Lyme Disease: What You Need to Know as a Pet Parent
Lyme disease is more common than ever. In the last 15 years, tick populations have drastically increased, and they are no longer just seasonal; the nasty little bugs come year-round. Keeping your pet safe can be as simple as checking before entering and taking monthly tick medicines. Untreated ticks can lead to heart complications, joint disease, or permanent nervous system damage. Finding the little suckers before they can harm your fur baby is essential for their health and safety!
What Do Ticks Look Like?
The most common ticks in America are Deer Ticks or Black-Legged Ticks, primarily found in the Northeast but can now survive anywhere over 50 degrees. The blood-suckers are as small as poppy seeds and can easily hide in your pet’s folds around ears, paws, collar, and groin.
What if I Find A Tick On My Pet?
If you find a nasty tick on your pet, it must be removed ASAP. Removal can be tricky because you must remove the head and mouth first, as the tick digs head first in the skin, or else the head will be left behind, leading to worse infections. It’s recommended to use fine-point tweezers or a tick tool (see Prevention Tips below) for removal, pull slowly straight upward, then flush down the toilet. If you’re unable to remove the tick, consult with your veterinarian.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
- Fever
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Joint swelling, limping
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
The first noticeable symptom of Lyme disease in pets is limp in their walk. Another symptom most pet parents noticed was a loss of appetite. Lyme disease can be treated with a strong antibiotic from the Vet for about 28 days to flush your pup’s system thoroughly.
Prevention Tips
Flea & Tick Preventives
Pets taking tick medicines are the safest from Lyme disease; ticks cannot latch onto dogs because they die from the medication on their skin. Please consult your vet for the right product for your pet; here are some of our most popular favorites!
Tick Tools
If using tweezers is too stressful, they now have handy dandy tools to remove the ticks safely! These little green gadgets remove the ticks by hooking, twisting, and lifting the tick out.
Check out these related articles for more information on keeping Fido safe!
How to Keep Your Dog Safe from Ticks & Fleas