Canine Tick Diseases in Michigan

Any dog can be affected by a tick disease

Ticks are arachnids like scorpions and spiders with four pair of legs and no antenna. They live mostly in the wooded areas in Michigan and wait for a host to pass by (animal or human) to which they attach to and feed on. They cannot jump or fly.

Michigan Ticks

There are five types of ticks in Michigan called the American dog tick, the winter tick, woodchuck tick, blacklegged tick and the lone star tick.

Canine Tick Diseases

Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged deer tick, passed on by young ticks after feeding on their host (the dog) for more than two days.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans and dogs by the American dog tick. In dogs, the fever runs its course in about two weeks but can be fatal in some animals.

Dogs can get tick paralysis from the American dog tick as well. The toxin in the saliva of the tick during prolonged feeding of four days or more causes progressive paralysis.

Treatment

Once the American dog tick is removed from your dog, your dog will fully recover from paralysis within about three days. Treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease both usually involve antibiotics and fluid therapy.

References

• KNC Camp: Important Tick Information
• Dog Channel: Dog Fleas/Beyond the Bite
• Organinc Pet Digest: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever