FYI, Fatal Tick Bite in Dogs

EddieWalker · Feb 4, 2016

We had a big scare this morning. One of our dogs,. Raiden, was lame this morning in his back legs. We noticed that he had trouble getting up on our wood floor yesterday, but thought it was more funny that his feet kept slipping and never thought that there might be a problem. That was a HUGE MISTAKE that could have led to his death!!!!

Tick Paralysis in Dogs | petMD

We took Raiden in to the vet and he did a full exam, including an x ray of his spine and hips. The x ray showed that everything was good. The vet feels it's tick paralysis caused by the saliva in some ticks. The paralysis acts quickly over a couple of days and starts with his balance and legs. Then it works into his internal organs, and they dog dies. From what we are learning, it happens in days!!!!

The Vet gave him huge amounts of steroids and antibiotics this morning. Now, several hours later, he seems to be responding and is now able to sit up and even stand a little. He is still very shaky and he went back down right after getting up, but we are encouraged that the medicine is working.

This shook me up and I wanted to share with everyone in case you ever notice your dog losing his balance and/or quickly goes lame. There is very little time to act once this happens!!!!

zzvyb6 · Feb 4, 2016

Did the Vet find a tick or tick bite site ? I give mine anti-tick preventative (Frontline and there is also a cheaper version at Costco under their own brand name). I use a tick comb on them frequently and do find them. Actually, I find them on ME in the Summer and Fall.

I read and have been told that soldiers returning from Irag and Afganistan have been using Frontline on themselves because of all the fleas and ticks there AND they have had some bad reactions to it.

So, BOTLO for bugs on your pets and yourselves. Sounds like there is now a dog version of Lyme disease.

EddieWalker · Feb 4, 2016

We have found ticks on both of our dogs ever since we have lived here and never did anything more then remove the tick. We've tried a few different things to keep ticks off of them, but found that none of them are 100%. Karen found a tick on him two weeks ago, but didn't find one when she looked this morning. Then while at the vet, I was petting him and felt a tick in the thick hair on the front of his neck. This pretty much confirmed it being tick paralysis. He has all of the symptoms listed on the link. We just didn't realize he was suffering from it until it was almost too late. We both feel that if we had not gone to the vet today, he probably would not have lived to tomorrow.

kcflhrc · Feb 4, 2016

Hope he gets well soon. He is obviously an adult dog but I have seen Bee Stings do weird things to pups. It really screws them up. Have never heard of this tick paralysis.

EddieWalker · Feb 4, 2016

Thank you. He is an Akita and he just turned one year old a week ago. He is 89.5 pounds and considered show quality having beat several top 20 adult Akitas at the shows he's been entered into. Showing him is a hobby of my wife, but that will end the day we think his health is in danger.

Raiden is the one in back

Raiden with a judge and his handler after winning 2 points at a show

kcflhrc · Feb 4, 2016

Man, he is beautiful. Get well soon Raiden

Ed of all trades · Feb 4, 2016

It can also effect humans. One of my old neighbors from central Va had something very much like that. He could not walk or feed himself for a while and had a bunch of other problems. The Doc's said it was from a tick bite so I assume it was the same thing. Ed

BoylermanCT · Feb 4, 2016

Ticks are going to be very bad here in the Northeast. Winter has been so mild that they will come out in Spring with a vengeance. Just had to bury my 10 year old dog today. She got limes disease from a tick when she was a puppy, and this compromised her system and she died from kidney disease. She was a Schipperke, and they norrmally live to be 15-16, so she was robbed of 5-6 good years because of the ticks. But I am thankful for the mild winter today, as I could have never buried her in a normal winter without a backhoe. Was able to dig down 36" with just a shovel.

Glad Raiden is back on the mend, hopefully he will make a full recovery.

EddieWalker · Feb 4, 2016

Sorry for your loss. This is different then lyme disease. This affects his muscles and paralyses them. If the meds do not work, it will continue to spread until he is unable to breath or his heart stops. Death happens in a few days to a week. Since posting this on Facebook and Texas Hunting, I've been informed of this happening to others. They thought their dog just needed some rest, or they where going to bring him in on Monday instead of right away.

From what we've learned so far, it's a female tick with eggs that causes this. They have something in their saliva that causes the reaction. We've found a total of 3 ticks in our other akita, but still just the one in Raiden. Removing the tick is very important. The longer it is attached, the more poison they get and the worse the symptoms become. Giving them something that kills ticks is supposed to stop this, but finding them and removing them is still the best.

