In the spring, with the onset of the first warm days, people who often go out into nature or work in gardens and summer cottages are faced with a serious problem - ticks. It also applies to pets who accompany their owners everywhere. Moreover, even to a greater extent.
Our four-legged friends are much closer to the ground than we are; they enjoy playing in fresh grass and even lying in it. But they are practically defenseless against an insidious enemy, while we wear special shoes, trousers and long-sleeved shirts. How to protect your dog from possible danger?
How can I tell if my dog has ticks?
Once saturated, the mites become large enough to be seen and felt like a small bump on your pet's skin.
When you return from your walk, run your hands over your dog's body to check them. Ticks tend to attach themselves to areas around a dog's head, neck, ears, and feet.
Ticks do not fly or jump, but rather climb or fall onto your dog's fur as they pass by.
I understand that it’s unpleasant for you to look at this insect, but this is exactly what a tick looks like
How to remove a tick from a dog
The best way to get rid of them is to remove them from your dog, and pet stores sell handy tick removers that make this easy.
You must be careful not to squeeze the tick's body or allow its head to become lodged inside your dog.
Squeezing the tick's body can cause blood to flow back into your dog, increasing the risk of infection. If you are concerned, seek advice from your veterinarian.
- Once you find a tick, carefully part your dog's fur so you can easily remove the tick.
- Take the tick remover and slowly push it under the tick.
- Once you have a firm grip on the tick, twist it clockwise several times until the tick comes free.
- Look at your dog's skin to make sure the tick has been completely removed.
- Get rid of the tick by soaking it in alcohol or placing it in a tissue and flushing it down the toilet before washing your hands.
Important: Never crush a tick with your fingers.
Ticks carry disease, so it is important to remove any that attach to your dog as soon as possible.
What to do if a tick bites a dog or cat
If you notice that a parasite has attached itself to your pet, the bloodsucker must be removed immediately.
Tatyana Shmonina
veterinarian, work experience - more than seven years
It is necessary to take the animal to the nearest veterinary clinic or call a doctor at home in order to properly remove the tick, treat the wound, and immediately submit the parasite for analysis. If this is not done, the bite may result in death.
If it is not possible to take your pet to the doctor, try removing the bloodsucker yourself: the procedure is practically no different from removing a tick from a person.
To do this, you will need a twister, fine-tipped tweezers or thread.
If your dog or cat won't sit still, ask someone to hold it. Otherwise, you risk accidentally crushing the parasite or tearing its body away from its head.
How to protect your dog from ticks?
If you live in an area where ticks are present, it is recommended to use a tick repellent that will either repel the ticks or quickly kill them if they attach - the longer the tick is attached, the higher the risk of your dog contracting the disease.
Spot treatments, tablets, and collars are available, and it is best to consult your veterinarian about what is best for your pet.
Important: If you have a cat, read the instructions for treating ticks very carefully. Some drugs for dogs can be fatal when used on cats.
Prevention
Agree, rather than engage in an unsafe procedure, it is better to take preventive measures and protect your beloved long-eared, shaggy, bald pet from an unpleasant operation.
Surely you yourself, despite the fact that you now know how to remove a tick from a dog, do not want to participate in such an unpleasant process.
Fortunately, today there are plenty of preventive measures dog owners can take to protect their four-legged friends from these pests:
- specialized collars;
- regular treatment of the dog’s body with special means (sprays, drops, repellents).
We hope that we were able to not only comprehensively answer the question of how to remove a tick from a dog, but also inform you about how to prevent such a situation using prevention methods.
Lyme disease in dogs
Lyme disease is a serious bacterial infection. So, if you are walking your dog in areas where there are deer or sheep, be sure to keep a close eye on your dog. If your dog has Lyme disease, you may notice:
- loss of appetite
- depression
- heat
- lameness
- swollen and painful joints
- enlarged lymph nodes
These symptoms may be present with other diseases, so if you think your pet has Lyme disease, contact your veterinarian. They can run tests to detect Lyme disease and begin treatment with antibiotics.
Diagnostics
Diagnostic measures begin with collecting anamnesis and differ depending on the type of ectoparasite. Ixodid ticks can be identified by visually inspecting the animal's body after each trip outside. The found parasite is carefully removed and sent for analysis to a veterinary clinic. Blood is taken from the dog to make a diagnosis.
