Discussion
Found a lump on the dogs leg earlier today - about the size of a baked bean but purplish in colour. Long story short - took her straight down to the vets, who immediately identified it as a 'sheep tic'. The vet removed it but said they are quite common (approx 60% of dogs have or had them i think she said?). I also bought a tic removing tool incase we find any more.
Anyway, just been reading up on tinternet about how the tic can lead to Lyme disease
. Rather than just read what is written on the web and scare myself s
tless - can anyone offer any real advice on what can be done to avoid these aliens 
Anyway, just been reading up on tinternet about how the tic can lead to Lyme disease
. Rather than just read what is written on the web and scare myself stless - can anyone offer any real advice on what can be done to avoid these aliens Tick with a k - otherwise we're talking about ovines with spasms. 
http://www.brecon-beacons.com/lyme-disease.htm
Some useful info here. Best to check the dog before putting it back in the car, the longer the ticks are attached the more likely it is that something nasty will happen.
http://www.brecon-beacons.com/lyme-disease.htm
Some useful info here. Best to check the dog before putting it back in the car, the longer the ticks are attached the more likely it is that something nasty will happen.
Our cat picked one up a few weeks ago, did same as you and took it too the vets as we didn't have a clue what it was.
Vet just told us to keep an eye on him and use frontline.
bit more info on there site : http://uk.frontline.com/flea-and-tick/ticks/Pages/...
Vet just told us to keep an eye on him and use frontline.
bit more info on there site : http://uk.frontline.com/flea-and-tick/ticks/Pages/...
Luckily Lymes disease is relatively uncommon in animals, however I believe sl higher risk up north.
The important thing is timing, so prompt removal of the tick (without squeezing) will greatly reduce the risk of any blood bourne disease it may carry being spread from tick to animal. Also older fashioned methods such as smothering with vaseline is not advised, it will kill the tick but it will increase the risk of the tick releasing toxins into the animal.
I'm based in Bristol and we see dogs on a daily basis with ticks, the nurses remove them foc, very occ antibiotics are needed if the area gets infected.
I've only ever known of one dog diagnosed with Lymes disease and that was years ago after the dog had been to Dartmoor.
Frontline will kill the ticks within 24hrs but they may not always drop off. Daily checking and manual removal. Some swear by garlic but it is a bit controversial as garlic (and in the same family onions) can be potentially toxic to dogs (causing anaemia) though much more of a risk with onions and I think the doses used with garlic as a flea and tick repellent are very low compared to the toxic risks. However this is still an area I don't know enough about and has no proper scientific testing that I can find so that's something you could look into yourself.
The important thing is timing, so prompt removal of the tick (without squeezing) will greatly reduce the risk of any blood bourne disease it may carry being spread from tick to animal. Also older fashioned methods such as smothering with vaseline is not advised, it will kill the tick but it will increase the risk of the tick releasing toxins into the animal.
I'm based in Bristol and we see dogs on a daily basis with ticks, the nurses remove them foc, very occ antibiotics are needed if the area gets infected.
I've only ever known of one dog diagnosed with Lymes disease and that was years ago after the dog had been to Dartmoor.
Frontline will kill the ticks within 24hrs but they may not always drop off. Daily checking and manual removal. Some swear by garlic but it is a bit controversial as garlic (and in the same family onions) can be potentially toxic to dogs (causing anaemia) though much more of a risk with onions and I think the doses used with garlic as a flea and tick repellent are very low compared to the toxic risks. However this is still an area I don't know enough about and has no proper scientific testing that I can find so that's something you could look into yourself.
Edited by bexVN on Monday 23 July 19:20
Thanks for the replies and links
Cheers Becky for putting my mind at rest. The vet didn't sound too concerned, but did advise re keeping an eye out for infections etc... it was only after i did an internet search, that i realised the concern about Lymes disease.
Anyway, FOC Becky? You could be onto a moneyspinner!! Try £10.40 + £4.00 for the tool = total £15.40 at my Vets
Cheers Becky for putting my mind at rest. The vet didn't sound too concerned, but did advise re keeping an eye out for infections etc... it was only after i did an internet search, that i realised the concern about Lymes disease.
Anyway, FOC Becky? You could be onto a moneyspinner!! Try £10.40 + £4.00 for the tool = total £15.40 at my Vets
We do charge about £4 for the tick removers but we don't force people to buy them and we will remove ticks more than once from the same animal if needed.
If owners aren't sure what they are seeing we will book with a vet, if it is a tick it's still foc.
Customer service is what we work towards always and this is a little part of it
If owners aren't sure what they are seeing we will book with a vet, if it is a tick it's still foc.
Customer service is what we work towards always and this is a little part of it
Not to scare you, because it's very rare... But our German Shepherd may have gotten Lyme Disease from a tick.
She only had ticks once in her life - after we took her for a run around Loch Lomond about 10 years ago. Over the next few days we found and removed about 5 ticks.
About 2 months later she woke up one morning with both back legs basically dead. She was dragging them behind her. We rushed her to the vet who found nothing wrong... And the next year was basically spent taking her to every vet we could find, getting every test and scan done that was possible, etc. They found nothing at all and said it could be some kind of undetected spinal damage.
It was only a couple of years later that we found out that Lyme Disease can cause similar symptoms in dogs - I don't know if we could have done anything to help her if we knew earlier, but maybe.
She did recover eventually, although after spending nearly a year in a crate to confine her movement and having no significant exercise she never fully got her strength back.
But I still wouldn't worry, it's very rare and I know dogs that get ticks constantly without any ill effect.
She only had ticks once in her life - after we took her for a run around Loch Lomond about 10 years ago. Over the next few days we found and removed about 5 ticks.
About 2 months later she woke up one morning with both back legs basically dead. She was dragging them behind her. We rushed her to the vet who found nothing wrong... And the next year was basically spent taking her to every vet we could find, getting every test and scan done that was possible, etc. They found nothing at all and said it could be some kind of undetected spinal damage.
It was only a couple of years later that we found out that Lyme Disease can cause similar symptoms in dogs - I don't know if we could have done anything to help her if we knew earlier, but maybe.
She did recover eventually, although after spending nearly a year in a crate to confine her movement and having no significant exercise she never fully got her strength back.
But I still wouldn't worry, it's very rare and I know dogs that get ticks constantly without any ill effect.
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