By Lauren Vinopal
Ticks can cause Lyme disease, Powassan virus, and even the meat sweats, but that’s just ticks on humans. Ticks on dogs are an entirely different animal. There are many tick-borne illnesses that can be especially dangerous and deadly for dogs. Applying tick prevention medications and checking pups for bugs regularly for bugs can help, but that’s sometimes not enough. Knowing what symptoms to be aware of and when to go to the veterinarian could ultimately make the difference between a dog’s life and death. From anaplasmosis to rocky mountain spotted fever, these are the signs pet parents need to look out for.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Transmitted by American Dog, Lone Star, and Wood Ticks, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is something of a triple threat for pups (and humans!). Rickettsia rickettsii, the bacterium behind the disease, acts very similarly to Ehrlichia, and infects dogs in acute and subclinical phases. But with RMSF, the acute stage is the most serious. Within two weeks of a bite, dogs may experience loss of appetite, cough, pinkeye, swelling of the legs and joints, seizures, skin lesions, and renal failure. The good news is that it can be treated with antibiotics. The bad news is that, untreated, it can be fatal.
Canine Anaplasmosis
Typically transmitted by Deer and Brown Dog Ticks, Canine Anaplasmosis is a bacteria infection that causes joint pain, fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite about one week after Fido is bitten. Veterinarians can identify it with a battery of tests, and the prognosis is pretty good if you catch the disease early and begin treating your dog with the antibiotic doxycycline. In rare instances it can cause seizures and kidney disease, both of which can be fatal.
Canine Ehrlichiosis
Canine Ehrlichiosis, otherwise known as “canine hemorrhagic fever” and “canine typhus” affected many military dogs in the Vietnam War. Transmitted by the Lone Star Tick, it comes on in three separate waves. During the acute phase (one to three weeks after a bite) Ehrlichia bacteria infect the dog’s white blood cells and reproduce inside of them. This causes fever, depression, lethargy, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, joint pain and stiffness, and bruises.
Most dogs recover from the acute phase but, if they don’t, they enter the subclinical phase which can last for months or years as the bacteria remain latent. Until the chronic phase, which can result in weight loss, anemia, behavioral problems, bleeding, eye inflammation, fluid accumulation in the hind legs. A dog’s long-term health depends on detecting the Ehrlichia bacteria in the acute phase, when it is still treatable with antibiotics.
Otherwise, dogs may need intravenous fluids or blood transfusions to survive.
Canine Babesiosis
Sadly, this does not mean your dog is such a babe that it’s diagnosable. Unlike other tick-borne diseases, Canine Babesiosis is caused by not a bacteria but a malaria-like parasite transferred by Deer Ticks that destroys red blood cells. Symptoms, which include fever, lack and energy and appetite, pale gums, dark urine, discolored stools, weight loss, and an enlarged abdomen occur within two weeks of a bite. Babesiosis is difficult to diagnose and challenging to treat, because even though drug therapy and blood transfusions can help, dogs can die from low blood pressure and shock.
Lyme Disease
Although it’s the most well-known tick disease in humans, Lyme Disease is less of a concern for dogs. Deer Ticks have to attach to a dog for 48 hours in order to pass on the Borrelia bacteria that cause the disease, and only about 10 percent of dogs exposed will actually contract Lyme. With the help of antibiotic treatment, it’s seldom fatal.
Hopefully, this information will ensure that fewer “good boys” and “good girls” become statistics.
Source: Yahoo News
