What Do You Do If You See A Tick On Your Dog
If you spot one of these pesky buggers on your pup, you should remove it ASAP. âVery carefully, go under the head of the tick with tweezers and just pull out the mouth of the tick, which is embedded in the skin,â instructs Dr. Brian Fallon, who directs the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research at Columbia University Medical Center. To avoid tearing the tick and spreading possible infections into the bite area:
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Use fine-point tweezers.
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Pull straight upward, in a slow and steady motion, to prevent the tickâs mouth from breaking off and remaining embedded in your dogâs skin.
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Donât squeeze the tickâs body which will transfer possible infection into the skin.
If you are unable to remove the tick yourself, consult with your veterinarian.
Time For A Refresher On Ticks
Tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis are a serious health concern in New Hampshire. Although ticks are likely to be active any time the temperature is above freezing, you are more likely to contract a tick-borne illness in the summer months.
While there are several tick-borne illnesses to watch out for in our area, they are carried by the smaller Deer Ticks, not Dog Ticks. Says Marika Henegan, MD, a provider at Cheshires Urgent Primary Care Visits . A baby, or nymph, Deer Tick can be hard to notice, which is why checking yourself thoroughly for ticks is important after you have been in the woods or long grass.
How Can I Protect My Pets From Lyme Disease
Avoiding ticks as much as possible will go a long way to controlling and preventing disease. Sprays, monthly products, and vaccines are available, although many work best before dogs are exposed to the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.
Your vet may recommend appropriate boosters and vaccines if you live in an area where Lyme disease is common. You should promptly remove any ticks you find on your dog to help prevent Lyme and other diseases from spreading. Though dogs will not directly infect people, our pets may bring infected ticks into the house, which may then attach to another person or animal and transmit Lyme disease.
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Using Cbd Oil In Your Dogs Treatment Plan
There is anecdotal evidence that suggests CBD is a holistic solution that can improve your dogs overall mood and increase their appetite. The increase in appetite is important because Lyme disease in dogs can reduce their appetite. Although CBD oil is not a treatment for Lyme disease in dogs, it can help stimulate appetite and can help mitigate any pain or discomfort your dog may be feeling. If your dog has been diagnosed with Lyme disease you should speak with your trusted veterinarian to come up with a treatment plan that suits your dog.
Control And Prevention Of Lyme Disease In Dogs
The best way to protect dogs from Lyme disease is to use tick-preventive products year-round. Several safe and effective commercial parasiticides are available for tick control on dogs and cats, including systemics , topicals , and collars. Regardless of choice, clients should be encouraged to comply with manufacturer recommendations. For further protection of dogs living in or visiting Lyme-endemic areas, another effective strategy is vaccination. Several commercial Lyme vaccines for dogs are available. These vaccines consist of either bacterins or specific recombinant or chimeric outer surface proteins , with or without adjuvant. Vaccine-induced antibodies against OspA are thought to work by entering the tick during early stages of feeding and killing the borreliae inside the tick before they are transmitted to the dog. Vaccine-induced antibodies against OspC are thought to help kill or control borreliae during early infection in the dog around the tick bite site. However, because Ixodes ticks can carry other pathogens for which vaccines are not available, use of a vaccine in lieu of a tick-preventive product is not recommended. Risk-based decisions based on location, dog breed, travel, and veterinary consultation will help determine whether a dog would benefit from Lyme disease vaccination.
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Ticks And Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is most frequently reported from the Upper Midwestern and northeastern United States. Some cases are also reported in northern California, Oregon, and Washington. . Lone star ticks can be found from central Texas and Oklahoma eastward across the southern states and along the Atlantic Coast as far north as Maine.
Discussing Symptoms And Treatments With Your Vet
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Should I Have My Dog Tested
Antibodies can take weeks to develop. Because of this, tests for Lyme disease that are performed before the antibodies have evolved may show up as negative even if your dog is infected. If your dog is infected and is retested four to six weeks later, they should have a positive test. If you do decide to have your dog tested, you should also keep in mind that just because they test positive for antibodies does not automatically mean they have the disease. This simply means that at some point in their life they were exposed and their body mounted a response. In many cases, this makes it difficult to determine the importance of positive test results because unfortunately, there aren’t reliable tests that can identify the presence of the infecting bacteria in your dogs body.Whether or not they should be cause for concern depends on many factors, including whether or not your vet feels your dog is showing symptoms that may be consistent with lyme disease. Ultimately, you should rely on your veterinarian to decide whether or not testing for lyme disease is appropriate and should your dog test positive, what should be done with that information.
If you’re concerned about how long the testing process takes and how it may affect you or your family, keep in mind that humans cannot contract Lyme disease from an infected dog. The Ixodes tick is the primary means of transmission in people, as well as dogs.
What Happens If Lyme Disease Goes Untreated
Treating Lyme disease in a timely manner is absolutely crucial to your dogs health, otherwise its complications can cause even more severe problems. Dr Muller further warns, Lyme disease can lead to serious damage of the heart, nervous system, and kidneys.
Dogs who are not treated for Lyme disease may find themselves with any of the following conditions:
- Inflammation of the kidneys, and in severe cases, kidney failure. Symptoms of this kidney failure include increased thirst and urination, vomiting, diarrhea, swelling of extremities, and lack of appetite. This can be fatal.
- Chronic pain from arthritis
- Heart problems
- Seizure disorders or facial paralysis as a result of damage to the nervous system
Many of these issues, if left untreated, can be potentially fatal, so the answer is clear. If your dog is diagnosed with Lyme disease, take care of it as soon as you possibly can.
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For Animals That Have Not Been Vaccinated Can Osp A Values Be Positive How Should This Be Interpreted
Antibodies to OspA have previously been interpreted as markers for vaccination. Non-vaccinated animals usually have low values for antibodies to OspA, while vaccinated animals develop these antibodies. OspA antibodies have been shown to protect from infection with B. burgdorferi.
However, there is accumulating evidence that antibodies to OspA can occur without vaccination. First, residual OspA is present on the bacterial surface at the time of transmission to an animal. This causes a low and transient OspA antibody response early after infection. Second, antibodies to OspA have also been associated with treatment-resistant Lyme arthritis and with development of autoimmunity in human patients. Similarly, OspA antibodies in non-vaccinated dogs or horses can be considered as markers of chronicity and disease severity.
Use Flea And Tick Preventives
Did you know that most flea and tick medications donât prevent ticks from jumping onto or even biting your dog? They kill ticks once they bite. In most cases, ticks must be attached for 24-48 hours to transmit Lyme disease, so preventative medications help thwart the diseaseâs spread. Consult with your veterinarian about the most appropriate product for your dog.
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Giving Your Dog Antibiotics
Lyme Disease: What Dog Lovers Need To Know
You probably know Lyme Disease is carried by ticks. Those nasty little parasites look for a warm body to attach to and feed on. Some of those ticks are infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease Borrelia Burgdorferi.
However, you might not know that your dog can test positive for Lyme disease and not actually have it. Strange, right? But its true. According to Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, testing positive simply means your pet tested positive for the antibodies but only about 5% of dogs actually develop the illness.
Thats good news for dog lovers!
Yet, you should be aware of the symptoms of Lyme Disease in dogs just in case your pet is one of that 5 %. Its also a good idea to discuss the pros and cons of the Lyme vaccine youre your veterinarian.
The other thing youll want to know is that some dogs will show fever and lameness within 2-3 days and with others…it can take MONTHS before your dog shows any signs. In other words, you can pick 10 ticks off your dog in August and it can be Halloween before your dog starts showing signs of the illness. If you find ticks and your dog shows any signs of lethargy or lameness, go to vet immediately. Acute forms of Lyme are much easier to treat.
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Lyme Disease From Adult Ticks
Adult ticks will seek new hosts throughout the fall. Their peak activity is between late October and early November.
Adults prefer taller vegetation. Theyre usually seen 3 feet off the ground on high grasses or leaves. Adults often use deer as hosts but theyre also happy with humans, dogs or horses.
Its believed that 50% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease in endemic areas of the Northeast. But, while adult ticks can carry Lyme disease, theyre less likely to pass it on to their host. This is because theyre larger and easier to detect within the first 24 to 36 hours.
Note: the timing of peak activity for each life stage of the tick may differ depending on your area. Check with local health departments for peak tick activity where you live.
Can You Treat Lyme Disease In Dogs
Because the agent responsible for Lyme disease is a bacteria, this means the condition can be treated with the use of antibiotics.
The standard course of treatment involves 30 days of antibiotic therapy, using doxycycline, amoxicillin, and azithromycin.
Many pet owners see improvements in their dogs symptoms in as little as 5 days after antibiotics are administered, with most pups making a full recovery after the 30 days.
However, some dogs will require a longer course of antibiotics, which is why it is so important to test their antibody levels again once they have completed their initial treatment.
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How To Know If A Dog Has Lyme Disease
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What Is Canine Lyme Disease
The risk for you and your pet specifically dogs of contracting Lyme disease is increasingly on the rise across areas of Ontario.
Incidence of Canine Lyme Disease easily keeps pace with the increased incidence of the disease in humans, and probably more. Although likely true that the incidence of Lyme disease is higher in dogs than humans, there is no national or provincial system for capturing the incidence of Canine Lyme Disease.
Lacking a national or provincial system for tracking, reviewing the human data for Lyme disease is important as an indication of the exposure and potential infection in dogs.
A Ticks Life
Ticks dont fly, jump or blow around with the wind. They are sluggish and lumbering and can be as small as a poppy seed. Bites are usually painless, so you or your pet may not know that theres been a bite.
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Prevention Of Lyme Disease
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The diagnosis of Lyme disease is often based on the signs and history. For example, a veterinarian might suspect Lyme disease in a dog with recent lameness, a mild fever, and a history that includes possible exposure to ticks. Standard blood studies are not very helpful in diagnosis because the results tend to fall within normal ranges despite signs of infection. However, these tests may be important in order to rule out other causes of disease. Antibodies against the disease-causing bacteria can often be detected 4 to 6 weeks after the initial infection and help confirm the diagnosis.