At Coyote Ridge Veterinary Clinic, we have been receiving an alarming number of phone calls about ticks recently. This is likely to do with the cool, wet weather this Spring that ticks really love. Colorado is not known for having many ticks, but every year it seems to become more of a problem in our companion animals. Here are a few helpful tips if your dog picks up ticks on your next outdoor adventure or neighborhood walk.
The best thing to do when you find a tick on your dog is remove it as quickly and completely as possible. Ticks can transmit disease after being attached for more than 12 hours. So we want to remove them before they have the chance to give our pets a disease. There are many ways to remove ticks and different tools to facilitate removal. The idea is to grasp the head as close to the skin as possible and pull with steady traction until the tick releases. If the head is damaged and left in the body, that is not the end of the world. We typically leave it for the body to push out on its own, like a small splinter.
It can take up to 6 weeks for a tick-borne disease such as Lyme, Anaplasmosis or Ehrlichiosis to show up positive on a test. In the interim, it is important to watch for common symptoms of tick-borne disease such as lethargy, fever, loss of appetite and limping/pain. If you are concerned your dog may be suffering from a tick-borne disease then schedule an appointment at Coyote Ridge Veterinary Clinic today, online or by calling 970-663-PETS (7387).