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Thursday, August 7, 2014

4 Most Common Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs in Florida #Seresto

You may recall from my post, Flea Bite Allergy in Dogs, that fleas and ticks are a year-round battle here in Florida.  But unlike fleas, the seasons affect the numbers and stages of tick growth throughout the year.


There are 5 types of ticks that live in Florida:  the Brown Dog Tick, the American Dog Tick, the Lone Star Tick, the Gulf Coast Tick and the Black-Legged Tick.  Though many are aware that ticks carry and spread Lyme Disease, it is far less common in Florida than in the northeastern United States.

Florida's Four Common Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs
Canine Ehrlichiosis is transmitted by the Brown Dog Tick and is one of the most dangerous tick-borne diseases known to infect dogs.  Symptoms may not surface for months after transmission and can include fever, loss of appetite, depression, weight loss, runny eyes and nose, nose bleeds and swollen limbs.

Canine Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis is far more common than Canine Ehrlichiosis in dogs that live in the southeastern and south-central United States.  It is transmitted by the Lone Star Tick (go back to Texas, I say).  Symptoms can include fever, lameness, lethargy, loss of appetite, bleeding and neurological symptoms like tremors and unequal pupil size.

Canine Anaplasmosis, also called Dog Fever or Dog Tick Fever, is transmitted from the Black-Legged Tick.  Symptoms are similar to other tick diseases including fever, loss of appetite, stiff joints and lethargy but also can include vomiting and diarrhea. In extreme cases, dogs may suffer seizures.

Canine Babesiosis is an uncommon tick-borne disease typically transmitted by the American Dog Tick and the Brown Dog Tick.  The symptoms can include fever, decreased appetite and lethargy while severely affected dogs will have bleeding problems.

What's a Dog to Do?
Preventive methods for humans include wearing light-colored, long sleeved shirts and long pants.  We dogs however do not wear clothing and it is a bit difficult to change the color of your fur from dark to light.  So what is a dog to do?


You should be using some form of Flea and Tick Control to repel those pesky ticks.  As you know, for the last several months I have been using the new Seresto collar and I have been flea and tick free.

Seresto is easy to apply to your dog or cat and provides treatment that lasts up to 8 months.  Did you know?  Seresto kills ticks within 48 hours of the initial application thanks to the ingredient Flumethrin (which is safe for cats).


With Seresto, there is no need to remember monthly applications which is great for a dog like me who lives where it is Flea and Tick Season year-round.  The collar is non-greasy, odorless and water-resistant - so you do not have to take it off while swimming or bathing.


If you are interested in trying the new Seresto collar, you can sign up at PetParents.com for a $20 rebate off your purchase.

What kind of ticks live in your area?  
Has your human ever found a tick on you?  
Do you know a dog who got sick from a tick?

Post Disclaimer:  This post is sponsored by Bayer/Seresto and the Pet Blogger Network.  I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Seresto product, but Oz the Terrier only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.  Bayer/Seresto is not responsible for the content of this article.

29 comments:

  1. A number of years ago we had a terrible tick problem. It took months of treatment to completely get rid of them. Every night we sat there and picked the ticks off the dogs. Our vet (knowing we couldn't afford collars for the 15 (some of them fosters) dogs we had at the time, gave us free collars made by VirBac. That did the trick and the ticks slowly started to disappear. We also started having the dog's yard sprayed every two months for fleas and ticks. We still have the yard sprayed every other month and haven't seen even one flea or tick. At least I don't have to put chemicals on the dogs themselves.

    My friend who lives in northern Michigan had an American Eskimo who contracted Lyme Disease from a tick. After many months of expensive treatments, Codee finally had to be P.T.S. So sad.

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  2. Lee had one tick several years ago. She never got sick fortunately. We had a friend whose son got a tick while visiting Florida, but he didn't get sick either. Hope the ticks stay away from you Oz!

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  3. We never knew there were five types of ticks where you are Oz. We have our Frontline regularly but luckily no ticks round here. Have a tremendous Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  4. Iowa does also have a problem with ticks but our momma manages it for us, with tick and flea stuff hers gets from the vet. We have not had one tick on us this year, but last year gussie had two deer ticks in his ear. Our Dad though is another story, he is like a tick magnet, and when he goes fishing or hunting he always brings them home, our momma cannot hardly stand it. She threatens to buy him a dog tick collar...lol........We have never known a dog or cat who has gotten sick from a tick BUTT my mom's brother developed lyme's disease after a training weekend with the National Guard, he was sick for a long time and another soldier developed rocky mountain spotted fever. Where they went to train it was infected with ticks.....yuck!!
    stella rose

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  5. We have no ticks here, they dislike the climate in britanny. I get my frontline treatment regularly, that's all. I hope the ticks will stay away from you and all doggies and bipeds in Florida.

