Tick borne illness vs. Nerve Damage.
How do you know if your dog has Nerve damage or a Tick Borne illness?
Answer- IF the dog responds positively to a combination of Prednisone and Doxycycline then you know it was a tick borne illness. IF the dog responds favorably to the ten day course of Pred and Doxy then you wean the dog off Prednisone after ten days and continue the coarse of Doxycycline for 6-8 weeks. This is the only way to treat tick borne illnesses.
If the dog does not respond then you know it was an injury or could possibly be Wobblers.
*** Dogs can get Tick borne illnesses even when they have been treated for Fleas and Ticks. The products used does NOT stop a tick from biting the dog and injecting their saliva into the dogs. All the products do is kill the fleas and ticks that bite the dog.
In my experiences Tick borne illness can present itself in Swissys in one of two ways:
A. Dog acts like they have pain in all their joints especially first thing in the morning. They will act like they are sore and even cry when they try to stand up or move around. They act like they have Rhuematoid Arthritis
B. Rear end progressive lameness going from the back towards the front of the dog - Mimics Cervical spinal cord injury or Wobblers. Tail stands out four to six inches and the end of the tail droop, This progresses to rear end lameness where they do not have control over their rear end. This progresses to where the front end is lame and they have no control All of this happens in a relatively short period of time. If not treated they act like a quadraplegic.
*** Both types of presentation will respond to a ten day course of Prednisone and Doxycycline.
In many cases of acute tick borne illness you will get a Negative result on a Blood test at first. IF you repeat this test in six months the test will come back possitive for one or more of the tick borne illnesses.
Again,,, many times the ONLY way to differentiate an ACUTE case of Tick borne illness vs. Injury or Wobblers is the dogs reaction to the ten day course of Prednisone and Doxycycline. This will not damage your dog whether it has a tick borne illness OR Nerve Damage (or Wobbler's ) so it is important to try this treatment out BEFORE you Euthanize or do Surgery (which will fail without treatment). It could save your dogs life and could save you thousands of dollars on an UNNECESSARY Surgery.
I hope this helps you out.
Dan