Everything You Need to Know About Tick Disease in Dogs: Symptoms, Preventatives, and More

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Spring has sprung which means we’re going to be spending a lot more time outside with our dogs. While spring brings sunshine and beautiful weather, it also poses hazards for our pets. One of the biggest concerns for pet parents when spring rolls around is ticks. Because our dogs are lower to the ground and spend so much time in the grass, ticks are a huge threat during the warmer months. Today, I’m sharing everything you need to know about tick borne diseases from symptoms to preventives. 

What is Tick Disease?

There are 4 main types of tick disease that dogs are most commonly affected by: lyme, ehrlichia, anaplasmosis, and rocky mountain fever. These diseases are spread when infected ticks bite and latch onto a dog. The disease is then released into the dogs bloodstream and symptoms persist from there. 

Most of the time, tick disease is not fatal and symptoms can be treated with antibiotics. However, once a dog is infected, the disease never completely leaves their system and symptoms can come and go throughout their lifetime. 

Who is at Risk?

Both animals and people can suffer from tick disease. The risk of certain diseases differs based on the region, but ticks are in almost every part of the United States. They tend to remain dormant throughout the winter but come out when the weather gets warm and hang around all the way through the fall. 

Certain areas of the country may experience one tick disease more than another. Which diseases the ticks carry depend largely on climate, plant type, and what animals are around. 

If your dog is frequently in wooded areas, hiking, or camping-they are naturally going to run into more ticks than a dog who doesn’t leave their backyard. However, all dogs go outside at some point, putting them all at risk for tick infestations and diseases. 

Lyme disease

Lyme disease is the most commonly known tick disease. It’s carried by the Black-Legged tick, also known as a deer tick, and is prevalent in the Northeast and Midwest of the US. However, cases have also been noted on the West Coast and in Florida. 

Ticks carrying lyme disease must be attached to their host for 36-48 hours in order for infection to occur and symptoms typically don’t show up for 2-5 months afterwards. The most important way to protect your dog from lyme disease is to do thorough body checks every single time they come inside during the warmer months. 

There is a lyme disease vaccine to protect your dog from this disease, however, it’s not necessary or effective for every pet. If you live in an area where lyme is very prevalent and your dog is outside frequently the vaccine may be a good choice but if your dog doesn’t spend a lot of time outdoors it’s probably not necessary. Talk to your vet about whether or not this vaccine is right for your dog. 

You should have an annual blood test done on your dog that checks for an infection of lyme disease. Many cases of lyme are caught well before symptoms show up due to yearly blood testing. Symptoms of lyme disease to watch out for include:

• Fever
• Lameness
• Limping
• Joint Pain
• Lethargy

If you notice any of these symptoms in your dog, take them in for testing immediately.

If your dog tests positive for lyme disease before symptoms are present, you and your vet may opt not to treat them. Dogs can be healthy and happy, even after testing positive for lyme. However, if symptoms are present, your dog will be placed on antibiotics for 28 days.

Because tick disease doesn’t ever truly leave a dogs system once infected, it’s likely that they’ll test positive for it every year after the initial diagnosis. They most likely won’t experience constant symptoms, and you’ll only have to treat it sporadically throughout their life when symptoms start to flare up.

Ehrlichia

Ehrlichia, also known as Ehrlichiosis, is carried by many different types of ticks and is found worldwide. Ehrlichia is a more dangerous tick disease than lyme and includes symptoms such as:

• Fever
• Low appetite
• Low blood platelets

Blood platelets are the cells that help your blood clot. Bloody noses, anemia, and bruising are all signs of low platelets. If your dog tests positive for ehrlichia, your vet will likely suggest a complete blood count to check platelet count. 

Symptoms of ehrlichia typically begin to show 1-3 weeks after infection and dogs who are treated promptly have a good prognosis. Ehrlichia is treated with the same antibiotic as lyme disease, doxycycline. 

Most dogs that are infected with ehrlichia will only experience symptoms for a couple of weeks before the disease goes into a dormant stage, at which point the dog will go on to live a healthy life. However, ehrlichia doesn’t ever truly leave the system so symptoms may pop up at random as the dog ages.

In severe cases, more extreme treatment may be necessary.

Anaplasmosis

Anaplasmosis is spread through black legged ticks and found worldwide. The symptoms are largely similar to those of lyme disease and many dogs won’t experience symptoms at all. If your dog tests positive for anaplasmois, they’ll be treated with an antibiotic for 2-4 weeks.

