:

Lone Star and Deer Ticks carry Lyme Disease
Brown Dog Ticks carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
TICK LIFE CYCLE

The life cycle of the tick plays an important role in determining when disease can be transmitted.

Ticks lay eggs in the spring, one month later larvae emerge. The larvae feed once in the summer on small mammals (like rodents) especially the white-footed mouse, then over winter.

The next spring, the larvae molt into nymphs. Nymphs feed on dogs, cats, deer and people in the late spring and early summer. Nymph are tiny, smaller than a mole, and therefore, difficult to detect in your pet’s fur.

In the fall, nymphs molt into adult ticks and feed on larger mammals, like white-tailed deer. They mate, lay their eggs, and die. Nothing can actually prevent ticks from attaching to pets or people. The key is to remove the tick promptly.

TO REMOVE A TICK

Use tweezers and grasp the mouthparts of the tick as close to the skin as you can and pull back. If part of the tick’s head remains, use a sterilized needle to remove it, just as you would a splinter. Don’t squeeze the tick because that can cause the contents of the tick’s body to be injected into the person or pet, and if the tick is carrying a disease, the individual can become infected this way.

When you’re in an area that may have ticks, i.e., hiking or camping in the woods, check yourself, your children, and pets carefully in less than 12 hours. Most ticks don’t carry disease and if those that do are removed in less than 12 hours, it is unlikely that you and/or your family or pets will get a disease.
TIP: Wear rubber gloves to remove ticks, and then put them in a sealed jar containing a little alcohol. Call your vet and/or physician to identify the tick, just to be sure.

Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease is the most commonly reported tick borne disease in the United States. A multisystem illness caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgderferi and transmitted by Ixodes ticks. Lyme Disease is a complex illness that affects dogs, cats, other animals, and people. To date, cases have been reported in 44 states in North America and many other countries around the world and the incidence is increasing.

Lyme Disease is caused by a microscopic organism called a ‘spirochete’, which is transmitted through the bite wound of certain types of ticks, i.e., Deer Tick, Black-Legged Tick, and Western Black-Legged Tick. The ticks must be attached to the victim for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme Disease.

If infection does occur, the disease affects the skin, joints, and nervous system. In cats, signs are generally more vague than in the dog but arthritis with fever, lethargy, and appetite loss may occur two to five months after initial exposure. Treatment is with antibiotics given for two to four weeks and your cat may suffer relapses.

PREVENTION OF LYME DISEASE

Since nothing can stop ticks from attaching, prompt removal and preventing exposure to ticks in the first place are the solution. In the past insecticides applied to the coat as a spray, powder, or dip killed the ticks, but their protection only lasted three to five days. Therefore, in high-risk areas, treatment had to be repeated every seven to ten days.

New monthly medication prescribed by your vet can be given to cats as a pill or drops. These new products are easier to give and far more effective than those previously available. Frontline is a new, over-the-counter product that kills adult fleas on contact and controls ticks. Frontline is approved for cats over 12 weeks old and dogs. It comes as a liquid, which is applied to the skin between the shoulder blades at 30-day intervals.

TIP: Cats are very sensitive to insecticides and only products specifically labeled for cats should be used. Your vet will be able to recommend the best product for your pet.

FACT: Vaccines are available for people and dogs living in high-risk areas. and after treatment.

Copyright 2007 Dr. Carol Osborne

Get FREE pet advice from Dr. Carol at http://CarolonPets.com/

Visit Dr. Carol’s blog at http://CarolonPets.com/blog/

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The Lyme disease is quite a new disease. It has been found recently in the north and western parts of the US. The alarming think about this disease is that it can be transmitted form dogs to humans quite easily.

Since 1975 this disease has been a constant sign of concern in all the states of the United States of America.

The source of infection

The source is a microscopic parasite also named deer tick. The white-footed mice and the white tailed deer are the main hosts. When the mice or the deer is in the wood area or areas with plants, the tick attached itself to the body of the hosts. These ticks don’t fly or jump. They just sit there and wait for the host to carry them out.

Attack method

The ticks can attack a dog almost everywhere on the body. They can attach themselves to ears, neck, feat or head. The tick bites are not painful, they are like a bee sting. It is quite common that an infected dog doesn’t show distress from the tick bites.

The symptoms

The infected dog will show an elevated temperature. He can also be restless and show a bit of limping. Other symptoms that follow are the pain, warmth and joint swelling. Also, it is hard to notice, but underneath the dog’s coat, some inflammated areas can appear.

That is where the tick has bitten the skin. Make a habit of checking the dog’s skin form time to time and watch out for these symptoms.

The treatment

Once you have spotted some symptoms, take the dog straight to the doctor. The vet will diagnose the dog and give him the right medication. Don’t wait a while before taking the dog to the vet. The Lyme disease can easily spread to you too and in advanced stages it can even kill the dog.

