[hotel4dogs]

Further to Tito's adventure last week that involved finding 2 ticks meandering around on his head, this morning I found one embedded on his side. So chances are it's been there about a week.
I'll pull it off with my "tick off" in a little while and save it in a vial for future evaluation if necessary.
My question is.....should I have the vet run the SNAP 4 or similar just to be safe, or wait and see if he develops any symptoms?
Advice????
I HATE ticks.

 

[paula bedard]

Gosh, I don't know. How soon after being bitten will TBD's show up in bloodwork? Is a week too soon?

I know from experience that Lyme does not necessarily show up right away. Sam had Lyme and when he presented with a randomly occurring limp and tested positive for Lyme, my Vet said that he most likely had it for some months because he showed a very quick and strong positive....yet Sam didn't have any symptoms during that time...just the new random limp I took him in to be seen for.

By random, he was fine one day and would favor his right front leg the next. This went on for about 5 days, so I took him in thinking he had an injury. It was Lyme.

 

[Sunrise]

I had a rough couple of weeks concerning ticks and did bring my dogs in for SNAP 4DX tests. It can take months for the symptoms to develop and several weeks to months for the test to show if the dog has never gotton a TBD before.

Long story short, all 3 of my dogs are on antibiotics ; Towhee and Faelan are on low doses of Doxie as a precaution, while Casey was put on another anti-biotic since he has been treated twice before for strong positives and there may be internal damage going on that is tick related at this point (he also has an enlarged spleen without any masses but his other bloodwork and urinalysis were perfect). This is an individual call though, since many vets prefer not to put a dog on antibiotics until symptoms develop; my vet knows me and my dogs and I live in CT - where TBDs are very prevalent with or without protection. Casey's kidney function is already being watched fairly closely so it is definitely wise to take precautions with him

BTW: Faelan tested weak positive so perhaps its residual but we aren't taking chances while Casey tested as a strong positive again. Both dogs were treated this past spring for strong positives and treated the standard 30 days of Doxie. These TBD are just nasty!!

 

[Ljilly28]

I found a tick on myself yesterday after spending the morning in the fields in CT. The dogs had them crawling all over. I HATE those ticks, and the scary diseases they can carry.

Humans can take a single dose of Doxy in the first 48 hours, and my vet feels this is promising for dogs too. I do the C6 test and a CBC every 6 months on top of the Snap$DX. With Tally, I've also run the full tick panel. Rocky MT Spotted Fever is huge this fall in Maine.

I think it is either give Tito a single Doxy dose as a precaution right now, or watch him closely for symptoms and then give the snap4dx when tick season is over. It's hard to determine if the Snap test is showing antibodies& a successful immune response or an active infection. The c6 tells you.

 

[Abbydabbydo]

I didn't have any trouble with ticks all summer but in the last two weeks have been pulling them off right and left. I'm going to take them both in for the SNAP 4 test in two weeks. I did vaccinate for Lymes this year,but I still worry and I know it does not work on all strains or the rest of the possibilities. And these are deer ticks I am finding, not dog ticks.

 

[Kand3]

I didn't have any trouble with ticks all summer but in the last two weeks have been pulling them off right and left.

Us too! We are in CT, and I had not seen a single one all summer. I was crediting the fact we'd had our yard sprayed (and the Advantix of course), but apparently it just wasn't a huge issue this summer. Over the last week I have found at least 10 on Bailey, two embedded. I am so worried, but our vet's recommendation is to just watch for symptoms. I just hope that's the right thing...

Are ticks generally more prevalent in the fall than summer? This is our first summer/fall with Bailey so I don't know if this is unusual or the normal cycle.

 

[Abbydabbydo]

Us too! We are in CT, and I had not seen a single one all summer. I was crediting the fact we'd had our yard sprayed (and the Advantix of course), but apparently it just wasn't a huge issue this summer. Over the last week I have found at least 10 on Bailey, two embedded. I am so worried, but our vet's recommendation is to just watch for symptoms. I just hope that's the right thing...

Are ticks generally more prevalent in the fall than summer? This is our first summer/fall with Bailey so I don't know if this is unusual or the normal cycle.

We usually have more in spring, then I don't see them much in the summer, back a little in fall. But generally after a hard frost (we have had two or three) they disappear till spring. It is the only thing snow is good for! The only reason I can think of for this year to be so bad is it has been exceptionally wet.

 

[laprincessa]

Max is on antibiotics right now because of the number of ticks I've pulled out of him - and he's on Frontline! Question - if he gets bitten again, and he has, will the current antibiotics take care of any possible disease from that bite?

I hate ticks. Evil, evil, things.

 

[Sunrise]

I think in CT they are worst when the weather dips below 40 and then gets warmer; perhaps it triggers their hatching or whatever it is they do?

BTW: an early symptom with my dogs is their temperature, so if Bailey feels warm or is acting fluish a vet visit would be called for. In addition any unexplained lameness and sometimes a wierdly reflective eye

Here is a website that give some of the symptoms to be on the lookout for concerning ehrlichia (another TBD)

http://www.doctordog.com/DrdogNewsletter/ehrlichia.html

Overall, I would strongly suggest testing every 6 months or so if you live in CT as I do, since the TBD are just downright nasty and can take your dog out in some pretty bad ways.

 

[moverking]

I think as soon as cooler weather hits, they mount a final, fierce, last attack.

