Spring is tick season for bird dog and owner alike.
The other night I was petting my bird dog, Trammell, when I came across two small bumps on her back. After parting her fur (she's a German shorthaired pointer, so that was relatively easy), I discovered two bloody marks just starting to develop scabs. I'd been running her in a local dog park the last few days, and despite being diligent with her Frontline application, I have consistently picked dozens of wood ticks and deer ticks off her (and me) following each trip. While I knew "Tram" was vaccinated for Lyme disease, the over-protective doggy dad I am led me to immediately get her an appointment with her vet for a look-see.
Thankfully, Trammell received a clean bill of health from the vet. While visiting, the vet also passed along some interesting bits of information.
- Ticks also carry a very serious disease called anaplasmosis, also known as "dog fever." Anaplasmosis symptoms may include arthritic-like stiffness in your dog's joints, lameness, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and even seizure. My vet has been seeing a lot of anaplasmosis this year.
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is another tick transmitted disease problematic for dogs. In fact, severe cases can lead to death. Although the disease is most common in the Rocky Mountain states, it is prevalent across the country.
- The vet also explained the difference between Frontline and K9 Advantix to me. According to my vet, Frontline kills ticks that bite your dog and K9 Advantix repels AND kills ticks. To me, the combo platter of repellant and killer made K9 Advantix sound more attractive, which led me to question why my vet didn't even carry the product. Her explanation was that a number of the clinic's dog patients had shown allergic reactions to K9 Advantix and that Frontline users never encountered those problems, so Frontline was an easier product to stock.
- My vet also recommended applying my tick preventative every three weeks as opposed to the four week-cycle recommended on the packaging. According to my vet, some research has shown the medication's power tends to fade beginning at three weeks, and she thought it'd be worthwhile for me to err on the side of over-protection considering my dog's propensity to run through thick cover and encounter a bunch of ticks.
- I also asked about the theory a tick had to be biting your dog for at least 24 hours before a disease could be transmitted. She said that was mostly false and added that some recent research concluded the primary disease agents are juvenile deer ticks so tiny they'd likely go undetected on the dog's fur before they had successfully burrowed underneath your dog's skin.
While the trip to see the doggy doc didn't come with the "entertainment" Brad Paisley sang about, it did provide me with some useful info in keeping my bird dog healthy during the peak of tick season. And, to answer the question everyone out there is wondering, "I have no idea if Tram's vet has a butterfly tattoo."
Adult Deer Tick
Thanks Brad!