Anaplasmosis can also cause low platelets, so a complete blood count test may be ran to determine the severity of infection. 

Rocky Mountain Fever

Rocky Mountain fever is found all over the United States and is carried by the American Dog tick, Rocky Mountain Wood tick, and Brown Deer tick. The symptoms are the same as the previously discussed tick diseases:

• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
• Joint pain
• Low platelets

One major difference that Rocky Mountain fever has compared to the other tick diseases is neurological signs such as wobbliness. 

Lyme disease, ehrlichia, and anaplasmosis can be tested in house at most vet clinics by a snap test known as a 4dx, which also tests for heartworm. Rocky Mountain fever, however, has to be tested for at an outside laboratory. Treatment with doxycycline for 1-3 weeks is standard and most dogs make a full recovery. 

How to Prevent Tick Disease

The most full proof way to prevent your dog from becoming infected with tick disease is by checking them thoroughly for ticks every time they come indoors, and removing all ticks promptly. Because most tick diseases cause the tick to be latched to the host for several hours, or even days, removing a tick as quickly as possible is the best way to keep your pup safe from tick-borne disease.

There are also a variety of flea and tick preventatives on the market that your veterinarian can prescribe to your pet. The most common is monthly oral preventatives.

Oral preventative

Oral preventatives are often found to be the most effective at keeping ticks off your dog and are therefore most commonly recommended by vets. The important thing to note about oral preventatives is that they are a potent neurotoxin. Oral preventatives contain isoxazolines, which is a chemical that is absorbed into your dogs bloodstream and will kill a tick when they bite your dog. The FDA has warned pet parents that medications containing isoxazolines can cause neurological damage to your dog such as tremors and seizures.

These preventatives are effective in killing ticks but they do pose a major risk to your dog. While many dogs will be fine on an oral flea and tick preventative, other dogs may not be so lucky, and you won’t know how your dog will react until it’s too late. 

Talk to your vet about whether or not the risk of oral tick preventatives are worth the reward for your pet. In areas where ticks are highly prevalent, this may be the best option regardless of the risks.

The most popular oral treatments are Nexguard and Bravecto. Both of these require a prescription from your vet. 

Topical preventatives

Another popular flea and tick preventative are topical ointments that you apply between your dogs shoulder blades once a month. These topical treatments release a chemical into your dogs bloodstream by absorbing it through their skin. These treatments are generally safer than oral preventatives. 

The major downside to topical preventatives is that your dog could lick it off. They can also rub off onto your furniture or clothing. Some dogs may experience negative reactions to these treatments such as hair loss or skin irritation. 

Topical flea and tick preventatives can be bought over the counter and some of the most popular ones include Frontline and Advantix.

Collars and Tags

There are multiple different collars and tags on the market that prevent the infestation of fleas and ticks. 

Seresto collars are a popular choice because they’re a one time application and last for several months. The collar is worn around your dogs neck and full of chemicals that are periodically released into your dogs skin and absorbed into the bloodstream. From that point it works similarly to a topical preventative.

A holistic flea and tick prevention option is a flea and tick tag. I personally use the flea and tick tag by Only Natural Pet, which claims to use scalar waves to prevent fleas and ticks. The tag contains zero chemicals so it’s an incredibly safe choice for your pet, and it lasts for a full year, making it very cost effective. 

While I don’t fully understand the physics behind the tag, I have been using it on my dog for almost a full year and I’ve only found one tick on her during that time.

Essential Oil Sprays

Another option if you’re concerned about chemicals is an essential oil spray. These oils can be combined into a spray and applied to your dogs fur when they’re going outside to prevent fleas and ticks. Some essential oils used to prevent ticks include:

• Cedarwood
• Grapefruit
• Lavender
• Lemon
• Roseweood
• Cedar
• Rosemary

An essential oil spray, combined with the use of a flea and tick tag is the safest way to prevent ticks on your dog. 

Note: essential oils will not be as effective at preventing ticks as a chemical preventative. If you live in a tick infested area, talk with your vet about the safest and most effective way to prevent tick disease in your dog. 

In Conclusion

In conclusion, yearly blood tests and flea and tick preventative are important in keeping your dog protected from tick disease. Watch for symptoms of these diseases for prompt treatment and always talk to your veterinarian about the best route for your dog based off of location and lifestyle.