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Preventing Ticks on Your Pets

Dogs are very susceptible to tick bites and tickborne diseases. Vaccines are not available for all the tickborne diseases that dogs can get, and they don’t keep the dogs from bringing ticks into your home. For these reasons, it’s important to use a tick preventive product on your dog.

Tick bites on dogs may be hard to detect. Signs of tickborne disease may not appear for 7-21 days or longer after a tick bite, so watch your dog closely for changes in behavior or appetite if you suspect that your pet has been bitten by a tick.

To reduce the chances that a tick will transmit disease to you or your pets:

  • Check your pets for ticks daily, especially after they spend time outdoors.
  • If you find a tick on your dog, remove it right away.
  • Ask your veterinarian to conduct a tick check at each exam.
  • Talk to your veterinarian about tickborne diseases in your area.
  • Reduce tick habitat in your yard.
  • Talk with your veterinarian about using tick preventives on your pet.

Note: Cats are extremely sensitive to a variety of chemicals. Do not apply any insecticides, acaricides, or repellents to your cats without first consulting your veterinarian!

Kill Ticks on Dogs

A pesticide product that kills ticks is known as an acaricide. Acaricides that can be used on dogs include dusts, impregnated collars, sprays, or topical treatments. Some acaricides kill the tick on contact. Others may be absorbed into the bloodstream of a dog and kill ticks that attach and feed.

Pros:

  • Helps to reduce the number of ticks in the environment
  • Prevents tickborne disease

Cons:

  • Tick bites can cause a painful wound and may become infected.
  • When bitten, a dog may become infected with a number of diseases. This depends on the type of tick, which diseases it is carrying (if any), and how quickly a product kills the feeding tick.

Examples of topically applied products (active ingredients):

  • Fipronil
  • Pyrethroids (permethrin, etc.)
  • Amitraz

Repel Ticks on Dogs

A repellent product may prevent the tick from coming into contact with an animal or have anti-feeding effects once the tick comes into contact with the chemical, thus preventing a bite.

Pros:

  • Prevents bite wounds and possible resulting infections
  • Prevents tickborne disease

Cons:

  • Will not reduce the number of ticks in the environment (doesn’t kill ticks)

Examples of topically applied products (active ingredients):

  • Pyrethroids (permethrin, etc.)

Reference to any commercial entity or product or service on this page should not be construed as an endorsement by the Government of the company, its products, or its services.

Key Points Regarding Lyme Disease in Dogs and Cats

  • In dogs exposed to Lyme disease, 95% do not have symptoms.
  • Dogs with symptoms may have: fever, lack of appetite, lameness, and joint swelling.
  • A vaccine for Lyme disease in dogs is available. It does not protect against other tickborne diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, or babesia. Therefore, preventive measures against tick bites are still necessary.
  • Clinical signs of Lyme disease in cats have not been described, though cats are affected by tickborne diseases such as ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, or forms of babesia.
  • Never use tick repellents that are intended for dogs on a cat!

Additional Reading

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