The most important tick-borne diseases that affect dogs are Lyme disease,
, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Babesiosis, Bartonellosis, and Hepatozoonosis. All can have serious health consequences for dogs and many can have serious health consequences for people as well.
Pets, especially dogs, can be hugely beneficial in providing companionship, exercise, and unconditional love to their owners. Unfortunately, one of the lesser known risks associated with owning a pet is the potential for infestation by ticks. These tiny parasites can have a dangerous effect on animals if left unchecked, and can cause serious health issues for your pet. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the problems ticks can cause in dogs, as well as some tips to help protect your pet from infestation. Ultimately, it’s important to be aware of the risks posed by ticks and to take preventive measures to protect your pet. With the right knowledge and precautions, you can ensure that your pet remains healthy and safe.
Tick-Borne Diseases & Your Dog’s Immune System
Ticks can infect your dog with a single type of organism or several different types of organisms in one bite (coinfection), allowing various organisms to collaborate to release toxins and activate your dog’s immune system.
Once inside your pet, these organisms invade your dog’s cells and compromise their immune system. Some of the pathogens carried by ticks are even able to cooperate with one another to survive inside the bodies of your pets, which can cause recurrent or chronic infections.
Tick-borne illnesses cause your dog’s organs and tissues to become infected and swollen, which causes a variety of symptoms. In some instances, symptoms might not show up for a few weeks after your pet has contracted the illness.
What are tick-borne diseases in dogs?
Ticks are blood-sucking intracellular parasites that can carry and spread harmful bacteria to your dog’s body. Each year, thousands of dogs are infected with various illnesses by these bacteria that reside inside the cells.
Serious (and occasionally fatal) long-term harm can also be brought on by conditions that follow a tick bite. If your dog does contract a condition, it is crucial to treat any symptoms promptly with a licensed veterinarian and to prevent tick-borne diseases.
Despite the fact that many zoonotic pathogens that cause tick-borne diseases can infect humans, disease cannot directly spread from dogs to humans.
Pathogens need ticks to complete their lifecycle and become infectious. Consequently, in order to spread disease, a tick bite would need to be direct. The following canine tick-borne diseases are most prevalent in the US:
Lyme disease, a rapidly spreading global problem, is brought on by the bacteria borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by black-legged ticks or deer ticks. Before transmitting an infection to a host, the tick must feed for 24 to 48 hours.
Lethargy, lameness, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and joint pain or swelling are just a few of the symptoms of this illness. Along with serious cardiac and neurological consequences, these symptoms can progress to kidney failure, which may be fatal.
The brown dog tick is responsible for spreading one of the less prevalent blood-borne diseases in dogs. Unsettling signs of canine bartonellosis include fever, lameness, altered brain function, seizures, loss of appetite, and irregular heartbeats. People can also contract the condition.
Rickettsia is a bacterium that causes several well-known tick-borne illnesses, including ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and canine anaplasmosis. Rickettsial organisms are comprised of small, intracellular bacteria.
If your dog has a severe case, it might be necessary for your veterinarian to perform several rounds of treatment and tests in order to make a conclusive diagnosis because it can be difficult to interpret diagnostic test results.
This disease, which the deer tick transmits, is also known as dog tick fever or dog fever. Infected hosts may display signs similar to those of other tick-borne illnesses, such as lethargy, fever, stiff joints, appetite loss, diarrhea, and vomiting. Extreme cases may lead to seizures.
Canine ehrlichiosis is a disease that can be found worldwide and is carried and spread by a variety of ticks, including the brown dog tick, lone star tick, American dog tick, and others.
Symptoms will start to show up between one and three weeks after your dog has been bitten by an infected tick. Keep an eye out for symptoms like fever, bruising, or nosebleeds. Low blood platelets, or cells that aid in blood clotting, may be discovered through testing.
Even though canine ehrlichiosis treatments can have better results, if your dog develops chronic symptoms it may be more challenging for him to recover.
One of the more well-known tick-borne diseases, RMSF is spread by the Rocky Mountain wood tick, American dog tick, and brown deer tick, which are all found in North, South, and Central America. Both dogs and people can be infected.
Swollen lymph nodes, low platelet counts, fever, anorexia, and joint pain are some symptoms that may be present. Some dogs may have neurological issues that result in their limbs being weak or their stature being shaky.
Within 3 to 6 hours of a tick attaching to your dog, bacteria can spread, causing both canine ehrlichiosis and RMSF.
These illnesses can be brought on by a protozoal intracellular parasite that lives in your dog’s red blood cells and includes:
Although this disease is most frequently spread through tick bites (from the brown dog tick and/or American dog tick), it can also spread through transplacental transmission and IV blood contamination.
Red blood cells can degrade, which can cause symptoms like jaundice (yellow or orange skin or eye whites), dark urine, pale gums, and lethargic behavior. Other symptoms may include vomiting and weakness.
This tick-borne illness differs from others in that it can only be acquired by your dog ingesting protozoa through eating infected animals like rodents or birds.
Lethargy, lameness, neck pain, belly and gum bruising, as well as neurological symptoms are warning signs of a potential anaplasmosis infection. Most animals may not exhibit any symptoms, but some animals may do so for one to seven days. Lameness and joint stiffness are the most prevalent symptoms that would make you aware as a owner.
The only way to identify the disease might be based solely on the presence of symptoms. A 4dx test and bloodwork are also used to obtain a more precise diagnosis. The prognosis of this infection is good if it is detected in its early stages. If detected too late, it may be fatal or result in an infection that persists despite treatment.
At Prairie View Animal Hospital, we use the 4dx test to check our dogs’ immunity to lyme, ehrlichia, and anaplasma, three prevalent diseases spread by ticks. Sadly, just this year, patients at our hospital have been diagnosed with all three diseases.
A bacterial infection known as Lyme disease can affect mammals, birds, and people. It is primarily transmitted by a deer tick’s bite.
A rickettsial disease called ehlichiosis is primarily transmitted by the bite of lone star ticks. The disease effects dogs and humans.
FAQ
How does a tick affect a dog?
Blacklegged ticks may carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which can cause Lyme disease in dogs. When sick, dogs may develop a fever and develop one or more joint lamenesses. They may also appear sluggish, and their lymph nodes may enlarge.
What diseases can my dog get from ticks?
- Lyme Disease. …
- Canine Bartonellosis. …
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. …
- Canine Ehrlichiosis. …
- Canine Anaplasmosis. …
- Canine Babesiosis. …
- Canine Hepatozoonosis.
What happens if you don’t remove a tick from a dog?
Ticks on dogs can transmit a number of illnesses, such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, if they are not removed as soon as possible. You should always get rid of ticks as soon as you find them because tick bites can cause bacterial skin infections and other complications.
What happens if a dog has a lot of ticks?
Ticks can spread a wide range of illnesses as they feed, including Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Q fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Ticks also release toxins that can harm their hosts. Certain species of ticks are known to cause tick paralysis.