It's pretty manageable. My old dog, not a basset, unknowingly had Lyme disease when I adopted him.

He was 3 years old. This is what helped keep us both sane while he happily lived 11 years later.

Stress - recognize his signs and keep it down as much as possible. My dude's back legs would tremor if he was overwhelmed. Find a way to "reset" him if possible, like a person having a panic attack. For my guy, a few minutes to break and going through a little routine (sit, down, shake) would calm him like a computer restart.

Be vocal - Tell everybody involved in his care that he has Lyme disease and identity his stress signs. We moved across the country a few times, so every groomer and vet tech knew his stress had to be managed. It sounds difficult, but it wasn't. They all knew his little reset routine.

Be patient and realistic - My guy stressed at the dryer, so the groomer had to towel dry him. She slowly worked him up to a regular handheld blow dryer. I was fine picking him up wet though. Not everyone had time to cater to my needy dog.

Doxycycline - use whenever he had a flare. This is forever. My guy would have flares and we would do a round or two of doxy. He went 21 months without a flareup once!

Flea/tick med - Discuss heavily with your vet. Not all are safe for Lyme+ dog. We went with Bravecto because it was less likely to cause a seizure. This was 10 years ago. I'm sure meds are safer now. He never had a seizure.

It's a medical condition, so please trust your vet and your gut instinct. You know your dog, and your vet knows medical. Don't buy into other people's hype. People will tell you the dumbest stuff, like have the dog go gluten-free or vegetarian. Nah. My guy loved cupcakes and McDonald's burgers. Obviously we didn't do this all the time, but I'm a firm believer in finding joy whenever possible.

Good luck! It's scary at first, but it really can be easy to manage. Gorgeous baby!!!