How does Westgate test for Lyme disease?
Because the majority of canine Lyme infections are asymptomatic, we believe in routinely testing a pets Lyme status each year at heartworm testing time. Antibodies that are formed by the pets immune system when the tick infects the pet cause the positive dot we see on our in-clinic 4DX Snap test made by Idexx Laboratories (this is also combined with a heartworm, Ehlichia, and Anaplasma test). A positive does not indicate that there is an active Lyme infection, only that the pet was exposed/infected in the past. With a darker dot, we are more inclined to think that the infection/exposure is more recent. With a lighter dot, we are more inclined to think that the infection is less recent. Previous vaccination for Lyme disease does not interfere with these test results (a vaccinated dog will not be positive for Lyme simply because it has received the Lyme vaccine in the past). It takes a few weeks from the time of exposure for the development of a positive antibody Lyme test. Why should my