If the bloodsucker is not found, monitoring the condition and behavior of the dog helps in making a diagnosis. When the first symptoms of the suspected disease appear, an urgent visit to the veterinarian is necessary for laboratory tests.
The clinical manifestations of infection with subcutaneous and scabies mites are very similar, so the diagnosis is made only after laboratory tests of superficial and deep skin scrapings. Scrapings are made in a medical facility using sterile sharp cutting objects in places where the pathology is localized. After this, microscopic examinations are carried out to identify parasites, their larvae and eggs. Depending on the type of mites detected, further treatment is prescribed.
What is babesiosis?
Babesiosis is extremely rare in Russia, and the tick that spreads it is currently found only in the south.
The disease takes about two weeks to show signs and symptoms, but some pets go undiagnosed for months or years after transmission.
If your dog has babesiosis, you may notice:
- pale gums
- bloated stomach
- heat
- loss of appetite
- they become depressed
- their skin becomes yellowish
If you notice any of these symptoms after walking your dog in a tick-infested area, contact your veterinarian and be sure to tell them that your dog may have been bitten by a tick.
These symptoms may be caused by other conditions, but your veterinarian will be able to determine the cause.
How can I avoid a tick bite?
Owners are more likely to be bitten by ticks if they walk their dogs in areas with high tick populations. Travelers and people who exercise in forests and rural areas are also at risk.
Three ways to avoid tick bites
- Wear long-sleeved tops when walking and either tuck your pants into your socks or wear long socks.
— Check your clothing for ticks and quickly brush them off if you notice them.
— Use insect repellent
Is the big white tick dangerous?
If you find an embedded tick on yourself, your loved ones, friends or pets, it can be potentially dangerous, regardless of what color it is. All blood-sucking ticks can act as carriers of various diseases, including the following:
- Borreliosis
- Encephalitis
- Monocytic ehrlichiosis
- Granulocytic anaplasmosis
- Hemorrhagic fever
- Marseille fever
What diseases ixodid ticks carry depends on the area in which they live. For example, hemorrhagic fever is transmitted mainly in the south of the country. The largest number of cases of borreliosis transmission is registered in the Moscow region. Territories endemic for tick-borne encephalitis stretch across the entire country, gradually shifting to the southern border as they move east.
Not every tick is necessarily a carrier of diseases and necessarily infects something when bitten. Whether the particular large white tick that bit you is dangerous can only be determined by having it tested. To do this, you need to remove the pest, and then seek the appropriate service from a laboratory that analyzes ticks for the presence of infectious agents.
How to remove a tick from the body?
It is best to remove them from the body. You can use tweezers or a tick removal tool. After you have removed the tick, wash the bite area thoroughly.
Ticks should be removed from your body as quickly as possible. Be very careful not to squeeze the tick's body or allow its head to get stuck inside your body. Squeezing the tick's body increases the risk of infection.
Important: Never try to burn a tick or smother it with lotions, oils or moisturizers. This may cause the tick to expel some of the blood back into you, increasing the risk of infection.
If you develop a rash around the tick bite—they often look like red rings around the bite site—or feel ill, see your doctor and be sure to tell them you were bitten by a tick. The sooner you seek help from a doctor, the better.
Possible consequences of a bite
The consequences of a tick bite on a dog are varied and dangerous. The biggest fear of dog owners is encephalitis. There is debate as to whether it is transmitted to dogs. Some experts give a positive answer. This infection affects the pet’s brain in a matter of hours and can lead to death in 1–2 days.
In addition to encephalitis, there are other infections and viruses. Amid the fear of viral diseases, dog owners forget that another consequence of a bite is no less dangerous - the development of suppuration and inflammation. If you do not remove the head and proboscis of the tick or forget about disinfection measures, the lump may swell and begin to secrete pus.
Inflammation can lead to weakened pet immunity, loss of activity, appetite, and general exhaustion. If it develops to a serious size, necrosis of tissue and some muscles close to the skin is possible.
