Abbey, our 7 month old corgi, gave us quite a fright yesterday morning.  I let her out of her crate and she could not get her balance, she kept falling over, like her legs were rubber.  Scared me to tears!  I called my husband and he immediately said, "She has a tick on her spine."  Well he checked her over several times and could not find anything, then as I was getting ready to haul her to the vet...he showed me a large tick that he removed from under her collar. The tick was at the base of her skull and her spine.....

When he removed the tick, she began to get better immediately.  We kept her calm and quiet for several hours.  I tried to call our vets office, but they were closed so today I will call them and tell them what happened and see what they recommend that we do for her.

We live in a very wooded area (rural living, nothing like it!) and ticks are not uncommon at all! Abbey is an inside pup, but she frequents the outdoors to potty.  I had just cleaned her ears the day before and checked for ticks, but did not think to  look under her collar.  The collar is off!  I put it on when she goes out so that I can hook her leash to it....then when she comes back in...we will be taking the collar off.

Just wanted to share this experience with you.  I hope none of you encounter the experience we had, but it definitely made  me more aware of the dangers ticks can cause.

 

BLESS YOU AND YOUR PUPS!

 

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i'm so happy abbey is ok now, hopefully your vet calls you back.  we have so many ticks in our region that we go with a lyme vaccine as well...first round done, 2nd coming up in a couple of weeks.

I would be interested to know what your vet says and if you had to go in... please keep us posted! I hope she is okay! 

Thank you.   The vet was busy when I called today, so hopefully I will get a chance to talk to him tomorrow. Abbey was feeling so much better today.  No stumbling, no rubbery legs!   

The main things I worry about are Lyme Disease (a bacterium and the immune response to it), rickettsial diseases (humans get Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, maybe some others) but your symptoms suggest tick paralysis, wherein the tick secretes some enzyme or venom that renders paralysis which can be quite serious and resolves promptly after the tick(s) are removed.  Google tick paralysis, might be interesting.   We use Advantix when we go the the east side of the Cascades.

Thank you for your comment, John. I did read about tick paralysis last night.It was so strange, for as soon as hubby removed the tic, Abbey began to get better.  Today she is a happy pup!

So sorry to hear that, I had a foster dog who went thru the same thing, a round of rx from the vet fixed it, she was weak and was not able to walk too. no worries.

Very glad to hear she is doing so much better.  We live in a high tick area also.  Max had Lyme before we got him and was treated for it.  Both dogs get the vaccination.

Well, once again I called the Vets office to get his advice about Abbey and the Tick.  He was gone to a class reunion!  I guess hubby and I removing the tick, and cleaning the area well, is sufficient for now.  I will try one more time to contact him.  The advice I was given by his co-worker was to get a tick preventative  called ADVANTIX.  It was highly recommended...do any of you use this preventative or some other product?  I would appreciate any input.

http://www.vectrapet.com/dog

We had vectra recommended and ordered through our vet.  It has worked phenomenally!

We use Frontline Plus and it works well for us. She should definitely be on a preventative of some kind IMO, especially if you live in a wooded area. I think Advantix is very toxic to cats, so if you have any that may be of concern.

Yes, we use Advantix -- fleas and ticks -- Neither are a problem for us in Seattle, but I apply it before going to the east (dry) side of the Cascades, where the large (wood/dog) ticks are abundant, but these are not the small deer ticks that vector Lyme disease.

It is important to understand the biology of Lyme Disease -- I do not, but I thought it was a matter of the immune system overreacting to the bacterium than the the bacterium itself -- the bad effects of Lyme disease being an autoimmune disease, rather than direct effects of the bacterium itself.   ??

Hope Abbey is still doing well.  I would leave a message for your vet to call you back!!  :)

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