Tick bite
This morning I found a tick on Shiro's paw, it probably sat there sinice yesterday morning when we went to the park. Although I check him after each walk I missed that one.
Shiro is on anti-tick medicine, but it's been almost a month since he had his dose.
So the tick appeared to be dead, but it was a bit fat and very hard to remove. In fact we burned it with a lighter to ensure it's dead and carefully removed it with tweesers. There were no parts left, but in a few hours the bite site swelled. Shiro licked it a few times, but it doesn't seem to bother him anymore.
We're going to the vet in about 8 days for routine check up and rabies booster, I'll definitely bring it up. It's Memorial day, so there's no one at the vets to answermy cal
The question is, should I be worried and take him to the vet sooner?
What are the signs of infection/lyme desease to look for?
If there is a problem I would rather take care of it asap.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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If Shiro have lost her appetite / refused to eat or have weak legs / can't stand properly then it's a very clear sign that she's been bitten. I've fostered a corgi last year thats been bitten, the tick was engorged with blood, nasty little buggers.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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From what I've read, the grayish looking ticks are the ones to really worry about - the brown/black ticks don't tend to carry the disease as often.
Some good info here:
http://www.vetinfo.com/dlyme.html
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Permalink Reply by Helen Walters on
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The ticks that carry Lyme start out about the size of a sesame seed- which makes it hard to find them. They will generally feed for 3 to 5 days before falling off. They are a reddish color with black legs. Always save any tick removed to show the vet and try to be sure you get the head when you remove any tick or the site can become infected. Brown ticks (aka dog ticks) are the most common type and can cause babesiosis, but to transmit the disease, it must feed for 2 to 3 days.
As with most diseases, the longer the tick is attached, the more likely it is to transmit a disease- if caught within a day, the likelihood of infection is significantly lowered. (My hubby just got over Lyme with some medical assistange- nasty disease.)
Anyway, watch for loss of appetite, fever, pain, lethargy. If any of these pops up, get your pup to the vet right away. And in the future, put the tick in a ziploc with a wet cotton ball to show the vet. :-) My best to you and Shiro that all is well and will continue to be!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on
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thanks guys!
Called the vet, they said the signs of disease don't show up for a few weeks anyways.
His appetie hasn't changed and he is active, sleeps as he usually would after having too much fun the day before.
The bite is no longer swallen, but he licks it sometimes.
All the ticks I found on him were brown, round and flat, no unusual shapes or sizes.
I think he'll be OK, but still will be watching for all signs mentioned here.
Ticks are a real problem here in NC, I think we'll avoid woods and parks for a few weks, and just walk in the neighborhoods.
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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You just have to keep a close eye to watch for any abnormal behavior or joint pain, like your vet said.
However, I did want to point out, never ever do anything to a tick (cover it in Vaseline, burn it with a match, etc). These things do not work to kill a tick or remove its head. All they do is force the tick to vomit into the bloodstream which will actually release the toxins. What you want to do it just get tweezers and grab the tick as close to the body as you can and pull. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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I live in NW CT, where lyme is an epidemic among both people and dogs. Whether to treat with antibiotics for any tick bite or not has been a raging debate. My vets now do the blood test, to see if they are positive, but if they are positive, they then do a full panel to see if he is actively fighting an infection (white blood, red blood counts, etc.). If the panel is normal, they don't treat, the theory being that the dog hasn't been infected or has successfully fought it. If the panel shows they are in the throws of being infected, even if they have no symptoms, they will then give the meds. My Bertie has tested positive three times -- once for lyme and twice for anaplasmosis (yet another darn tick disease) -- he took the antibiotics for the first two episodes and was negative in between, but this last time, his full panel was normal, so no treatment. He has been fine.
Also, as was mentioned above, the truly "bad" ticks are tiny -- it's my experience up here that humans who come down with lyme never, ever saw the tick that got them, despite daily checks. And, in addition, the ticks need to be latched on and sucking away for a solid 24-48 hours before they pass enough bugs to infect you or your dog. I have pulled ticks of myself several times, before they were swollen, and I have (knock wood!!!!) yet to come down with Lyme. I'm lucky, I know! Also, for humans, my doc likes people to come in anytime they've had a tick bite to have a screening test, but he points out sometimes the disease takes a week or two to develop, before they can determine whether an infection exists. I'm told if you get treated within the first month or so, you have the best chance of overcoming Lyme.
So I guess you should talk to your vet and do what makes you feel the best, really. He may not need to be treated after all.
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Permalink Reply by heather vrachliotis on
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Hello,
I am not sure if i am too late for this email - Dusty was on anti tick and we had to change it because it just did not work! at all - there are some strong things if yours dont work
saying this, Dusty had 8 ticks on him once, he was tired but ended up fine - there are chances of getting a bad tick btu you will know it as soon as his back legs stop working.
next, the swelling - ticks leave nasty scares -all the time! dusty has bumps all over from this one time in the forest.
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Permalink Reply by Lynne Cerny on
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We live in Wisconsin and lots of ticks! The big brown ones are wood ticks and can cause infection, but not the Lyme. The small red ones are dear ticks and they carry lyme. If you get them right away your are usually fine. We found a Tick puller at our vet, only about $6.00 and it works great. The ER's around here even use them to remove tick on people. The oil or hot match doesn't work. Even a tweezers is harder to use the the tick twister! Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcW3E3jNv8I
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