Source: Ottawa Citizen

Q: My wife and I spend almost every weekend up at our cottage with our Labrador retriever, Sammy. Sammy loves to swim in the lake and wanders all over our property. Last weekend, we were getting ready to give him a bath and we found two ticks on him. We pulled them off right away and applied an antibiotic cream to the affected areas, but this week, we noticed that the tick bite sites are red and swollen. Should we not have pulled out the ticks? What is the recommended course of action and should we be considering some kind of tick protection for Sammy?

A: The incidence of tick infestations appears to be on the rise in Canada in the past few years. Why this is happening is not really known, but it may be due to the fact that we are experiencing warmer temperatures and significant climate changes.

Ticks are grey or brown insects roughly the size of coffee beans that attach to the skin of pets and humans and survive by sucking blood from their host. Deer are the natural vector for ticks in North America and play an important role in the spread of ticks into the environment.

Although a tick bite is rarely a serious problem and causes little pain, ticks can transmit serious diseases such as babesiosis, erhlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick paralysis and Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is the most well known disease transmitted by ticks and it is caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. These bacteria can cause illness in both animals and humans.

In dogs, it may not cause any clinical symptoms at all or it can lead to swollen joints, lameness, swollen lymph nodes, fever, loss of appetite and weakness. In rare serious cases, kidney failure and death can occur. Fortunately, antibiotics are very effective against this disease.

As you have discovered, simply pulling the ticks off as you did is not recommended since it can cause their mouthparts to remain imbedded in the skin. When this happens, it can lead to a localized inflammatory reaction as occurred with Sammy.

Soaking them first with rubbing alcohol or spraying them with a commercial flea and tick spray should remove ticks. Ticks will usually withdraw their mouthparts and fall off after a few minutes.

If the tick does not fall off, you can grasp it as close to the skin as possible with a pair of tweezers and apply steady even pressure to pull it off. The tick should be placed in a jar of alcohol for a few minutes to kill it.

To prevent tick infestations, you should closely examine your dog after walking in fields or in the forest. Ticks can also infest homes or kennels where they live in cracks between floorboards and in crevices in the floors and walls.

Tick repellent sprays, powders and collars are available from pet stores and are effective in killing and preventing ticks.

Vaccines against Lyme disease are available but their use and effectiveness remains controversial. Unless your dog lives in a high-risk area for tick infestations or will be visiting such an area, vaccination is generally not recommended.

Your veterinarian also has several products that can kill ticks and prevent an infestation. K9 Advantix (Bayer) contains imidacloprid and permethrin, which repel and kill fleas, ticks and mosquitoes and actually prevent them from biting. It is applied to the skin and should only be used in dogs.

Another dog-only product is Preventic (Virbac), a collar impregnated with amitraz which prevents ticks from attaching to the pet.

Revolution (Pfizer) is a product that is also applied to the skin and is currently used most commonly to prevent ticks. It can be used in both dogs and cats and is effective not only against some ticks, but against skin mites and fleas as well.

With so many choices available, it is best to consult your veterinarian for advice.

Dr. Bernhard Pukay is an Ottawa veterinarian.