Dog lethargic, low WBC, ticks: Is it tick-borne or autoimmune disease?

There are several tick-borne diseases that could cause lethargy. These include lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiciosis and anaplasmosis. If your dog is lethargic, a visit to your vet is recommended. They can perform a good physical exam and may recommend bloodwork including testing for these tick-borne diseases. It is possible the lethargy could be related to the tick, but there are also many other possible causes for lethargy. An exam and bloodwork will help us narrow down the possible causes.

I hate to hear this is happening to Dora. I recommend to look for more exotic causes like tick borne disease and retest her for autoimmune disease. Make sure radiographs were taken of her chest, spine and neck. A painful lesion in the back/neck or heart conditions could all look like this. Work closely with your veterinarian. You may also look into thyroid levels and Addison's Disease. I hope you get a diagnosis soon!

The answer is a bit complicated. Yes, I would be concerned about tick diseases, however the test may or may not show a positive even if he did get infected with lyme disease because it takes about 4 weeks for antibodies to be high enough for the test to detect them. Furthermore, he could have been exposed to lyme disease, but have a different issue causing the signs you're seeing. So, it's definitely a judgement call -- and if your funds are more flexible testing again may give you interesting information, but if your funds are more limited, it may make more sense to just treat for tick diseases with an antibiotic like doxycycline. Of course, your vet may see something on the physical exam or general blood work or x-rays that makes them concerned about something else more than tick disease, in which case pursuing that makes sense. I know that's not horribly helpful, but hopefully it gives you some context to think about.

Those are ticks. You can purchase a tick preventative at a veterinary clinic. If your dog has a lot of ticks, that can make him anemic (ticks suck blood from dogs and that is why they are attached to the skin). Dogs can also become sick with “tick fever” from ticks. This can include lymes dz, ehrlichia, and anaplasmosis. Anemia and tick fever can make your dog lethargic. A veterinarian can examine him and run some bloodwork to see if he has anemia or tick fever. Also, if he is covered in ticks, a dip will help get rid of them. I recommend you take him to see a vet as soon as possible to get rid of the ticks and have him examined.

A tick borne disease seems likely, although depending on the antibiotic prescribed and length of treatment he may have already had appropriate treatment for most tick borne diseases. Immune mediated polyarthritis could also cause intermittent pain in multiple joints. I would recommend having your veterinarian recheck Tango when he is having trouble walking - some other tests to consider would be sending out a blood panel for less common tick borne diseases or obtaining samples of joint fluid for analaysis. Sometimes repeating x-rays can be helpful as well.

Ticks can transmit disease such as lyme disease. This can cause a rash or bruising, lameness and tremors, and generalized not feeling well--often non specific signs. I would take her to the vet to have a test ran for tick borne disease and have a CBC performed to make sure there is no signs of a decreased counts that can cause bruising. It could be inflammation from the collar but I would not risk that chance without testings due to the extreme side effects of tick borne disease.

Poor Tussie! It definitely sounds like something is wrong. She may have a tick-borne disease of some kind (even if she tested negative for Lyme disease, there are many other possibilities), a systemic illness like liver or kidney disease, or a neurologic disorder of some kind. It sounds like she's been to the vet somewhat recently for heartworm and Lyme disease testing, but I would recommend taking her back for a recheck since it sounds like she still isn't doing well. She needs a complete neurologic exam if she is still acting drunk and having balance issues, as well as a thorough otoscopic exam (possibly under sedation, if needed) since middle/inner ear infections can also cause the symptoms you describe. Blood work and additional testing for tick-borne illnesses may also be helpful if nothing else is found.