Lyme disease is a serious public health issue for people, but did you know it’s a threat to your pets, too? Dogs, cats, and other furry friends can and do get tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme and Lyme disease co-infections.
The increased heat and humidity of recent summers have already resulted in reports of increased cases of tick-borne illness in dogs in the U.S. In fact, there are three times as many cases of Lyme disease in dogs as there are in humans. And as many experts and vets point out, since ticks and fleas can easily migrate from pets to human owners, your pets’ health is intimately linked with your family’s health.
Here’s everything you need to know about ticks, tick-borne diseases, and your pets.
Pets and ticks
Many pet owners are well aware of the threat of ticks to their pets, particularly dog owners, which tend to spend lots of time outdoors. Though tick-borne diseases in pets are most commonly found in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and the Pacific coast of the United States, they have been found in all 50 states. In fact, dog maps of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases like these from Lymedisease.org show the magnitude of risk. In other words, tick-borne illnesses can strike both pets and humans anywhere, any time.
The geography of Lyme disease in dogs. Map courtesy of Lyme Disease.org.
Ticks are attracted to animals for the same reason they’re attracted to humans: they depend on animals as sources of food. While ticks are commonly found on large animals such as deer and horses, they are just as likely to attach to and feed on dogs, cats, and smaller animals (including mice, squirrels, rabbits, birds, and even reptiles and amphibians).
Ticks are a problem for you and your pets for two main reasons:
- Ticks can make pets sick by infecting them with tick-borne diseases, like Lyme disease and Lyme co infections or anaplasmosis.
- When a pet becomes a host for fleas and ticks, those fleas and ticks can then attach to you or other members of your household and infect you with diseases.
For these reasons, it’s crucial to always check pets for ticks after possible exposure, especially if they’ve been near tick habitats.
Common tick habitats
Ticks can be a threat anywhere, even in your backyard. Some ticks are even known to be active indoors (especially in rustic cabins). However, certain areas are especially likely to be home to ticks. These are usually places that make it easy for small creatures like ticks to hide, such as:
- Tall grasses
- Thick brush
- Marshes
- Wooded areas
- Leaf and litter piles
Ticks perch on the tips of plants or debris and hold their front legs out, waiting for a potential host to walk by (a practice called “questing”). When an animal brushes up against them, they use their legs to crawl on and then look for a place to attach – i.e., bite.
To minimize risk near your home, remove any debris piles and keep areas near fences and the sides of houses clear of shrubbery, leaves, and litter.
How to check pets for ticks
Your pets’ risk of tick exposure depends somewhat on their lifestyles. For example, dogs that accompany their owners on lots of hikes or walks in nature will be at higher risk. However, since ticks can be found in backyards and close to homes, it’s essential to check your pets for ticks any time they might have been exposed.
For dogs, check:
- The feet (and between toes)
- The lips
- Around the eyes
- Around and inside the ears
- Near the anus
- Under the tail
However, know that ticks can attach anywhere on your pet’s body.
Tick-borne disease in pets
Ticks – as well as fleas and lice – carry a number of zoonotic diseases or diseases that affect both people and animals. Of these, Lyme disease is by far the most common, and of all pets, dogs are at the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease (though it is possible in cats).
Learn more about dogs and Lyme disease, other diseases to watch out for – including Lyme co-infections – and tick and disease prevention below.
Dogs and Lyme disease
Symptoms of Lyme in dogs may not be evident to owners for two to five months, or even a year or more. These symptoms include:
- Lameness – Recurring (on and off), intermittent, and/or “shifting-leg” (switching from leg to leg)
- Swollen, warm, or painful joints
- Stiff walk with arched back (some describe it as though the dog is “walking on eggshells”)
- Difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Depression
- Lack of appetite
- Less common but still possible, especially the longer the infection persists: Kidney problems and eventual kidney failure. Symptoms indicating kidney involvement include vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, weight loss, increased urination and thirst, and abnormal fluid buildups
- Rare: Heart abnormalities
- Rare: Nervous system complications
Diagnosing and treating Lyme disease in dogs
According to PetMD, your veterinarian may run any of the following tests when looking for Lyme in dogs:
- Blood chemistry test
- Complete blood cell count
- Urinalysis
- Fecal exam
- X-ray
- Lyme serology
The most common treatment for Lyme in dogs is antibiotics, such as doxycycline or other specific dog antibiotics. Treatment usually lasts for at least four weeks and may be accompanied by anti-inflammatory drugs to help with arthritis symptoms.
