Summer Safety Alert: Tick-borne Disease

The warm weather is finally here in Chicago. And along with the birds and the bees, ticks have woken from their winter slumber. These smaller, slow-moving cousins of the spider emerge from leaf-beds and wait for the next animal to walk by. They then latch on for a delicious meal of blood from its new host. This is both creepy and dangerous as many ticks transmit disease. Most notably, the Deer Tick can transmit Lyme disease. This bacterial disease is most likely to be spread during the months of June through September. 1 in 38 dogs in Cook County now test positive for Lyme exposure.

Lyme disease in dogs differs greatly from Lyme disease in people. In people, signs develop within the first few weeks of a tick bite and include rash, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, nerve and heart abnormalities. In dogs, the signs take much longer to arise – from several weeks to several months – and include joint pain and kidney disease. Luckily, if caught in time, Lyme disease in dogs can be treated with antibiotics.

Blood testing for Lyme disease is readily available. However, the test can only tell us whether the dog was exposed to Lyme disease. When a dog is Lyme positive, your veterinarian can help you determine whether he or she is actively infected. When disease is confirmed, antibiotics will be recommended.

If your dog spends time in a wooded area, or lives in a patch of the city where there are ticks, prevention is the key. This can be achieved either by vaccination and/or topical tick preventatives.

The most potent tick preventative we offer is Parastar Plus. This is similar to Frontline, which many dogs have used, but has an added ingredient that rapidly kills ticks. Parastar Plus cannot be used on cats.

We also offer a Lyme disease vaccine that is given on a yearly basis. For dogs encountering a heavy tick burden, the vaccine is a good idea.

Every dog’s situation is different and your veterinarian can help you determine whether Parastar Plus, the Lyme vaccine or both would be best for your dog. Feel free to call us or stop by our clinic, and we can help you decide.