Canine Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is transmitted to dogs through a tick bite. It is called by a spirochete bacterium called Borrelia. A tick feeds by sucking blood and to do this it needs to stop the blood from clotting so it can carry on sucking. To keep the blood from clotting it regurgitates enzymes into the blood and this is when the Lyme spirochete comes up from the tick’s midgut to its mouth. This process takes a minimum of 48 hours, so if the tick is removed within 48 hours of attaching itself, the spirochete cannot be transmitted and the host does not get the disease. Once in the blood stream the spirochete is carried to all parts of the dog’s body but it usually settles in the joints.