Serious repercussions happen if it is left untreated. The dog can even get paralyzed on his limbs. After attacking the front and then the back limbs, the disease will for sure attack the chest muscles and disable them. This means the dog will no longer be able to breath on his own. He will choke and die of asphyxiation.

Learn more about lyme disease in dogs, causes of lyme disease in dogs and effective treatment for lyme disease in dogs at LymeDiseaseInDogs.Net.

Pet CPR is a very important skill for those who deal with emergency medical cases concerning dogs. Although not everyone learns it, those who do are a vital factor in saving the lives of many beloved pets. Do dogs get hepatitis? People obviously do. But do dogs get this disease? And how does this affect them?

Hepatitis is actually a very broad term. It will signify an inflammation of the liver, although the causes may actually differ. Since the liver is a very complex and vital organ a disease that incapacitates it will prove to be fatal. The livers primary functions are the detoxification, metabolism, the storage of glycogen and the synthesis of plasma protein. It also produces the bile that aids in digestion. The good news is, the liver is a large organ with plenty of reserves. The bad news is, since it has a large reserve, it won’t show apparent symptoms unless the liver is seriously damaged.

Although dogs do get hepatitis, it may be different in cause and effect from human hepatitis. There is what is called Infectious Canine Hepatitis. This disease is caused by a virus, and may prove to be a fatal disease in some dogs.

What is It? This disease is caused by the CAV-1 an adenovirus. Dogs typically acquire this virus from contact, either through inhalation or ingestion of urine, eye secretions, and nasal secretions of infected dogs. This type of virus does not affect humans or other animals, only dogs.

The virus will attack the liver, eye, kidney, and blood vessel cells upon entry into the system of the dog. Fortunately, not all of these infections are fatal. Some dogs, after acquiring this virus, will manifest a cough, lethargy, loss of appetite, moodiness and low grade fevers. In some cases, they do not show any symptoms at all.

Some will develop blue eye. Blue eye is a bluish discoloration of the cornea of the pets eye. Dogs that go through these become immune to re-infection from the disease. This will usually be the case in healthy, mature dogs with a healthy immune system.

However, there are some dogs especially puppies that will become very ill due to the virus. These dogs will develop internal bleeding, liver disease, tonsillitis, and general inflammation of the eyes and mouth. If left untreated, this condition could quickly deteriorate to shock and death.

The virus is also known to attack the dog’s spinal cord and brain. After infection the virus will take about five days to a week before manifesting openly. By this time the dog will be secreting the virus through its stool, urine, saliva, and nasal secretions. In two weeks time, the dog either succumbs to the illness or develops chronic hepatitis coupled with cirrhosis of the liver. This will seriously impair the dog’s capacity for converting glucose, and absorbing toxins.

This condition will reduce the liver’s capability to perform functions necessary for life. These functions include filtering harmful and toxic elements from the blood, storing blood sugar for conversion into usable energy, and creating many proteins that are necessary in the system.

Unfortunately, there is no way to destroy the virus after it has entered the dog’s system. Veterinarians will treat the disease by good supportive therapy intravenous fluids, good diet, rest, medicines to lighten the liver’s workload, and good care all aimed to strengthen the dog’s ability to recuperate. They will also give antibiotics to treat secondary infections.

There is a vaccine for this disease. It is a routine part of a puppy’s vaccination plan. And partly due to its efficiency, the cases of canine hepatitis in the United States are low. Therefore, the best way to keep your dogs free from this disease is a proper vaccination plan, and prompt and periodic visits with the veterinarian.

Canine hepatitis can prove to be a troublesome disease that, if unattended, will surely result in a dog’s death. With proper information about this disease dog owners will be able to take preemptive steps to assure themselves that their pets are safe from this debilitating diseases.

Chronic Active Hepatitis: As opposed to the previous disease, this form of hepatitis is harder to treat and the prognoses are not very promising. This usually occurs in dogs of advanced age. The disease is caused by other factors such as toxins and molds in the dog’s diet. Infectious Canine Hepatitis can also cause this.

The symptoms of this disease are hard to pinpoint, but generally they will include lethargy, diarrhea, loss of appetite, swollen abdomen, jaundice (or yellowing eyes, gums, and skin). This disease could advance into the nervous system and render the dog blind. Seizures, coma and death usually follow.

To avoid this disease, good health habits including a good diet that emphasizes foods screened for toxins and molds should be exercised.

To read about beagle adoption and lemon beagle, visit the About Beagles site.

In dogs bladder tumors are a rare occurrence. Bladder tumors are of two different forms, one is potentially fatal while the other is benign. To ensure your dog remains healthy and free from such tumors continue reading this article.

The symptoms of bladder tumors in dogs are as follows:

1. The dog may go to the toilet a lot more than usual
2. There will be a slight amount of blood in the urine produced.
3. They dog may struggle to produce any urine.

As mentioned above there are two different forms of bladder tumors one being malignant which can be potentially life threatening while the other being benign. The benign or non progressive type of bladder tumors usually leaves the tissue which surrounds the growth relatively unharmed and does not spread to other parts of the body.

Squamous cell carcinomas and transitional cell carcinomas are the two most common types of bladder tumors . Both of these are highly malignant which means that they may spread to other parts of the body. Polyps are very rare but unlike the two mentioned above they are benign and do not spread to other parts of the body.

To make sure that the dog remains healthy any such growth will be need to removed. Complications arise depending on where the tumors is located inside the body. If it is close to an organ or a vital body part then the risks of surgery increase.

Treatment is not really effective when it comes to dealing with cancer and tumors in a dog’s bladder and this can prove to be a very costly option. Most people try and keep their dog on antibiotics and painkillers to try to relieve the pain as much as possible as the dog begins to suffer and then on a later stage the dog is put down as humanely as possible.

Your vet may conduct a number of tests such as ultrasound scans, x-rays and even passing a camera through the bladder of the dog. Only after all these tests will the vet know for sure whether the dog has been affected by a tumors or not. To determine the type of tumors the dog has the vet will have to conduct a biopsy.

If it is a polyp tumors then it will require surgery to be removed. Potential complications arise depending on the location of the tumors . If it is located at the bladder neck skilled surgery or complicated reconstruction would be required to keep the connection between the bladder and the urethra intact and even if the surgery goes as planned there are always chances that the dog may become incontinent for a short while after the surgery.

If the tumors is either squamous cell carcinomas or transitional cell carcinomas the vet will have to conduct further x-rays of the abdomen and the chest in order to determine how far the tumors cells have spread.

If the vet has determined that the tumors hasn’t spread then they may try and remove the malignant cell. Of course there are many difficulties and risks in doing this. A Lot of healthy tissue may need to be removed in order to remove a cancerous tumors from the dog’s body and to be certain that all the effected cells have been removed. This results in the vet having a lot less room to work with as compared to the polyp tumors . It is also likely that vital body parts and organs will cause hindrance.

Most vets will still try to remove the tumors first and then use chemotherapy and radiation to remove the remaining cancerous cells. A histopathologist will decide the type of therapy depending on the samples given to them

For more information on dog bladder tumors or Dog Health take a look at this Dog Behaviour website.

The disadvantage of being a dog is – dogs cannot express fully whenever they feel pain or in what level of pain they are in. They can just give off hints that they are experiencing such; however, if we are really not that attentive to their feelings, we won’t easily acknowledge that they are anguished. Oftentimes, they are just left in agony. The only solution is to bring your dogs to their veterinarians and have a constant check up as much as possible, so that they can be given prescriptions on dog pain medications.

Mostly, dogs are the most favored pets because of their smartness and faithfulness. They are famously called and considered man’s best friends. They show their complete loyalty especially if they were treated nicely by their owners. And due to that, pet owners become very fond of them, that they eventually don’t notice at all that their pets are growing older, despite of their unchanging appearances. There’s no immediate physical alteration, unlike people. And obviously, if one starts to step on aging, various ailments can also come to them.

As a responsible pet owner, you must be attuned to your pet’s health condition and needs. Obviously, they are incapable of telling that they are suffering from grievances. But because of a dog’s exceptional ability, they can somehow voice out their pain through crying or whimpering. But it is not always advisable to wait for your dogs to exhibit such ability because there are some that shows off their pain until it’s too late. So be very heedful.

One of the most common dog pains is arthritis. Like aging people, dogs experience such disorder too. In order to avoid such ailment, be sure to give your dogs the proper supplements and vitamins to get rid of early pain experience.

Simple acts like running, walking, or getting into the car, or simply letting him rise to greet you can already become extremely painful for your pets. The possibility of personality changes, withdrawal and crabbiness can be seen from your pets.

A good indicator that a dog is in pain is when he has changes in temperament. Your dog may become uneasy and violent when they are in pain. So the best thing to do is to inform your veterinarians so that proper administration of treatments can be given to your suffering dogs.

It is not advisable to diagnose any treatments to your dogs when they are experiencing something not good. There are treatments that can trigger your pet’s hidden allergies. Do not give any medication when you know yourself that you are not an expert at it.

Dog pain should not be taken for granted. If we love them, we should make sure that we give them the best of all we have. As loving pet owners, we normally feel everything they feel especially when they are in pain. We are just lucky to have lived in this modern age as there are dog pain medications that are always available anytime, anywhere – whether it be just near your place or online. Just make sure that before you buy any medication, vet consultation and advice is a better option to take first.

To learn more about the different types of pet meds for your dogs, cats, horse, etc., and how to get discount and cheap pet medications, make sure to visit http://www.callpetmeds.com where you will find everything on getting quality yet affordable pet medications.