Sometimes dogs themselves lead to the development of infection. They scratch the bite site and bring dirt into it. In this way, dermatitis, lichen, fungal skin infections and even blood poisoning can begin. If your pet constantly scratches the sore, the skin around which is often itchy, non-healing ulcers on the skin are likely to develop. And against the background of weakened immunity due to the development of infection, pets begin to develop colds, conjunctivitis, and fever.
Ticks can be intermediate carriers of helminth eggs. Once in the dog’s body, these parasites remain in it forever (in the absence of treatment), causing digestive disorders, exhaustion, and damage to the liver and biliary tract.
Diseases transmitted through ticks to dogs are destructive to health, sometimes fatal. Experts note the following most dangerous infections that develop as a result of the release of viruses and bacteria from the salivary glands of the parasite:
- Piroplasmosis. The disease develops against the background of the activity of single-celled bacteria. Microorganisms lead to the breakdown of red blood cells in the blood, which ends in death due to failure of the lungs and heart.
- Borreliosis. Leads to joint destruction, arthritis, and central nervous system dysfunction. The disease is transmitted to humans through blood (for example, through a pet bite). Here is written in detail about the Borreliosis mite.
- Bartonellosis. The disease leads to exhaustion of the body, followed by weight loss, and disruption of the cardiovascular system. Characteristic is the development of anemia, which reduces the pet’s immunity and activity. An inflammatory process in the joint area, accompanied by a feverish state, is possible.
- Encephalitis. Against the background of this disease, fever develops and disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system appear. In the terminal stage, the pet's brain fails.
How to treat a tick bite on a dog to reduce the likelihood of developing diseases? It is necessary to wash the wound with soapy water and then apply a 5% iodine solution. If you suspect the development of pathology, then you need to go to the veterinarian.
Can you get infected from a tick?
People can get Lyme disease from ticks, just like dogs.
Lyme disease is serious. So, if you walk your dog in areas with deer or sheep, make sure you take precautions to avoid being bitten.
Symptoms of Lyme disease include:
- circular rash
- muscle and joint pain
- fatigue
If left untreated, the disease can develop into conditions such as:
- virus-like meningitis
- facial paralysis
- arthritis
- nerve damage
Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics if it is caught early enough, so tell your doctor if you are bitten by a tick.
Signs of a bite
The main sign of parasite damage is a lump after a tick bite on a dog. It forms around the wound and can reach up to 1–2 cm in diameter, depending on the pet’s tendency to allergic reactions. The swelling is usually reddish and, when pressed, causes pain in the pet.
The lump does not always occur. Sometimes it simply remains hidden under the fur. There are other signs by which you can understand that the dog is in danger:
- the pet scratches a certain area (behind the ears, groin, abdomen);
- the dog has lost activity and appetite, mostly lies down;
- the dog reacts aggressively to touch, especially in a certain place;
- heat is noticeable when touched;
- the nose became dry and hot;
- The dog is constantly breathing with its tongue hanging out, although it has not been subjected to either increased physical activity or exposure to heat.
If all of the above signs occur, the dog should be examined. If the pet shows aggression (this is a normal defensive reaction for a wounded or sick animal), a muzzle is put on. Holding the dog by the collar, you need to check the main places where the parasite usually attaches itself. This is the area behind the ears, neck, especially the strip under the collar, groin, back of the paws, tail, withers. If the parasite was not found in these places, you will have to examine the dog's entire body, since sometimes the tick can infect other areas.
After a parasite bite, various nonspecific symptoms may develop. Among them:
- increase in body temperature (from 38–39 to 40–42);
- increased pet fatigue;
- refusal of food and water;
- aggression;
- problems with coordination;
- drowsiness;
- swelling of the bite area and the development of inflammation with the release of pus or redness.
These signs indicate the need to take your pet to the veterinarian.
The best treatment method is an antidote for a tick bite for a dog. The antidote is selected depending on the disease that the tick suffered. There are also universal means. Thus, some German companies produce special tablets for oral use that provide protection against encephalitis in dogs for a whole month, even in the event of a bite. However, such remedies should be used before the bite: for example, when the family is going to go to the country or relax in nature.
After a tick infestation, injectable drugs are used for intravenous administration. They provide the fastest possible action and allow you to stop the development of diseases at an early stage.
