Even if you’re tolerant of bugs, you don’t mind a little scratching, and you’re not seriously grossed-out when you find an engorged tick absconding with your dog’s blood, there are other great reasons for keeping these varmints off your dog. Read on to learn the diseases that can threaten your dog if he gets attacked by fleas and ticks.
Anemia
Anemia is the state of having less-than-adequate numbers of red blood cells. Because the number one job of red blood cells is to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues – brain, heart, spleen, skin – everywhere – when red blood cells are scarce, so is oxygen, and that’s a dangerous state to be in.
Blood loss is the most common reason for anemia in dogs. If a dog has enough ticks, or in the case of small puppies, fleas, they can lose enough blood to become anemic. If the situation persists long enough, tissue damage and even death can occur, due to the chronic low oxygen state.
Lyme disease
Most of us have heard of Lyme disease, because it affects a lot of people. But dogs can get Lyme disease as well, and in certain parts of the United States, especially the northeast and upper Midwest, where Lyme disease is extremely prevalent, many dogs are infected.
Lyme is transmitted to dogs when a tick of the Ixodes family tick attaches itself and feeds for more than 24 hours. During this time, the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi (don’t worry, there’s no quiz at the end) gets transmitted to the dog from the tick, infecting the dog with Lyme disease.
Now here’s the catch: only about 5 – 10% of dogs that get infected with Lyme disease actually get sick from it, but those that do can contact a very serious, irreversible, and potentially lethal form of kidney disease that causes protein to be rapidly lost from the body in the urine.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Interestingly, most cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever don’t occur in the Rocky Mountains, but instead occur east of the Mississippi. That is due to the fact that the tick that transmits the bacteria that causes the disease, typically one of the Dermacentor family, doesn’t live in the Rocky Mountains. RMSF, as it is often abbreviated, causes lethargy, a low grade but persistent fever, and low blood cell counts (red blood cells, white blood cells, and/or platelets).
Ehrlichia
Ehrlichia is kind of like Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever’s little brother: it’s the tick disease that no one has heard of, but it’s actually pretty common. Just like those two diseases, it’s transmitted to the dog when a tick feeds and passes a specific type of bacteria along.
There are a few different “flavors” of ehrlichia, but they all cause destruction of one or more types of blood cells – red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Ehrlichia often doesn’t cause very dramatic illness like some other tick-borne diseases, so people often don’t really even appreciate that their dog is sick. But the disease can definitely cause symptoms, like low-grade fevers, susceptibility to secondary infections, and delays in clotting after injury or during surgery.
It’s impossible to differentiate any of these three (Lyme, RMSF, or ehrlichia) on physical examination and symptoms alone. Luckily, there is a quick and easy test that can be performed in the veterinarian’s office. Don’t ever forget to mention that you’ve recently found ticks on your dog if he suddenly falls inexplicably ill when you are in the veterinarian’s office.
Flea Allergic Dermatitis
FAD (flea allergic dermatitis) isn’t a life threatening disease, but there’s no doubt that it makes many dogs feel miserable. FAD occurs when a dog develops an allergy to components of flea saliva. These dogs are usually already prone to allergies. Dogs with FAD can undergo an immune reaction to even a single flea bite, and become intensely itchy.
FAD is an excellent reason to start your dog’s life off with high quality, dependable flea control, and continue it his whole life. That way, you’ll never have to worry about the development of a flea allergy.
Tick paralysis
Few diseases are more frightening to dog owners than those that render their dogs suddenly incapable of moving normally. Tick paralysis starts by causing paralysis in the hind end that slowly progresses towards the head, ultimately paralyzing the respiratory muscles and rendering the dog unable to breathe. One of the hallmark signs of the disease is that in the early stages, the dog cannot rise or walk, but can still wag its tail.
Tick paralysis quickly resolves once the tick that causes the disease is removed from the dog, either manually or by using a quick-kill anti-parasite product. Most dogs are clinically normal within 3 days after tick removal. But ticks can be difficult to find, and time is of the essence when this disease is suspected.
Hemobartonellosis
This is a weird flea-transmitted disease that doesn’t make most dogs that get it actually ill. However, dogs that have had their spleens removed – a procedure that must be done when a dog ruptures its spleen after massive trauma (i.e. being hit by a car) or has a bleeding tumor on the spleen – are especially susceptible. They may even experience life-threatening anemia due to the red blood cell destruction that occurs with hemobartonellosis. So be sure to practice excellent flea preventive measures if your dog has his spleen removed.
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is another tick-transmitted disease that causes affected dogs to have very non-specific signs, such as lethargy and mild fever. Blood work reveals anemia, due to the red blood cell destruction precipitated by the organism, and sometimes low platelets. Treatment isn’t easy or straightforward, and sometimes multiple antibiotics must be used.
What’s a dog parent to do?
Use tick and flea prevention! All of these diseases can be avoided by simply making sure that your dog is never bitten by fleas or ticks. And there are some excellent products on the market today that are safe, effective, and easy to use. So don’t fail to keep your dog safe from these easily prevented problems.