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Late last night (Saturdsay night) we noticed that one of our dogs wasn't feeling well and woke up with him making a strange deep sound and breathing rapidly (not panting) but still lying on his bed around 4:30 in the morning. At 8:00, he wasn't just himself, so we took him to an emergency room. They took x-ray and found gas in his system, did blood test and the result was normal. Also they found Lyme test positive.

They gave him pain killer injection and Rimadryl. I'm supposed to give him 100 mg twice a day for 3 days. For Lyme disease, I have to give him antibiotics for the next 30 days. I did give him one 100 mg of Rimadryl tonight, but haven't given him antibiotics yet. I just felt uncomfortable with it.

He's still breathing a bit fast but is more active than this morning. Is there anything else I can do? Should I keep give him Rimadryl as the instruction? I think I know what has caused this, I think I gave him too much oil in his dinner last night. I just need the second opinion. Thank you very much in advance.

Did your dog test positive on a 4-way Snap test, or did they run a C-6 test? The first just tests for antibodies, showing that at some time in the past your dog had exposure to the Lyme spirochete, not that he has an active case of Lyme disease. This is important to know, for the antibiotics may well upset his intestinal flora, causing more gas and diarrhea. He should instead be put on a probiotic, and be given activated charcoal to absorb some of the gas, reducing the pressure in the abdomen and relieving the pain. The cause of the problem should be addressed where possible, not simply treating the symptoms.

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I always appreciate your help.

I don't know whether it was a 4-way Snap test or a C-6 test, but I have a copy of the result, and I'm guessing it's a 4-way snap test. It says IDEXX4Dx and ANAPL (neg), OHW (neg), Lyme (pos) and Ehr (neg).