Ticks and tick-borne disease and dogs: what to do

What to do now

1. Remove any tick right away with fine tweezers or a tick removal tool.
2. Clean the bite area and dispose of the tick safely.
3. Check your dog every day, especially the ears, eyelids, under the collar, armpits, between the toes and around the tail.
4. Call your vet the same day if your dog has a fever, low energy, pale gums, nosebleeds, bruising or dark urine in the weeks after.
5. Keep your dog on tick protection made for dogs all year, as your vet advises.

Signs to watch for

• Fever
• Low energy or weakness
• Not eating
• Pale gums
• Nosebleeds, bruising or black stool
• Dark urine
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Limping that moves from leg to leg (Lyme disease)

When signs appear: Tick fevers usually 1-3 weeks after a bite; Lyme disease 2-5 months

Why

In the tropics the brown dog tick spreads ehrlichiosis, babesiosis and anaplasmosis, and dogs that swallow an infected tick can catch hepatozoonosis. Ehrlichia can pass within a few hours of a tick attaching, and studies in Malaysia found it in about 4 in 10 stray dogs. In some regions ticks also spread Lyme disease.