My dog had a huge tick. What should I watch for to know he's okay?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Bree. Good on you for making sure that she is protected from ticks. Given that the tick is not engorged, it did not feed her on, so no disease would have been transmitted. The tick needs to bite and feed to pass along disease into her bloodstream. I imagine she is quite tired from her busy day. To be safe, watch for continued lethargy, limping, joint swelling, and a loss of appetite. I hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I’m sorry to hear that Lucky ran off but I’m glad he is back with you. I would recommend bringing Lucky to your veterinarian as soon as possible to have all of his ticks removed properly. Ticks can be challenging to remove and if not done properly, can form abscesses in the skin. Ticks carry a number of diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, that can make dogs very sick and have long last effects on their organs. Some of these diseases, such as Lyme, require the tick to be on a dog for 24 hours before the dog becomes infected, so the sooner the ticks are removed, the better. Your veterinarian will want to remove all of the ticks and likely submit bloodwork to evaluate Lucky’s blood cells and kidney and liver function. Also, if Lucky is not already on a flea and tick monthly preventative medication, I recommend asking your veterinarian about starting him on a topical or chewable medication that will help prevent infection with these tick-borne diseases in the future. I hope this is helpful!

If your dog is acting normally now, I do not think a trip to the vet is necessary. Keep a close eye on Koro for any regression or backtracking. In regards to ticks, I would make sure that she has some sort of preventative, be it an oral medication, topical, or collar to address fleas and ticks. The ticks that may have bitten Koro could potentially cause disease down the line. Many of these illnesses they carry have very long incubation periods, sometimes many, many months, prior to clinical signs being obvious. Hope this helps.

Wow, that was an extraordinarily long stay on your dog. It's not uncommon for them to stay a couple of months, but 8 months is a long time for a tick to feed. I'm assuming that you have positively identified the bump as a tick, so I'll give my thoughts about this. First, don't worry. Ticks are a normal part of life for a dog and usually do not cause much of a problem. They can transmit a few different blood diseases though. There are a few different species of ticks that get on dogs and the potential for transmitting different diseases depends on the type of tick. If King had that tick there for 8 months and has been otherwise healthy, then the chance of him getting one of those diseases is rather low at this time. However, if he has been abnormally sleepy, sluggish or has been more prone to infections, then it would be good to get him checked out by a vet. We can easily test for the most common diseases spread by ticks and can also help advise on treatment and prevention plans for the future, so it's not a bad idea to go in for a regular vet consult.

Great job finding and removing the tick. The yellow material you saw as you squished the tick is likely some of the ticks internal structure/anatomy as well as the digested meal. I would just clean the site on Kona where you removed the tick with warm water and soap and monitor at this point like you said. There may be a small bump or scab or a little redness at the site where the tick attached, and this should resolve in the next 10-14 days. Lyme disease as well as other tick borne disease can cause lethargy, fevers, and joint pain. There are several tick preventative medications you can consider to prevent future ticks. Examples are Nexgard and Simparica (which are monthly oral medications) and collars such as the Preventic collar or Seresto collar.

Great questions! I would make sure that the tick is completely removed from Tupac, taking care that the head and mouth are gone as well. If you are concerned that you were not able to remove the head and mouth, I would take him into a vet now to get it removed. Monitor the bite region for signs of swelling and rash, and if you see those in that area, I would take Tupac into the vet. In addition, I would monitor him for signs of lethargy, high fever, lameness, swollen joints, swollen lymph nodes, and anorexia. If you see any of those signs, you will need to take him into the vet.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There is no need to take him to the vet due to the ticks. Be sure to get him in to the vet soon though for vaccines, start heart worm and flea/tick medications and to have him dewormed. Bring a stool sample. If he hasn’t had any vaccines yet he should be seen next week. If he has received his first vaccines (DHPP) the he needs it boosted 3-4weeks later. Good luck!