Ticks are very easy for a dog to pick during the course of a walk. Luckily they are also fairly easy to remove from their skin. But, unfortunately it is also easy to contract a dog illness caused by ticks.

There are several varieties of dog illness caused by ticks and some of them can prove to be fatal if not treated. The secret to a good prognosis is much the same as with any infection… early diagnosis and treatment. If you feel that your dog is unwell or is showing signs of fever, having trouble walking or seems to be in pain, you should seek medical attention for him as soon as possible. Other symptoms to look out for include a loss of appetite or any swelling around the joints. If you have been in an area that you think may be a prime ground for ticks, such as areas of long grass, woodland or scrubland areas and your dog seems unwell, please get him checked out and make sure that the medical staff are aware that you suspect a tick bite. Ticks are not always easy to see.

One very worrying dog illness caused by ticks is Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The symptoms to look out for are those above but may also include a swelling of the face. You may also notice that your dog is unsteady and seems to be suffering from dizziness. This is a sign of neurological problems and could be accompanied by depression or seizures. A good many dogs suffering from the disease will show signs of blood in their eyes and could develop nose bleeds. Blood may also be present in their stools. These symptoms will appear anytime from a couple of days to two weeks after infection by the tick. Your pet could go on to suffer from other more serious problems if he does not get rapid treatment. Your veterinarian can diagnose the disease by blood test and if confirmed then he will treat it with antibiotics, usually successfully.

Lyme disease is another problem that is transmitted by tick. The symptoms can be very similar to those of Rocky Mountain spotted fever but there is often more of a chance of lameness with Lyme disease. The disease is often very difficult to diagnose so if there is any possibility that the symptoms present may be due to a dog illness caused by ticks, make sure you let the veterinarian know. Any time saved in the diagnosis of Lyme disease will help the prognosis for your pet.

A tick will draw blood from your dog, but, when you look at the size of a tick the amount it can take seems minimal. If, however, your dog were to have an infestation of ticks all having a free meal, there is a possibility that your dog could suffer from anemia. This is not a common problem as you would probably notice that amount of ticks on your pet. It is more a dog illness caused by ticks that would affect stray dogs or perhaps working dogs that live outside and do not have much human contact.

Tick paralysis is not an infection caused by ticks but a problem caused by toxins in the tick’s saliva. Onset of the paralysis could be between 5 and 7 days after the tick has started to feed. Once it is becoming gorged some of the saliva containing the toxins may enter the dog’s blood stream and cause the problem. It would normally take quite a few ticks to be present to cause this paralysis. Tick paralysis may affect just the hind limbs or right the way through the body to the front limbs. The problem becomes potentially fatal if it remains untreated and affects the respiratory system. The paralysis will used abate and things return to normal after the tick has been removed. Take your dog straight to the vet if you notice any paralysis as this is a dog illness caused by ticks which can be treated easily but can be fatal if left undiagnosed.

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about tick problems, please visit Tick Treatment Site for current articles and discussions.

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How to Remove a Tick From Your Dog

A tick can be picked up by a dog at any time whilst he is out, but is more at risk whilst playing in over grown grassed areas and woodlands. Ticks are at their most prevalent in Spring and Summer and during this time it is wise to check your pet to see if there are any attached to his skin. It is not easy to remove a tick from a dog but the sooner you notice it and remove it, the less likely it is that your dog will suffer from an infection.

There are many ideas regarding the best way to remove a tick from a dog but unfortunately some of them are a little misguided. A tick is a member of the spider family and has a very strong, barbed mouth with which it can attach itself to the skin of the dog so that it can gorge on its blood. It is not the actual drawing of blood that poses the main threat to your pet, but the risk of infection. Ticks carry, amongst others, Lyme disease. This can be transmitted to your animal if any of the drawn blood is returned back in to his system. This is due to small amounts of the tick’s saliva being present in the regurgitated blood.

The body of the tick will expand as it fills itself with blood and one of the most important points to consider is that you do not want this blood to get back into your pet. For this reason you must be very careful as you remove the tick from the dog. Do not just take a hold of its body and pull as this may squeeze the blood back into the wound.

The best way to remove the tick from the dog is to use a pair of narrow ended tweezers. Try to part the dog’s fur away from the area as much as possible so that you can get a clear view of the tick and the mouth in particular. Use the tweezers to grab hold of the tick as close as is possible to the skin of the dog. Remember not to squeeze the body of the tick. Once you have a hold of the front of the tick, pull it straight back from the dogs skin. The tick will not want to let go, as it will have the barbs securely attached to the dog. If you keep pulling you should be able to remove it. Do not try to turn it to release it as this will not make it any easier and may cause unnecessary damage to the wound. It did not twist in so it will not twist out. Just pulling it away should be enough.

Sometimes you will find that not all of the tick comes away and a portion of the mouth section is left in the dog’s skin. If this is the case, you should try to remove any leftover pieces with the tweezers but if they do not come away easily then you would be wise to seek help from the veterinary surgery. If you do manage to remove the tick from the dog in one piece, then you must immediately clean the area with disinfectant and, if you feel it is necessary, also apply an antibiotic cream. These will not necessarily kill any infection such as Lyme disease, however, and if you feel that your pet is unwell over the next couple of days you should seek medical attention for him. If you do have to take him to the veterinary practice, be sure to let them know about the tick and let them see the area where it was attached.

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about tick removal, please visit Tick Treatment Now for current articles and discussions.

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