Our dogs are probably getting tired of us asking them for walks, but outside they still go, and hungry deer ticks are waiting for them.  Lyme disease can have serious complications for humans and dogs alike, and the ticks that carry the bacteria responsible are very small deer ticks which are easy to miss in a dog's fur.  A flea and tick preventative is the first line of defense, and protects against more diseases from the multiple ticks we have in our area than the Lyme vaccine does.  However, if that preventative misses an infectious deer tick, then a Lyme vaccine becomes necessary to protect your pet.  Like all vaccines, this needs to be injected before exposure.  

It used to be that the disease was only found in the northeastern United States, but that is not the case anymore.  As you can see from the map, about 5% of dogs tested in Fairfax County are positive for exposure to Lyme Disease.  What makes Lyme tricky is that not all dogs show symptoms, and even among those who do, they don't all show the same symptoms.  Paralysis and arthritis are possible, but so is kidney disease (nephritis).  Because we are in an area where the ticks that spread the bacteria thrive, prevention is crucial.

Please ask your veterinarian about options to protect your pup.  There's a lot of months until winter, so the peace of mind of preventatives and a vaccine is a very solid comfort.