What does everyone use to spray for ticks in your yard?

mkr7734 · Feb 4, 2016

Wow that is good information to know. Never though about it but we used to always use the tick drops when we had the dogs. I have not been able to bring myself to get another dog since we lost our last one of 14 years.
That is one of the problems living in a warm climate all year around. Nothing ever dies when it comes to bugs.
Hoping Raiden get well soon.

charlz · Feb 4, 2016

If you think its scary that your dog had it... I had tick paralysis when I was 4. Woke up mostly blind and unable to walk, pulled myself out of bed, across the floor and out in the living room where my parents found me and took me to the hospital. Happens when a pregnant female tick releases a toxin into the bloodstream. About a week later I was at the doctors for a followup and he showed me the vial they had put the tick in.... full of babies

Hopefully your dog fully recovers!

Alien · Feb 4, 2016

Yep, we have tick paralysis here in Oz too. When we came to the property 12+ years ago we bought Guinea fowls and they are known to control ticks around your farm.
We did have one scare though as our Maremma has a habit of wandering down the bush every day to check things out.
One day I found him lying out in the hot sun which was unusual. I tried to move him and realized he couldn't walk. I got him some water and he managed to drink it. (some can't when hit with paralysis) My wife and I moved him to some shade and found a tick under his rear leg.
We removed it and luckily we had just bought some pure Vitamin C in case the dogs got a snake bite. I poured vitamin C all around his groin and rubbed it where the tick had been. Vitamin C works well transdermally.
Anyway the dog didn't get any worse so we watched him close and within a couple of days he had improved quite a bit. It still took him a while to get over it but he recovered 100% and is still with us.
I believe that Vit C is what the vets treat them with as there is little else they can do. Our neighbours lost their dog to a tick and the vet couldn't help.
You must use absolutely pure Vit C and not the rubbish that some sell.

LostInTheWoods · Feb 4, 2016

Glad your pet is recovering. I've seen literature on tick paralysis in humans, but never knew it can occur in other animals. It appears that dogs are especially susceptible. In humans, all that's typically required is removing the tick and patients generally recover within a day or so. I found this online about infection in dogs and cats:

Overview of Tick Paralysis: Tick Paralysis: Merck Veterinary Manual

As far as sprays, I use Bifen I/T inside and around our home for insect control. Been using it for 2-3 years, and it works great. I've never used it specifically for tick control, but I'm sure it would do the job. You just keep people and pets out of sprayed areas until it is dry. We used to pay for a pest control service to spray every month and still had bug issues. The spray is less than 1/10th the cost and works better than when the professionals were coming out. Very easy to use.

LostInTheWoods · Feb 4, 2016

Glad your pet is recovering. I've seen literature on tick paralysis in humans, but never knew it can occur in other animals. It appears that dogs are especially susceptible. In humans, all that's typically required is removing the tick and patients generally recover within a day or so. I found this online about infection in dogs and cats:

Overview of Tick Paralysis: Tick Paralysis: Merck Veterinary Manual

As far as sprays, I use Bifen I/T inside and around our home for insect control. Been using it for 2-3 years, and it works great. I've never used it specifically for tick control, but I'm sure it would do the job. You just keep people and pets out of sprayed areas until it is dry. We used to pay for a pest control service to spray every month and still had bug issues. The spray is less than 1/10th the cost and works better than when the professionals were coming out. Very easy to use.

blueriver · Feb 4, 2016

Kinda related ... Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever ... you can get it by simply removing a tick. Be sure and wash up after pulling those ticks. Better yet don't touch them ...use a needle nose pliers!

SARG · Feb 4, 2016

I buy these by the dozen and give them to dog owners I know. Called Tick twisters.

charlz · Feb 4, 2016

SARG said:
I buy these by the dozen and give them to dog owners I know. Called Tick twisters.

I had to look that one up, great info! Here is a link to their website which has some videos of the tool in use: Remove Ticks Easily with Tick Twister® apparently twisting the tick causes it to let go so you don't have to worry about parts remaining in the skin.

EddieWalker · Feb 4, 2016

Thanks Sarg, we have something very similar to that. Unfortunately with the really thick coats on our Akita's, it doesn't work very well. Karen is a RN and she just tears them out when she finds them and puts them in the wood stove to burn. We are going to spray the yard and hope that helps. It's just going to have to be something that we make a priority like treating for termites.

nybirdman · Feb 4, 2016

We have lots of ticks in the North-East.We use Advantix every month,Lyme disease shots.Permathrin(spelling) is good for spraying trucks,cars ect.I have got into the habit of spraying with Permathrin any deer ect.that we take.

CalG · Feb 4, 2016

Lyme disease.

Our daughter's dog got it twice. The second time while she was away at school, the dog with us. I couldn't have lived with myself if the dog had died while she was away.

Vet hemmed and hawed about X-rays and observation, I had learned from the first episode. Give the antibiotics to him! The critter was up and around the next day like nothing ever happened, but still takes a month of treatment.
Word is the virus never goes away, it's there inside, just waiting......

The dog ended up passing of bone cancer after having one hind leg removed. Great dog, a big loss. (It was a big dog!) They don't live long do they.
She has another. dumb as a sack of rocks......'-)

ps

chickens are the pure devil on ticks!