At the latest, when the first flowers bloom and spring awakens, ticks become active again. In the United States, common ticks such as the wood tick and the brown dog tick lurk in tall grass and underbrush, targeting their favorite victims – dogs. A tick bite in dogs can transmit dangerous diseases like tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, or anaplasmosis. The right tick protection, vigilant eyes, and tools for emergencies will safely guide your dog and you through tick season. Read on to learn how to recognize a tick bite in dogs and how to respond correctly.

Ticks and Tick Bites in Dogs: How does a tick get on a dog?

As soon as the weather warms up, the dreaded tick season for dog owners begins. However, ticks don’t follow the calendar; they only need a pleasant outside temperature of around seven degrees Celsius to become active. If you live with your dog in a consistently warm area or vacation there, tick season lasts all year round!

Ticks (Ixodida) belong to the class of arachnids and the subclass of mites, parasitically feeding on the blood and lymph fluid of their hosts. You can recognize them by a triangular flattened body with eight clearly visible long legs and a small head with mouthparts. They range in color from dark brown to reddish-brown, with some tick species having markings on their back or a so-called shield (“hard ticks”), while others are shieldless (“soft ticks”).

If you take a closer look at a tick, you can clearly see its mouthparts, which are pincer-shaped at the head. Hidden between these “pincers” is the actual piercing tool with which the tick takes its blood meal and simultaneously holds onto the host. Correctly, the so-called tick bites are actually tick stings.

The tick goes through several stages before becoming fully grown: it first lays eggs outside the body of its host (for example, in the dog’s bed), from which larvae hatch. These develop into nymphs, and finally, they become adult ticks.

In all three stages, the tick is an active parasite that bites dogs, humans, and other animals to continue its development. To detect larvae or nymphs on the dog, more than just good eyes are needed because they are just small dots on the skin of our four-legged friends. An adult tick, on the other hand, is easily visible with the naked eye with some experience, provided your dog’s fur allows for easy visibility.

Once the tick has engorged itself with a blood meal, it is unmistakable with its gray, swollen body. Fully engorged female ticks can reach a size of up to 3 cm.

Preferred places for ticks are forest edges, meadows, clearings, and parks. There, they sit on tall grass blades, low-hanging branches, and bushes, extending their front legs equipped with special sensory organs to grab passing victims. They are alerted by scent (sweat), vibration, and changes in CO2 levels in the air (breathing) and immediately drop onto the potential victim. Certain tick species are active “hunters” and actively seek out their prey.

Our dogs are particularly affected by the tick plague because they love to explore tick-infested areas. However, ticks also target humans and other animals such as cats, hedgehogs, birds, mice, rats, sheep, and many more. However, ticks are typically specialized on specific hosts, preferring them over all others. This can be explained by the fact that ticks have developed a sophisticated anesthesia tailored to the immune system of their specific host.

Once on the dog, the tick seeks a suitable place to bite. Preferably, these are thin-skinned and well-vascularized areas such as the head, loin area, ears, or belly.

Our fear of these tiny bloodsuckers is justified because tick bites in dogs and humans transmit more pathogens than any other type of parasite. Worldwide, there are around 900 species of ticks, but only about 40 are native to the US. However, dogs in this country mainly deal with two tick species: the wood tick and the brown dog tick.

What happens during a tick bite?

After the tick has chosen a suitable location on the dog’s body, it scratches the skin with its mouthparts and pierces the created wound with its piercing rostrum. There, it sucks in the accumulating lymph and cell fluid as well as blood. Hard ticks have a long rostrum with barbs with which they attach firmly to their host. During this process, the tick immediately releases a secretion with various active ingredients.

Active ingredients contained in the tick’s secretion:

Certain pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and other parasites can live in tick bodies, which inhabit the tick as an intermediate host. The tick became infected with these fellow inhabitants during one of its previous meals from a diseased victim. During its blood meal, the tick releases undigested blood remnants from its gut into the dog’s wound. At this point, the mentioned pathogens change their host and can now lead to dangerous diseases in your dog’s organism.

A blood meal of an adult male tick lasts a few days and is relatively small since the male only needs blood for its own nutrition while waiting for a female. Adult females, on the other hand, can suck at the injection site for several weeks, as they need more blood for egg production.

The risk of infecting the dog with the pathogens from the tick is given after approximately three hours. The tick needs this time to expel the undigested remnants of its blood meal, including the pathogens from its gut, into the host’s wound. With every hour the tick feeds on the dog’s blood, the risk of infection increases. Therefore, it is crucial to remove the tick immediately once you have spotted it on your dog!

Tick species and diseases: How dangerous is a tick bite in dogs?

Pathogens that ticks can transmit to your dog with their saliva are to be taken very seriously, as they can cause severe canine diseases. The most dangerous for dogs in the United States are the wood tick and the brown dog tick. The latter loves warm and dry conditions, and it loves dogs.

