A dog I bred has been diagnosed with Lyme disease through a blood test. She is asymptomatic.

Can anyone with experience with this disease please help answer the following questions:

is it possible to breed a bitch with this?

do the puppies get the disease?

treatment?

I understand the vet will have a lot of information to contribute as well but I have a great deal of faith in asking my fellow breeders who have experience also.

thanks for your help!

I did have one that came up lame, we tested and she was positive for Lyme-she was put on Doxy for at least 4 weeks, could have been longer, maybe 6 as this was 12 years ago.
Puppies from what I understand can not get it from mom and I have heard of bitches going on to have healthy litters after mom was treated.

it is a tick borne disease, treated for at least 60 days to 6 months on Doxycycline.

I would not breed a dog while she had this, I would wait until she was over it as it can cause pain through out the body.

it can not be passed on to pups.

Allison, if the test that was taken was the snap test that they do in the office a positive result does not necessarally mean the dog has lymes. All that test tells you is that the dog has been exposed to lyme.

Hi Sally,
I don't know which test is was I will check.
thanks for the heads up.

I don't know about Lyme disease in particular, but I have a bitch that was diagnosed with Bartonella (another tick disease) at age 2. She was treated with a 6 week course of Zithromax after diagnosis (treated with Doxy and Clavamox before definitive diagnosis). This dog subsequently tested negative for Bartonella on two different occasions, once shortly after treatment and another test two years later.

This girl was bred and had a strange pregnancy, with one stillborn pup, two live pups, and two pups that were sort of mummified fetuses. She needed a section and had bleeding problems after the section, with a second surgery necessary. Her health crashed, and it took her a good year to recover from the pregnancy. Since then she's been re-tested for Bartonella and the test was negative, but I don't believe it, because both of her live puppies have tested positive for Bartonella, although both are asymptomatic. After this experience I personally would not breed any bitch that had previously had a tick disease.

BTW, the University of NC has all the information on my girl and her pups, and much discussion has ensued with Dr. B. due to the apparent in utero transmission.

Thank you for sharing your experience Susan.
You certainly went through a lot.

I have been hearing from lots of people that many dogs test positive for exposure to Lyme disease but don't have the disease. The recommendation is not to treat unless the bitch has the disease and it's symptoms. Healthy litters have been produced by bitches who have been exposed to Lyme disease with no subsequent side affects to the bitch or puppies.