Barb posted the very question I had about how soon to run a Snap4...and here's an add'l question I have....I have been lucky enough to get them pulled off the girls (and it hasn't been a bad year) way before they even begin to engorge...attached but flat. Saturday I found one on Loocie (Dog tick, I saved it) really embedded and 1/2 way engorged. Approx. 1 cm on the skin around the tick was raised, red, and firm. It was tough to get the tweezers low enough to pull him out. Looks like I got the whole head and mouthparts.

Spritzed with Gentaved.

Now over the last few days, the whole 1 - 1 1/2 cm area has scabbed over...like (and this is dating me) the old small pox vaccine scabs...remember those? Thick, serous, very raised.

Yes, 27 sentences to describe a scab...sorry. :uhoh: Just never saw that happen when I pulled one off the girls before. More reason to worry about TBD's?

 

[AmbikaGR]

Barb, to put your mind at ease I would do Snap4 now and again in 3 months. Then 6 months after that. If all are negative I would return to what you normally do, once a year I assume.

 

[Maxs Mom]

We found a tick on Teddi last week. We got it off our vet made two recommendations. One start the antibiotic that is normally recommended when they do have a TBD (I forget the name) or wait 3-4 months and run a snap 4, unless we have concerns and run it earlier.

We chose to do the snap 4 in the future and my vet set a reminder for us to come in and have it done. I didn't want to do antibiotics for Teddi, she has been on antibiotics so often with all her UTI's I get concerned she will build a resistance to them.

I too am thinking this is their last fast and furious attack. I am trying to decide if I should treat for an outing next weekend or let it go. It may be our last field/woods outing of the year, not sure I want to spend the money for one. However this is Teddi, she is a walking magnet for anything bad to happen it seems.

 

[Ljilly28]

BTW: an early symptom with my dogs is their temperature, so if Bailey feels warm or is acting fluish a vet visit would be called for. In addition any unexplained lameness and sometimes a wierdly reflective eye

Overall, I would strongly suggest testing every 6 months or so if you live in CT as I do, since the TBD are just downright nasty and can take your dog out in some pretty bad ways.

I completely, completely agree with this post from start to finish.

Even though I never see it listed as a symptom, the weird eye is a huge hallmark. Runny eyes can be anaplasmosis- that is the one we've had the most trouble with so far.

It's really important to run the CBC's if you do have a tick disease and check to make sure the white cells can do "apoptosis" properly( they get filled with inclusion matter) and that you're not getting unchecked anemias.

 

[coppers-mom]

I know nothing abut TBDs so I am no help.

Just so you know, this post is giving me the heebie jeebies......

I hope tito is fine and gets no more freeloaders!

 

[tippykayak]

I don't know what it was, but this fall was the worst for ticks in CT that I can remember. Mid-September was absolutely nuts, and it's continued right on through now. We need a good, hard frost.

If there are no symptoms, I just test every six months. Even with the Frontline, they occasionally get a bite in, and there are deer tick nymphs that are simply too small to find anyway, no matter how carefully you check. Lyme does usually take several hours of embedding to transmit, but there's some evidence that anaplasmosis goes a bit faster.

Ajax has had a couple of bites, and Comet had two that managed to embed and feed a little before I found them (he was overdue for Frontline). I even had one myself! I've found literally dozens on a couple of our early-October walks. I just can't let myself stress out about it, so I keep an eye on them and test twice a year.

 

[Kand3]

I don't know what it was, but this fall was the worst for ticks in CT that I can remember. Mid-September was absolutely nuts, and it's continued right on through now.

Good to know that I'm not imagining things with how bad it's been! It's also slightly reassuring that this is not the "norm", even for CT.

hotel4dogs-Did you decide to test Tito, or take a wait and see approach? Hope that handsome boy is ok!

 

[hotel4dogs]

thanks everyone, here's the reply from my vet: (no, we weren't using frontline )
If you are using your frontline, I would like to believe that you are off on when he picked up the tick. Frontline should kill within 48hours. In theory, takes 24-48 hours after attaching before lyme or other would be transmitted.
As a rule, anaplasmosis can test positive as early as 3 weeks, Lyme wont test positive until 2 months. Disease will not manifest until 2-3 months. So I usually recommend doing the test (yes we have the 4dx) at 2 months. If you want to be ultra careful, test at 3 weeks and 3 months (to pick up anaplasmosis earlier).

 

[Abbydabbydo]

I just called my Vet to see if I should do a course of Doxy and they are going to call me back. She said, you did vaccinate and I said well up until last year you guys always said the vaccination doesn't cover all strains so you didn't do it.

And since Finn has already tested positive (spring 2008) I don't really want to wait two months. And I for sure do not want to wait for symptoms.

 

[GoldenSail]

Wow, I never knew all this testing and prevention was such a big thing. Is that regional where you have to worry about so much ticks and disease? I grew up in Wyoming and the vets didn't have you do anything--no frontline, no heartgard (no heartworm there, too cold).... Is it routine to do testing on your dogs for such things then? Is it the humidity (whereas I live in the desert?)?

 

[Sunrise]

I just called my Vet to see if I should do a course of Doxy and they are going to call me back. She said, you did vaccinate and I said well up until last year you guys always said the vaccination doesn't cover all strains so you didn't do it.

And since Finn has already tested positive (spring 2008) I don't really want to wait two months. And I for sure do not want to wait for symptoms.

I am totally with you .. I didn;t wait but my vet is very good about TBDs - he hates them and is well up on the research since he is also an ER vet ...