Do you want your dog to enjoy the best possible quality of life? Then you should know that giving your time and attention is essential to achieve this goal, since through precise observation you will be able to know when your dog is not well and when it suffers from parasite infestationwhich can be very dangerous.
This is the case of ticks, external parasites that can affect not only our pets but also us. There are approximately 800 species of ticks, but all of them are hematophagous, that is, they feed on the blood of the organism they have parasitized. Do you know that a dog can die from ticks? In this AnimalWised article we explain everything you need to know about this highly important topic.
Ticks can kill your dog
Ticks have great potential to act as vectors, that is, as parasites capable of harboring otherpathogens that are transmitted to the parasitized organism and that cause diseases.
When temperatures rise and our dog goes outside, especially in natural environments with vegetation, it enters an environment infested by these parasites and ticks can climb on the animal to feed, piercing the skin of our dog with its highly specialized oral apparatus for this purpose.
If the infestation of ticks is notorious, they can cause your dog weakness, anemia, progressive weight loss and even death by bleeding, but sadly, just one tick is enough to transmit a life-threatening disease. Ticks can cause the death of your dog due to the diseases they transmit, which could also affect you.
The most serious diseases that ticks can transmit
In this section we are going to talk about the diseases that ticks can transmit to dogs. Early detection of these diseases can predict a good prognosis for them, because if the tick has not yet attached itself, it may not have transmitted any disease. On the contrary, if they are not detected in time they could cause death.
- Canine borreliosis: More popularly known as Lyme disease, it is a pathology caused by a bacterium that mainly causes fever and joint disorders. In more advanced stages of the disease, there is involvement of the kidneys and inflammation of the heart muscle, which can cause the death of the animal.
- Hepatozoonosis: This disease is caused by a protozoan called Hepatozoon canis. It especially affects young, elderly dogs or those with a weak immune system. The tick that transmits it is the Rhipicephalus sanguineous.
- Babesiosis: This is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Babesia and which especially affects dogs. The most typical symptoms of babesiosis are fever, weakness, weight loss, restlessness and severe anemia. If it is not treated in time it can cause death.
- Ehrlichiosis: It is caused by the bacterium Ehrlichia spp and only ticks of the Rhipicephalus sanguineus type are carriers.
Although we have emphasized how important it is to warn of these diseases in time, it is even more important to prevent the presence of ticks.
You should also know that if you find a tick on your dog, it is not worth removing it in any way, since the mouthpiece could remain embedded in your pet's skin and the risk of disease transmission would continue. You must use a specific tweezers for ticks, which will allow the complete extraction of the parasite
Prevention is key
Currently there are products that are very easy to apply (generally pipettes or collars) that are capable of repelling the main species of ticks that parasitize dogs. These products have a combination of highly effective acaricides and insecticides and are not harmful to our pets if we use them properly, in addition, they come in different dosages depending on their weight Of the dog.
The pipettes against ticks offer a protection of approximately 4 weeks and we only have to take the precaution of not bathing the dog in the 24 hours after application. Discover on our site how often to deworm a dog, internally and externally.
