Tick Bites on Dogs - How You Can Protect Your Pet

As soon as the temperatures start to rise, the dreaded tick season begins. Ticks don’t follow a calendar; they just need a comfortable temperature of around 7°C to become active. If you live in a consistently warm area or are on holiday, then “tick season” can last all year round!

Ticks (Ixodidae) are arachnids and belong to the subclass of mites that feed parasitically on the blood and lymphatic fluid of their hosts. You can recognize them by their triangular, flattened body with eight long legs and a small mouth area. They range in color from dark brown to red-brown. Some species have a shield (hard-bodied ticks), while others do not have an exoskeleton (Argasidae).

If you closely examine a tick, you can clearly see its mouth, which have parts that are shaped like pincers at the end of its head. The actual piercing tool is hidden between these “pincers” and is used for feeding while also holding onto the victim. Thus, the term “tick bites” actually refers to the tick piercing through the skin.

Ticks go through several stages before they become fully grown. They lay eggs outside the host (e.g., on the dog bed), which hatch into larvae. These larvae develop into nymphs, which eventually become adult ticks. Ticks are active parasites during all three stages, biting dogs, humans, and other animals to continue their development. The larvae and nymphs are small and hard to spot, but adult ticks can be seen relatively well with the naked eye, provided your dog’s coat allows for easy viewing. Once the tick is full of blood, it will be easy to see, with its grey, bulging body. Fully fed female ticks can reach up to 3 cm in size.

Ticks prefer to live in locations like the edges of woods and forests, meadows, clearings, and parks. They sit on high grass stalks, low-hanging branches, and in bushes, reaching out with their forelegs equipped with special sensory organs to detect passing victims. They are alerted by odors (sweat), vibrations, and changes in CO2 levels (breath), allowing them to drop onto potential victims. Some tick species are active “hunters” and search for victims themselves.

Dogs are especially affected by ticks because they love to explore tick-prone areas. However, humans and other animals like cats, hedgehogs, birds, mice, rats, and sheep are also prey for ticks. Generally, ticks are specialized in specific hosts, and they have developed sophisticated anesthetics tailored to the immune systems of their specific hosts.

Once a tick lands on a dog, it searches for a suitable spot to bite, preferring thin-skinned areas that are well-supplied with blood, like the head, lumbar region, ears, and stomach. The fear of these bloodsuckers is justified because tick bites in dogs and humans transmit more pathogens than any other type of parasite, except for mosquitoes. Globally, there are around 900 species of ticks. In Europe, there are three main tick species: the wood tick, the alluvial forest tick, and the brown dog tick.

Protecting Your Dog from Tick-Borne Diseases

Ticks can carry pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and parasites, using the tick as an intermediate host. These pathogens may be acquired during a previous feeding from an infected host. When feeding, ticks release undigested blood residues into the dog’s wound, transmitting these pathogens and potentially causing serious illnesses.

Feeding Habits of Ticks

• Adult Male Ticks: Require only a small blood meal for sustenance while waiting for a female.
• Adult Female Ticks: Can feed for several weeks, needing more blood to produce eggs.

The risk of infection begins approximately three hours after the tick starts feeding, as it disgorges undigested blood and pathogens into the host’s wound. The danger increases with each hour the tick remains attached, making prompt removal crucial.

Diseases Transmitted by Brown Dog Ticks

• Canine Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis): Caused by Rickettsia-type bacteria, attacking white blood cells and impairing the immune system. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, muscle twitching, and heavy breathing.
• Babesiosis (Babesia canis vogeli): Runs a mild course and is rare in Central Europe but common in the Mediterranean, France, North Africa, and South America.
• Anaplasmosis: Similar to ehrlichiosis, caused by Anaplasma bacteria, attacking granulocytes. Symptoms include exhaustion and worsen with cross-infections.

Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs: Symptoms and Prevention

Symptoms of Tick-Borne Diseases

The main symptom of tick-borne diseases is a reddish rash around the bite site, which is often hard to spot due to your dog’s thick coat or dark skin pigmentation. In severe cases, neurological damage may occur, leading to chronic illness or even fatality. While a borreliosis vaccination exists, it only covers a few Borrelia strains and requires additional tick prophylaxis.

If you notice these symptoms, take your dog to a vet immediately.