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  6. they have been bad around here at the beginning of summer - when ever we get back from the park Mom sits on the floor with us - combing through our fur like you see monkies do :) :) She always find them ....its very rare they have had time to bite but even if they do they die fast because she ALWAYS uses monthly tick treatments on us.

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  7. We have seen one other Blogville review of these collars... We did a little looking into them ourselves... and saw some conflicting reviews... butt we KNOW YOU and TRUST YOU and if you say they work for a LONG time... then we believe it. We only have ticks in the Spring and Early summer here on our hill. BUTT we do have FLEAS a LOT LONGER than THAT. We HATE the stinky GREASY stuffs on our backs... THIS sounds like a super alternative.

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    1. Woofs Frankie and Ernie :-) As we mentioned to you as a pet parent you need to do your own research. Golden Woofs

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  8. OKAY..... we just came BACK.... we ran off to our FAVORITE Place to SHOP..... CHEWY.COM and ordered two of these. They will arrive on our hill in two days.

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    1. Yay to Chewy ... we know you were checking on other sites due to pricing. Hope you got a good deal. Golden Woofs

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  9. OH MY DOGS AS IF ONE KINDA TICK ISN'T ENOUGH YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH 4...JUMPIN CAT FISH
    HUGS MADI YOUR BFFF

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  10. So happy we don't have to deal with ticks
    Lily & Edward

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  11. I HATE ticks! Lyme disease is VERY common where I live. We have all those diseases you listed plus Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Both dogs and I have had that! Both dogs have had Erlichia, and Wilson and I have had Lyme. That is how HORRIBLE the ticks are in my area. No preventative keeps them at bay.

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  12. We have a Seresto Collar too, and even it works mom don't take us to into the wood, where the ticks in Denmark mosly lives. We only go into to the wood in wintertime, though we have a wood 200 meter from where we live. We haven't got any ticks or fleas so far. Cross our paws :-)

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  13. Woops sorry for the bad spelling :-D

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  14. I'm not so worried going on prairie walks cause Sugar is wearing her Seresto collar. Golden Woofs

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  15. Oh Oz, those bugs are just nasty!

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  16. Glad the Seresto collar is working well for you Oz! We have all of those ticks just like you, but Lyme disease is also not common here. I have seen Ehrlichiosis before though.

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  17. We have tons of ticks, mainly from March - July. They die in the winter or sleep or something and then in July it is too hot for them. We have all had ticks. They like to get in my beard and hide which is nasty. Mom found one crawling on Bailies lower eye and got it off her. Not nice.

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  18. Thankfully, we don't really have to worry about fleas where I live. We do have to be careful of ticks though. Good information, thanks for sharing.

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  19. We don't have fleas here, unless they get brought in (mom's first pug brought them home from a trip to California). we do watch for ticks when we are camping but we don't get to wander in the brush too much. Mom freaked out when she found one on her after our half day trip and stopped at the yucky rest stop.
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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  20. This is good information! Maybe you should have a reprint of it for Safety Week (next week)!

    Your Candidates for Blogville Mayors 2014,

    Murphy & Stanley
    Mayorz For All Paws

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  21. Great post Oz, ticks are nasty and spread nasty diseases. We see mostly lymes and anaplasmosis.

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  22. Interesting read, Oz. Last year, Heather tested positive for exposure to ehrlichia. We and the V-E-T monitored her for some time but luckily, nothing ever came of it. Best to look for preventive measures! Much love, The Scottie Mom.

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  23. Since I'm allergic to fleas, and get BAD rashes, Ma gives me the oral tabs. It works great, butts it costs LOTS of green papers!! I've never tried one of the collars before. The drops didn't work at all cause I rubbed it all off!!! ☺
    I thinks maybe I'll give this a try...if it doesn't work, I can always go back to the tabs
    Thanks Oz!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  24. And you look very handsome in your new collar!

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  25. Ugh, ugh, ugh.....we hate ticks so much!! At least we get a break from them up here in the Northeast, I feel for you having to deal with them year round!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  26. Wow, I didn't know there were so many tick borne diseases for dogs. The only one I ever really heard of is lyme disease, and I'm not even sure that is an issue with dogs. When I lived in Texas, we encountered ticks from time to time. When I lived in Kansas it was even worse. We just moved to Iowa so I'm not sure how common they are here yet. I haven't seen any so far.

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  27. You are lucky not to have deer ticks, but you have other nasty ones that I guess cancel that out...lol. Some of those tick born diseases are very nasty. Yuk!

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Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier