Ticks, Ticks, and More Ticks This Year

Ticks, Ticks, and More Ticks This Year

The mild winter will set the stage for an abundant tick population this spring, summer and fall.  We saw ticks on dogs in January this year. I have not seen that in my 22 years of veterinary practice!  We usually see a few ticks on dogs in early March if there is a warm spell, then the ticks really come out in April. Unfortunately, this mild winter comes after a big year for ticks in 2011.

I ran on the trails near my house Sunday and came home with two ticks! Finding a tick walking on your arm is disgusting, but what is really scary is that they can transmit Lyme disease and other  bacterial diseases like Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis as well. I didn't find any ticks on my dog, Birkie, but he is a black lab with lots of hair so they would be easy to miss. Birkie is vaccinated for Lyme Disease but Lyme vaccine for dogs is not 100% effective and it has no effect in preventing other tick-borne diseases. Lyme vaccine should not be used as a substitute for tick prevention.

Tick-borne bacterial diseases can cause arthritis, joint inflammation, kidney failure, anemia and bleeding problems and even cardiac problems.  Many dogs respond well to treatment with antibiotics but some cases do not respond to antibiotics.  There is also a debate over whether or not antibiotics completely get rid of the bacteria from an infected dog.  Tick prevention is critical!

There are several tick repellents and tick killers for dogs on the market. They are not all the same and some are very toxic to cats, even if the product was placed on the dog that the cat cuddles with.  Ask your veterinarian which products are right for your pets. Never use a product labeled for "dogs only" on a cat. Sometimes the warning is in very small print on the package.

Some tick products repel ticks, others kill them. Some wash off the dog if they get wet and others do not. For high risk dogs (hunting and trail running dogs) I recommend a product that does not wash off (like Frontline monthly) in addition to a pyrethrin spray used at trailside before heading into the woods. 

For more information on ticks and tick-borne disease, check out this CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html