I would also like to know... Since I pulled a tick off my dog on Friday night, wasn't sure if I got the head out, so made an appointmenr with the vet the next morning... Vet checked dog, no tick head found, but he DID prescribe a month of doxycycline (sp?) twice per day, which made for a very expensive tick-- $182.00, to be exact.

Our dog is on Frontine Plus monthly, but apparently this didn't do the trick... I would love to know if there was a reliable Lyme vaccination out there, because ticks are a major problem in our area and I can foresee this happening over and over again...

Two of my pets have contracted Lymes in the past and had the doxycyline too. I don't remember the price. I think that is the drug they always give to treat it. It works well.

There is a lyme vaccine, but there was a controversy associated because there were some researchers who thought the vaccine would kill the dog's kidneys before the disease would... We found this out when my first lab was diagnosed with kidney failure many years ago. It seems like the tide has changed, but I would like to get a opinion from Meaghan on what she's doing. We are presently following University of Pennsylvania protocol.

I will say that I have used every form of prevention and have found that Advantix is the best for us. I live in a heavily wooded area with lots of deer. The ticks were not bad this summer, but have now started. Every year in the past before Advantix came out someone would come up with Lyme's. Advantix came out when I got my youngest lab. He's never tested positive, he's now 3 years old.

I just gave everyone 3 dogs, 3 cats their flea and tick prevention meds this morning. The only thing with Advantix is that you have to separate dogs and cats if you have both because Advantix is poisonous to cats. I just put the dogs on the deck for some time to let the Advantix dry and then into my office for the remainder of the day. Tonight I will keep the dogs separated and by morning all will be fine.

BTW like most vaccines, lyme vaccine is not 100 percent effective.

Well, I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the fact that we switched last month from our vet's Frontline, to mail-ordered Frontline Plus from petsuppliesnet.com. The Frontline Plus comes from Australia, and now I'm wondering if it might be formulated differently and not work against "American" ticks? The box says nothing about deer ticks, which (in PA, I believe) are the most prevalent ticks, and the ones that carry Lyme.

I will say that I have used every form of prevention

Hi labmomma, have you tried DE Diatomaceous earth?
(natural not the swimming pool stuff)
IMO it is the best stuff out there for a prevenative and it is not toxic at all. Anything with a shell that crawls over this or comes in contact with it dehydrates and dies.
below is a link that explains it uses.

Here is a link that might be useful: all around flea and tic prevenative

I've never tried the online meds. Do you get a really good discount after you pay shipping? I should look into it. My old gal takes 4 different meds every day 15 pills total. I have one of those medication daily separators to keep them straight. That's not including her maintenance meds, Advantix & Interceptor, or meds for occasional issues. When I picked up all the month's meds today it was $217 and change :(. That said, she's worth every penny!

Vet school- 3rd year. I have next Spring to go for classes and then a year of clinical rotations then DONE! And oddly enough, we just had a series of lectures on tick-born infectious diseases and vaccination. You guys always make my education so practical!

As far as what my school recommends, the 6th author on the AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines is Dr. Ford (linked below), who gave us the vaccination lecture. Needless to say, they do as he says. He knows his vaccine-related stuff.

Lyme vaccine is recommended only for dogs who have a high risk of getting infected. There are 2 types of vaccines available- the killed whole bacterin and the rLyme (recombinant) OpsA vaccine. I personally would use the rLyme vaccine because it does not require an adjuvent therefore carries less risk of vaccine adverse reaction. The duration of immunity for either Lyme vaccine is 1 year, so annual boosters are recommended prior to the start of tick season in your area (if there is one- here it's a year-round deal).

As far as tick control, I have heard problems with overseas products. Merial does not support products purchased from non-vet sources. I don't think the problem is that the product is made in Australia; I think the problem is that it is easier to be a fake company and ship fake products routed through Australia. Australia has Frontline dosed in kilograms instead of pounds and as far as I know, that is the only difference.

Saving money is good, but if your dog ends up with a tick-born infection I don't think you'll have saved anything. If your vet is too expensive, I'd use a reputable online company, such as one that requires a prescription for Rx products. But I would steer clear of products from overseas. That's how companies avoid prosecution in the US for selling fake products.

For my own dogs, I know there is Lyme Disease in my area, but it is not that prevalent. I do not vaccinate for it. I vaccinted when I lived in MD which has a much higher prevalence before I started using Frontline. Once I started Frontline, I stopped vaccinating for Lyme even there.

Hope that helps a bit...

Here is a link that might be useful: AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines

The Frontline Plus comes from Australia,'

Cnvh, there has been issues with counterfeit dog and pet supplies sold online. Read article below for more info

Here is a link that might be useful: counterfeit pet supplies

Meghane, thanks for responding. I did vaccinate my pets, I will check which type. I do believe it is a yearly vaccination at the time of annual check up. I think it was the lepto that they had 1 and then 3 weeks later a booster and every year after. My guys only started vaccination for Lyme when I changed vet practice 3 years ago. Previous vet was very opposed to same even tho I had pets that continually came up with the lyme. She was back then following the then UofPa protocol which has now changed. I will say that I use the Advantix when I see signs of the ticks around, since vet says still necessary to definitely protect pets around here. Good luck in your last year and a fruitful career to follow! Do you know where your clinical will be?

Small animal and exotic practice. I'd love to get about 50% small animal and 50% exotic/avian- that would be my dream job. We'll see what I end up with. Haven't decided on doing an internship or not yet, but I am leaning in that direction because I would need it in order to get boarded in herpetological and/or avian medicine. I'll probably also seek becoming boarded in general small animal practice. And of course I'm interested in becoming certified for acupuncture. And I have a strong interest in dermatology and allergies. Plus I'd like to be at a practice where I could be holistic in approach.

Yeah, I think that just about narrows it down LOL!