The Brown Dog Tick and its Pathogens

For a long time, the Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) was considered native only to the Mediterranean region, and the few specimens introduced to the US were thought to be non-viable. This assessment has proven to be incorrect in recent years. Due to climate warming and the high number of imported dogs, the Brown Dog Tick is advancing and has assimilated in many areas in the United States.

The Brown Dog Tick is consistently reddish-brown and approximately 1-3 millimeters in size. Engorged females can reach a size of up to 1.2 centimeters.

The entire life cycle from larva (about 0.5 millimeters) through nymph (about 1 millimeter) to adult tick takes place on the dog’s body. The ground and dog resting places serve for egg-laying. Brown Dog Ticks are highly mobile, traversing the living spaces of their hosts to “overwinter” there. They can survive for up to a year without a blood meal.

The Brown Dog Tick can transmit Canine Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis), Anaplasmosis (Canine cyclic thrombocytopenia), and Babesiosis of the species Babesia canis vogeli. All three are feared canine diseases and are now present at varying levels of prevalence throughout the US.

Ehrlichiosis, also known as “tick fever” and “Mediterranean fever” in dogs, is a disease caused by bacteria of the Rickettsia type. They infect white blood cells (leukocytes) in your dog’s organism and block its immune system, which cannot attack them. The symptoms of Ehrlichiosis are very diverse, starting with an acute phase, which transitions into a subclinical, symptomless stage within two to four weeks, and then progresses to a symptomatic chronic stage.

Watch out for the following symptoms of Ehrlichiosis in the acute phase (up to three weeks incubation period after a tick bite):

As Ehrlichiosis has a symptomless stage, it is not always detected in time and tends to develop into a chronic illness. Babesiosis of the species Babesia canis vogeli progresses relatively mildly and is still rare in the US but is widespread as a co-infection with Ehrlichiosis in the Mediterranean region, France, North Africa, and South America.

Anaplasmosis was previously classified as Ehrlichiosis. However, recent research has revealed that this disease involves bacterial agents of the Anaplasma type. The symptoms are similar to Ehrlichiosis. Occasionally, affected dogs may show no visible symptoms other than fatigue. The Anaplasma bacteria infect specific white blood cells: granulocytes. The disease worsens through co-infections with Babesiosis and Ehrlichiosis.

There are no vaccines available for dogs for all three diseases. Prevention is exclusively through tick prevention measures.

The Common Wood Tick and Its Pathogens

The Common Wood Tick (Ixodes ricinus) is somewhat larger than the Brown Dog Tick and transmits pathogens causing Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), and anaplasmosis.

While dogs rarely contract TBE, Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in dogs in our latitudes.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia, with an incubation period ranging from two weeks to five months. Symptoms of Lyme disease are initially nonspecific and gradually worsen.

When suspecting Lyme disease, pay attention to the following:

The hallmark symptom of Lyme disease is called erythema migrans, a red ring around the tick bite site. However, this is rarely perceived in the dense fur of the dog (or with dark skin pigmentation).

In severe cases, neurological damage can persist, or the disease takes a chronic course. In some instances, Lyme disease can be fatal for the dog.

While there is a Lyme disease vaccine, it only covers a few of the possible Borrelia bacterial strains. It is considered insufficient, so you should by no means forego additional tick protection for your dog.

Tick Bite in Dogs: When to See a Vet?

If you discover a tick bite on your dog, quick action is required. Remove the tick gently with a specifically designed tick tool. Monitor your dog closely in the following days:

Our guides provide general information and cannot replace an individual examination in a veterinary practice. Therefore, they should not be used as the sole basis for health-related decisions. For dog illnesses and the use of medications, always consult veterinary professionals. The iHugDogs team is also happy to assist you quickly, uncomplicatedly, and, above all, stress-free during an online visit.

What to Do After a Tick Bite in Dogs?

It’s challenging for a dog owner to prevent their four-legged friend from exploring in the undergrowth, meadows, and under bushes, especially since these places are the natural habitat for your dog and bring him great joy. Therefore, thorough aftercare is necessary after every walk, especially between March and October.

Aftercare includes thoroughly checking the dog’s coat for parasites. Brush your dog thoroughly and then rub him down with a white, slightly damp towel. Look for crawling brown to reddish-brown tiny creatures or already attached specimens on the head, belly, in the groin area, on the ears, and don’t forget the toe spaces. If you find an attached tick, use specialized tools for the professional removal of the parasite. Remove the tick immediately. Various tick tools are available in pet stores, such as tick forceps or tick loops. Experts recommend the tick hook, which comes in two sizes. With it, you can effectively and painlessly remove ticks, even in sensitive areas of the dog’s body.

iHugDogs Expert Tip:

“A tick wanders on the dog before it bites. This can take several hours. Therefore, every evening after the last walk, check your dog for small ticks. A flea comb works well for this. Sometimes, you can prevent a tick bite.”