Tick season's here: Make sure you protect your pet

Now that the snow has melted and the days are warming up, it’s time to start thinking about ticks and the dangers that come with them. My long-haired dachshund Chloe is once again my inspiration for this week’s column as it was just a few months ago that I rushed her to the vet for a high fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. Chloe, mind you, never fails to amaze me when it comes to injury or illness. She’s one of those dogs that make you say, “Really? How did you manage that?”

So as it turns out, Chloe was suffering from a tick-borne illness called anaplasmosis. Yes, my dog had gotten a tick-borne illness in the middle of January, when all of New England was blanketed in deep snow, while wearing a tick preventative! It was nothing short of a miracle. Fortunately, anaplasmosis is easily treated and, after a month of antibiotics, Chloe was good as new (for now, anyway). This definitely left me wondering, though: how can I keep my dogs safe from ticks?

Honestly, there is no way to protect your pet 100% against ticks and the illnesses they carry. You can, however, greatly reduce their chances of getting sick by keeping your pet on a tick preventative year-round, having them vaccinated against Lyme disease, and, equally important, having them regularly tested for Lyme. Another way to prevent your pet from tick-borne illnesses is simple: pet your dog. While you’re loving on Fido, feel around for any unusual bumps. Remember that tick preventatives don’t repel ticks; they only kill them after they have latched on to your pet. Checking your pet every day will not only help keep them tick free, it will help you become more familiar with your pet’s body which, in turn, will make it easier to spot a suspicious bump. Finally, if you have a long-haired dog, consider getting them a shorter haircut to make tick spotting easier.

As we’ve already established, though, no matter how hard you try to protect your pet from ticks there is no way to keep them 100% safe. That’s why it’s just as important to learn the signs of Lyme as it is to protect your pets from the disease. The downside of Lyme is that can take months for symptoms to appear. Unlike humans, your dog will not experience a bull’s eye mark from the tick bite. Dogs with Lyme disease may experience fever, loss of appetite, depression, sensitivity to touch, and difficulty breathing. One of the most common symptoms is lameness. Dogs with Lyme often experience lameness in one leg for a couple days then, after it returns to normal, the lameness will transfer to a different leg. If left untreated, Lyme can eventually lead to kidney failure and death, so it’s important to see your vet right away if your pet starts showing any symptoms. Unless your pet is severely ill, treatment often consists of just an antibiotic.  

Our shelter dogs all receive a routine tick preventative and get tick checks from the volunteers after their walks. Are your pets ready for tick season?                                                                                                                                                             

Alaina Goodnough is the Promotions Coordinator at Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH. She lives in Sanford, ME with three parrots, two cats, and two dachshunds. She can be reached at CVHS at devassist@cvhsonline.org