Ticks in dogs: protection, removal and the most important diseases

You come back from a walk along the edge of the woods, run your hand through your dog's coat while giving it a scratch – and suddenly feel a small, hard spot. A tick. And if you keep looking, you find the next one, and another right after. On a lovely spring day, after a trip through tall grass, a dozen can quickly add up. For many dog owners in Switzerland this is simply part of life from spring onwards. Ticks are a nuisance, no question – but above all they can transmit diseases, and some of them get really dangerous. The good news: with a bit of knowledge and a firm routine you have the whole thing well under control. Here you get everything you need for that.

When and where ticks lurk

Ticks are not purely summer creatures. As soon as it gets to about 7 degrees outside, they become active – for us that is roughly from March and drags on into October. And because winters are getting milder, you now catch one almost all year round. So the tick season is longer than many people think.

Where do they lurk? Preferably where it is damp, shady and overgrown. Woods, and especially woodland edges, are tick strongholds, along with tall grass, bushes and undergrowth. Ticks do not jump or fly, by the way – they sit on blades of grass and in the scrub and get brushed off when your dog runs past. That is exactly why a dog that ploughs enthusiastically through the meadow and inspects every bush is a walking tick magnet. If you stay on the paths in peak season and avoid the knee-high grass, your dog already picks up considerably fewer.

Why a tick bite matters: the diseases

Fortunately most tick bites have no consequences. The problem is not the bite itself, but what a tick can transmit while feeding. In Switzerland these diseases in particular are a concern.

Borreliosis

Borreliosis, also known as Lyme disease, is caused by Borrelia, a type of bacteria. The crucial thing: these bacteria need roughly 36 to 72 hours of feeding time before they pass into the dog. A tick you remove within a day generally cannot infect it at all – which is why quick checking and removal is so effective.

Around 60 percent of Swiss dogs have already had contact with the bacteria, meaning they are seropositive. But only a small proportion actually fall ill from it: about 5 to 10 percent of infected dogs. And when symptoms do come, it is often only months later – which is what makes borreliosis so treacherous. Typical is a wandering lameness, where one leg limps today and another in a few days, together with fever and listlessness; in rare cases the kidneys or heart are affected. It is treated with antibiotics over roughly four weeks. For high-risk dogs – hunting dogs or dogs that spend a lot of time in the woods and fields – there is a vaccination worth thinking about. It does not offer one-hundred-percent protection, though.

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is also called canine malaria or piroplasmosis, and the name says it all: tiny parasites attack the red blood cells and destroy them. It is transmitted above all by the ornate dog tick (Dermacentor), after about 48 to 96 hours. The signs can be severe – fever, great weakness, loss of appetite, anaemia and a dark, almost cola-coloured urine. This is a genuine emergency: babesiosis can become life-threatening, every hour counts here, and you drive to the practice immediately. In Switzerland the disease is spreading, so it is long since no longer a purely holiday problem.

Anaplasmosis

Anaplasmosis is transmitted by the common wood tick (Ixodes) – by far the most common tick here. Typical signs are fever, tiredness, little appetite and inflamed, painful joints. Here too: if your dog seems sluggish and lame after the tick season, that needs checking out.

Ehrlichiosis

Ehrlichiosis is transmitted by the brown dog tick and is mainly a concern if you travel south with your dog – to southern Europe or around the Mediterranean. If you are planning a seaside holiday, it is best to discuss tick protection with your vet beforehand.

TBE

And TBE, tick-borne encephalitis? That is mainly dangerous for us humans – dogs rarely fall ill from it. So on your walks think about your own protection too.

Removing a tick correctly

Because the transmission of so many diseases takes hours, quick removal is one of your best weapons – especially against borreliosis. So make checking a firm habit after every walk. Run your hand thoroughly through your dog's coat and feel especially the spots where ticks like to sit:

• ears and head
• throat and neck
• armpits
• between the toes
• the groin area

Once you have found a tick, this is how you proceed:

• Take a tick hook or fine tweezers and grip the tick as close to the skin as possible, right at its head.
• Pull it out straight, slowly and evenly. Do not twist, do not jerk.
• Never squeeze the tick's body while doing so. And keep your hands off home remedies like oil, glue or heat – all of that only irritates the tick and makes it release even more saliva. That is exactly what you want to avoid.
• Afterwards disinfect the spot.

Keep an eye on the bite site for a few weeks afterwards. If a clear redness or swelling forms, or if your dog becomes listless, gets a fever or starts to limp, then go to the vet – and mention the tick bite. If a small piece of the tick does get left behind: no reason to panic, the body usually pushes it out again by itself. Just watch the spot a little more closely.

How to protect your dog

There is no such thing as perfect all-round protection, but a combination of several measures comes close:

• Tick products: vets mainly recommend spot-ons dripped onto the neck, tick collars and chewable tablets. They differ in what they work against and how long they last – so ask at the practice what suits your dog and your region.
• Checking: no product replaces the check after the walk. Those two minutes of coat check are worth their weight in gold.
• Vaccination: for high-risk dogs the borreliosis vaccination is worth considering.
• Routes: in peak season stay on the paths and avoid tall grass where you can.

It all works best together: a product that keeps the ticks away, plus the daily check that catches the ones that slipped through anyway, before they do any harm.

Costs – why prevention pays off

A tick product costs something over the season, that is true. But this expense is a trifle compared with what treating a real tick-borne disease swallows up. Babesiosis, for example, can require intensive treatment, possibly with an in-patient stay at the clinic – that costs money and is anything but pleasant for the dog. Prevention is almost always cheaper than the cure, not to mention the suffering.

This is exactly where a dog insurance policy is also worth a look: it cushions the big, unexpected vet bills if things do get serious after all. What such insurance covers and when it pays off, we have put together in a separate guide.

Stay calm – but check

Finally, the most important thing: no reason to panic. The vast majority of tick bites happen, get removed and are forgotten by the next day. You do not have to ban your dog from the woods or scrap the lovely walks through tall grass. What you need is a routine that sticks – a suitable tick product, the quick coat check after every walk, clean removal and a watchful eye in the weeks that follow. That takes the biggest scare out of the tick season, and you can enjoy spring and summer the way they are meant to be.

If you are unsure or your dog shows symptoms after a bite, the vet is the right address – you will find practices near you in our overview of services. How to protect yourself against expensive vet bills, you can read in the guide to dog insurance. And if a young dog has just moved in with you, take a look at our puppy guide too, where we have summarised the first health topics.