Not a deal - a Tick Question

[Cin42382]

I'm hoping someone here has had some experience with Ticks. I have a 1 year old Silky terrier. She's a house dog, uses puppy pads in the house , and only goes on walks a few times a week. We still give her Frontline once a month because we live in an area with lots of Deer.

On Thursday she was sitting with me and my BF and he noticed a black spot on her back leg. When we looked closer, we saw it was a tick. She had one on each of her back legs, but after checking her entire body that was all there was. We took them off and burned them (apparently thats how you kill them?). Now we are worried because a few inches above where the tick was there's a raw circle or some sort of irritation . Over the weekend it was slightly red around it and we started getting worried about Lyme Disease - we heard that if it looks like a bulls eye this could be it. But now its just one mark, and she already had her Lymes shot last summer. She's not due again until August.

Should we be worried? I am very obsessive about her, she's my baby and when we first got her we had her at the vet way too often because we were worried she was sick - we got her from a store that was far from sanitary.

I've never seen a tick before so im not sure how to handle this.

[purplefdu]

When my eldest got Lyme he didn't move for almost two days before my parents called me to tell me I needed to get him to the vet (they thought he was just having hip problems or depressed I was gone). His front leg joints swelled and were painful, and my dad ended up carrying him up and down the stairs to go outside. If she seemed normal after she was bit I wouldn't worry too much, but you could always call the vet and ask their opinion.

The important information is what the tick looked like and how long it was attached (Lyme is not thought to be transmitted for around 24hrs). Try using these links to help:
Tick Identification Key
Tick identification pictures and descriptions

In the future put the tick in a small container with some rubbing alcohol in case you need to visit the vet. We never found the tick or bite mark from my eldest, but he's a hairy beast.

[Cin42382]

Thank you so much. She seems ok, sleepy today, but shes moving around find. She was also playing with my parents dogs yesterday so thats problem why shes lazy today. Im going to take a look at those sites. Thanks again :)

[StephanieNiicole]

Hi,
I am a Vet Tech, and unfortunately run across Lyme disease all the time. An animal can become infected, yet not be symptomatic for several months to a year! There are also a couple other tick-borne diseases that our little friends can get (namely, Anaplasmosis and Erhlichiasis among others). Anaplasma and Lyme are both transmitted from a deer tick, but Erhlichia is not, so you should be aware of all ticks found on your pet. Your vet may have an in-house test called a 4DX that tests for heartworm, lyme, anaplasma and erhlichia and luckily it is a very quick, quite accurate 10 minute test. However, it can take up to 6 weeks for a positive test to appear (i.e. Fluffy may have gotten Lyme, but the test would not show up as such for several weeks after).

As purple mentioned, extreme lameness is often the most recognizable symptom. Also, keep an eye on her behaviour, appetite, drinking habits etc and make note of anything out of norm. If you are concerned, feel free to call your vet and inform him/her that you did find a couple of ticks and to schedule a time in the future to test for such diseases.

You don't need to be afraid of the consequences of contracting dick-borne diseases, as if they are caught and treated (with antibiotics), everything should be just fine. Of note, my dog was just diagnosed with Lyme, and she showed no symptom that we recognized at the time. In retrospect, last summer she was acting off, not wanting to run or swim as much, and we had attributed it to her getting old. She is doing just fine on the antibiotics. Keep in mind that untreated, those diseases can lead to a host of other problems, so a yearly screen for them is ideal to catch any while they are not an issue.

The Lyme vaccine does not prevent lyme disease. It does, however, lower the chances of contracting it and, should your dog get it, the symptoms will be less severe (just like Frontline, which is a great product, isn't foolproof. Sometimes those little buggers get through). You are doing great! Just think, I have a client who does not use FL, and she takes 15-20 ticks off PER DAY from her dogs, and her family has had to be treated several times as humans can also contract Lyme.

Sorry for being long-winded, and I hope I didn't end up confusing you more. If you have any further questions or concerns, I'd recommend you contact your vet to have them addressed.

Take care!