Well, being a pet parent, venturing out with your doggy every day can be extremely fun for both. Not only does it strengthen your bond but also makes for a great activity for your pet pal. But as fun, as it sounds, going out for a simple walk around the block or in the park, can also make your canine companion susceptible to parasites and bacteria. One such parasitic infection making canines lethargic and reduces their appetite is Tick Fever.
What Is Tick Fever?
Tick Fever is a condition seen commonly in dogs, caused by a certain species of bacteria or parasites that spread primarily through the bite of an infected tick.
What Are Ticks?
Ticks are members of the arachnid class alongside spiders and scorpions. They have eight legs and usually thrive on blood. These tiny parasites usually latch onto the fur of dogs and then burrow deeper, feeding on their blood and transmitting diseases directly to their systems.
There are at least more than 850 types of ticks around the world but few of them are commonly found in India. The two most popular tick varieties that attack our dogs and transmit dangerous diseases to them are the Deer Tick and the Brown Dog Tick.
What Are The Other Diseases Caused By Ticks?
Ticks can often cause life-threatening diseases in dogs. Some of the most common ones affecting dogs in India include Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Hepatozoon canis infection.
What Are The Common Symptoms Of Tick Fever?
Once your pet dog is infected by the bacteria within the tick, it can often take up to 14 days for the characteristic symptoms to appear. Some of the characteristic signs and symptoms of tick fever includes:
- Fever up to 105°F (40.5°C)
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
- Swelling of face or limb
- Coughing
- Breathing difficulties
- Abdominal pain
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Inflammation of joints
- Vomiting and diarrhoea
In some cases, the infection in the dog can become severe and complicated to cause CNS symptoms like:
- Altered mental states
- Impaired balance
- Painful spinal sensitivity
How To Diagnosis Tick Fever?
Since the symptoms of tick fever are quite vague and varied in nature, diagnosis becomes a challenging task. In case, your pet show any of the above-mentioned signs and symptoms, do rush to a veterinary centre at the earliest. The doctor usually examines the pup for signs of the symptoms listed above and may recommend certain diagnostic testing procedures including blood tests, urinalysis, and x-rays.
How To Treat Tick Fever?
The veterinarian usually prescribes for a round of antibiotics for your pet doggy if he or she believes that your pet has tick fever even before the test results come back to avoid complications.
How To Protect Your Doggy From Tick Fever?
Tick fever can be prevented to a great extent by controlling the ticks, and your dog’s contact with the ticks. For this purpose, one can get prescribed year-round preventive medications from the veterinarian to help kill ticks that begin feeding on your doggy. The pet parent also needs to keep some time aside, to examine the dog for ticks each time they return home from a walk to help prevent the transmission of the bacteria to their pet or sometimes even to themselves. For this purpose, tweezers and several handy tick removal devices are available from most vets and pet stores and even online nowadays to make tick removal fast and simple.