However, symptoms sometimes return even after treatment. In some more severe cases, kidney failure can occur. The length and nature of treatment will depend on the severity of your dog’s condition.
The earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the better the chances are that your dog’s symptoms will fully clear up without complications or organ failure.
Other tick-borne diseases threatening your pets
Lyme disease is not the only disease your pets can catch from tick or flea bites. Not only are there other diseases to watch out for, but these diseases can also infect your pet simultaneously with Lyme – called Lyme disease co-infections.
Ticks can infect pets with the following tick-borne diseases:
- Anaplasmosis – Symptoms of anaplasmosis in pets can look a lot like symptoms of Lyme disease, making diagnosis more challenging.
- Babesiosis – This is a malaria-like vector-borne illness that can be fatal.
- Bartonellosis – Also known as Cat Scratch Disease or Cat Scratch Fever, can be spread to pets by ticks, fleas, and lice, and is most often spread to humans through the bite or scratch of an infected cat. Bartonella henselae causes Cat Scratch Fever in humans. However, the cat is a carrier and does not get any symptoms. Other Bartonella species, such as Bartonella vinsonii, are transmitted to humans from dogs and can make them sick as well. Symptoms include fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, lethargy, coughing, trouble breathing/abnormal breathing, lameness or weakness that can come and go, bone or joint pain, dermatitis and/or skin lesions, and enlarged lymph nodes (may look like swelling in the neck area, armpits, or backs of knees). IGeneX recommends testing with Multi-Species Western Blots, which have very high sensitivity and specificity for detecting Bartonella-specific antibodies in patient’s serum and speciating Bartonella positive samples to B. henselae, B. quintana, B. elizabethae, and B. vinsonii.
- Tularemia – Also known as Rabbit Fever, tularemia (like Cat Scratch Disease) can be spread directly from infected animals to people.
Though each of these diseases comes with its unique causes and risk factors to consider, it is always a good idea to consult with your veterinarian about the best tick, flea, and louse prevention methods for your pets.
You should also keep careful records of your pets’ health in case exposure to the disease does occur. In order to make a diagnosis, your pet’s veterinarian will need to consider their medical history alongside new symptoms and diagnostic test results. Vets should be sure to check for Lyme disease co-infections as well.
Tips for preventing tick-borne diseases in households with pets
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- Always check pets (especially dogs) for ticks after possible tick exposure. Remove any ticks immediately and consider saving them for testing.
- Talk to your veterinarian about any flea, louse, or tick prevention products they recommend for your pets.
- Though it’s not a good fit for all dogs, consider vaccinating your dog for Lyme disease. Your veterinarian can help you decide if it’s right for your pet.
- On walks, hikes, or camping trips, keep your dog on clear trails, out of shrubbery or possible tick habitats, and on-leash whenever possible.
If any member of your family – human or pet – is diagnosed with Lyme or another tick-borne illness, you may want to test the other human and animal members of the family. It’s common for pets and humans to be exposed to disease-carrying ticks simultaneously; ticks can also spread from pets to owners.
Tick prevention is critical for keeping both human and animal members of your household safe from tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease and Lyme co infections. To learn more about preventing Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, read IGeneX’s blog on How to Prevent Lyme Disease & Avoid Tick Bites.
And if you’ve already been exposed, it’s crucial that you get immediate testing so that you can get a timely diagnosis and treatment, if necessary. Check out IGeneX’s tests for Lyme disease and more.
