My dog's limping - lyme

[Justicedog]

My dog was dx with lyme several months ago at her check up. The doctor said they don't treat until symptoms show up. A few weeks to a month later, she was limping. It didn't go away, so we took her in, they gave her antibiotics and ibuprophin for a month (2 weeks for the ibuprophin) and she felt better the next day after taking the ibuprophin. That was about 2 months ago.

She's now limping again. My family says that they let her outside and when she came back, she was limping. She seemed better when I came home. There is no injury I can see. It does seem that it may be more her shoulder than her leg that's hurting her.

Can lyme relapse in a dog?

Should I feel like a jerk for not rushing her to an emergency vet and waiting until tomorrow to call our regular vet?

[JudyJudyJudy]

I'm so sorry about your dog. :( Yes, a dog can have a recurrence of Lyme Disease; if that happens, then she should be put back on antibiotics.

As for the vet not treating your dog initially, that is controversial. In the past that was the way things were done, but new research is suggesting that dogs that test positive for Lyme should be treated even if they are asymptomatic.

I hope your dog will be okay. Do take her back to the vet. You shouldn't feel like a jerk for not rushing out tonight, but it is very important that you take her in to start treatment again.

[Justicedog]

Thanks Judy,
It'd be lovely if they would just let me come pick up the drugs and not have to bring her in, I doubt that would happen though, but maybe if I can be pessimistic enough about it they'll do it, just so I can be proven wrong. Last night after not using her paw, walking with it lifted, she got up and wanted to go outside, so she trotted off outside smelling what's been in the yard. I'm pretty confident now that it's lyme b/c it says that the soreness can come and go.

I got up this morning and poor girl is just lying by the back door. She hasn't gotten up.

I'd stepped away from the computer and my ds had gotten up and came downstairs and dd(darling dog) got up to greet him. She stretched and seems to be favoring the paw some, but not as much. She staill hasn't sprinted outside to get birds or squirrels, but she'll sometimes wait at an open door anyway.

I really don't want to bring her in to the vet, she's a bit of a knucklehead with other dogs (barking and pulling at them) and then I'd have to lift her into my SUV. Whine, whine, whine.

[Justicedog]

I went in with dd this morning and had a different doctor at the vet. That vet thought it weird that she always favor the same leg and she didn't really have any other signs of lyme, not lethargic, not losing weight, etc. So, she xrayed her leg and that seemed to show some arthritis. Although, she'll have the other doctor look at it to make sure it doesn't look like a tumor to him. She said that really, the only thing is to get dd to lose weight. The vet thought Shasta/dd was too young for cancer. I got ibuprophin tabs to give her for 10 days.