Dog Diseases That Are Caused by Ticks

Ticks can transmit a number of diseases to your dog. Because they attach themselves so firmly and stay on a dog for so long, ticks are capable of infecting dogs with such diseases as Lyme disease, Rocky
Mountain spotted fever and canine ehrlichiosis, among others. These maladies are often misidentified as other conditions, making it imperative that you bring the animal to the vet.

Types

There are a handful of common tick species in the United States capable of infecting a dog with disease. The deer tick can give your dog Lyme disease, and the western black-legged tick can as well. The brown dog tick is a transmitter of canine ehrlichiosis. The lone star tick gives pets canine ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The American dog tick is also one that can give your dog Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Features

The deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick, is the culprit when it comes to Lyme disease and your dog. Lyme disease is precipitated by a bacterium and is transferred into the bloodstream of your dog when a deer tick bites it and stays attached for any length of time. Lyme disease is as hard to recognize in dogs as it is in people, but in severe cases it can result in kidney failure. Repeated bouts of lameness that come with loss of appetite are symptoms and your dog will not want to get up and move about due to the pain. Stiffness when walking is a feature of a majority of these tick-borne diseases.

Effects

Canine ehrlichiosis is another disease that bacteria are responsible for and that ticks can give to your dog. It is equally as hard as Lyme disease to figure out and has symptoms such as a runny nose, loss of appetite, swollen glands, depression and nose bleeds. Ehrlichiosis that is left untreated can kill your dog. It can progress to a symptom-free stage that can affect your dog for months and years before reappearing.

Considerations

Canine anaplasmosis has been called dog fever or dog tick fever. It comes from another bacteria and can infect your dog through a deer tick bite. Another form of the disease is borne by the brown dog tick. It results in joint stiffness and high fever, with diarrhea and vomiting as well as potential seizures and neck pain. Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be given to your dog by a trio of tick species and lasts around 2 weeks. It can kill in its severe form. Telltale fever symptoms, stiffness when walking and lesions on the skin are sought when trying to identify this disease in your dog.

Geography

Lyme disease is most often seen in the northeastern United States, the mid-Atlantic states, north central states and California. Canine ehrlichiosis is found throughout the entire country; it is most frequent in the American southwest and Gulf Coast region.
Canine anaplasmosis is also another tick-related disease of dogs that happens across the whole country. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is not just limited to the states where that mountain range is located. It can be found throughout the nation.