Ticks and Lyme Disease
My-Dog.info > Dog Diseases, Bites, Worms & Ticks
The tick is a small, grayish insect that usually lives in
fields and forests, particularly around the burrows of wild
rodents (e.g., moles, voles, mice). The Ixodes deer tick is a
common vector for Lyme bacteria, the cause of Borreliosis or Lyme
disease.
Lyme disease is one of many tick-transmitted diseases. The
Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi hitches a ride
inside the tick between hosts. In dogs, Lyme disease usually
produces disease signs characterized by arthritis, though it can
less commonly involve heart, nervous system and the kidneys. The
skin around the bite, and the lymph nodes also become colonized.
The arthritic joints may become swollen and hot, and there may be
a fever associated with lethargic attitude and poor appetite.
Lameness does not commonly last very long, but may recur in
cycles. The glands (lymph nodes) of the dog may also be swollen.
It is important to note that Lyme disease is not found
everywhere that ticks are found. Your local veterinary clinic
will be able to advise you whether this infection is a concern in
your geographic area.
Prevention of a tick infestation is the best way to avoid
problems with these bloodthirsty parasites. Use of regular
(daily) inspection of the skin and hair combined with thorough
grooming, and use of repellent products in conjunction with
avoidance of the environments that ticks favour are known
effective strategies. There are vaccines to help protect dogs
against infection with Lyme bacteria.
Treatment for Lyme disease requires antibiotics. Other therapy
and nursing care may be needed.
Ticks don't like to give up their grip easily, but the hardest
part is finding them! (particularly in long, thick-coated dog
breeds). The basic principle is always the same—remove as
much of the tick as is possible. If the head is left behind in
the skin, it is less desirable since remnants may produce a bit
of an irritation reaction.
The old approach toward removal relied on application of a
burn, or an irritant such as alcohol to help the tick loosen the
mouthpart grip. Then the tick was grabbed directly at the skin
surface with forceps and removed with a quick pull. Recent
recommendations are to just spread the hairs, and without doing
anything to bother the tick, gently grasp the tick right at the
dog's skin surface, and gently but firmly apply traction at right
angles to the skin to remove as much of the tick as possible.
Wash the small dent left behind in the skin with soap and water.
Use gloves during removal because the Lyme bacterium can cause
illness in humans, and if your area is one in which the disease
is found, ticks may be infected. Note that the infected ticks do
not differ in appearance from uninfected ticks.
If a tick is removed from your pet, your veterinarian can help
with identification of tick species, and tests can be performed
to see if the dog has been infected with the bacteria.
Reprinted with permission from www.animalhealthcare.ca
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