Please help, question

[IloveJesusMyFather3:16]

I have a question and I hope somebody can answer it. I took my dog into the woods a few times and 4 or 5 days ago was the last time. Everytime we come back from the woods I always wet him down and inspect him to make sure he doesnt have any bugs on him....apparantly that doesnt always work. 2 days ago I saw he had 2 ticks on him. It just amazes me that I didnt see them because he has white really short hair and pink skin. It's so easy to see if something is off. Anyways, we used a hot match to get the one off of his eye lid and the one on his leg - the only thing left was the head....so it's very possible he could have eaten that one. He is on heart worm preventative (just in case of ingestion of a flea...i dont know if ingestion of a tick would make a dog sick....) He got REALLY sick last night....fever of 104, vomitting, shaking and shivering and acting REALLY WEIRD. For some reason he kept going to the bathroom and laying on the rug in there which is really weird for him. He kept sitting down funny and acting like he was in pain. Today I took him to the vet. They gave him steroid, pain, muscle relaxer, and antibiotic shots. He got 4 or 5 shots. Now he is in alot of pain from the shots and cant seem to get comfortable enough to sleep. He bled from the shots too. What is wrong with my dog? The vet was in such a hurry he didnt discuss anything with me. I kept asking questions and getting 1/2 answers. Please help. Do you think he has a tick disease that will be with him his whole life? I read on the internet that you're not supposed to put something hot on the tick. I dont know if this is true or not. Needless to say we're not going into the woods anymore. Please help with my questions. I'm a really stressed out and worried Mommy right now. THanks.

 

[IloveJesusMyFather3:16]

Well, I just got my dog to come out from under the bed and on the upside of things. My dog isn't shaking, vomitting, and it seems his fever is gone. ..so does this mean he's ok? Does this mean he doesnt have the disease or what? Thanks for helping you guys.
Leah

 

[Sabina41]

There's no way to tell if he has a tick borne disease based on your descriptions. NONE. The only way to determine something like that is based on a blood test. You will have to take your dog to the vet to have that done. It sounds like your current vet was hurried, so I would consider finding someone else to go to. If you do, though, be sure to obtain medical records from the first vet before hand. What he said and did might not have meant anything to you, but it will to the new vet and will help them treat your dog.

In the future, if you are worried about tick diseases, get your dog vaccinated against Lyme disease. Also, you should never rely on yourself to find ticks. They can be very very small and hide in the dog's fur. It takes only 24 hours for a tick to transmit a disease to the animal. You need to get some kind of chemical preventative. I suggest Frontline. It prevents against and kills fleas and ticks within 24 hours of them getting on the dog so it can prevent disease. You should make sure your dog is healthy first before you get a medication for it, though, so you're not hitting its immune system with too much.

I understand the desire to reach out to people for advice with pets, but it's a major gripe of mine when people think they can receive appropriate veterinary advice here. The only place you can get an accurate diagnosis and treatment is from your vet. NOT on a message board...

 

[alwayz_remember_Calvery]

I have to agree with Sabina on this one. We're not vets on here (though i'm sure we have a vet or two on these boards) and even if we were, we couldn't make a diagnosis based on your description.
People skills are VERY important to a vet. They need to be able to explain what they're doing, why they're doing it, and what they're hoping to learn from it. They need to be able to communicate with thier client. They work for you, don't forget that. If your vet isn't able to tell you what's going on and such, you need to find a new one. If you do decide to look for one, make sure you bring your vet's reconds with you. I can't tell you how often we've had people come in with a sick pet and told us what they think the vet did and said, but it means so much more if the vet has the actual records.

 

[livin4thelord8]

Find another vet. Hope he gets to feeling better. When he recovers, don't stop visiting the woods. Just be prepared. Frontline and K-9 Advantix are the best and well worth the money. Frontline is great but if you're worried about mosquitos transmitting west nile to your pooch, the Advantix protects against them as well. Make sure this illness is completely gone before you treat him. It's real possible your dog may have eaten something that really disagreed with him on your outing as well. Keep a close eye on him, continue to check for the ticks, and treat him monthly. As far as removing the ticks, don't bother with the match. grab the tick with your fingers as close to the skin as possible the pull. You catch them early enough and you won't have a problem with the head breaking off, which is why you check daily. They also have tick removers (little plastic scoops that remove them if you're too squimish for grabbing them. Let us know how your dog's doing! God bless!

 

[Manda_24]

It's real possible your dog may have eaten something that really disagreed with him on your outing as well. Keep a close eye on him, continue to check for the ticks, and treat him monthly. As far as removing the ticks, don't bother with the match. grab the tick with your fingers as close to the skin as possible the pull. You catch them early enough and you won't have a problem with the head breaking off, which is why you check daily. They also have tick removers (little plastic scoops that remove them if you're too squimish for grabbing them. Let us know how your dog's doing! God bless!

I agree, I'm pretty sure eating a tick would not make your dog sick, he could have possibly gotten into something else.
Using a match doesn't always work, speaking from experience on getting them off both people and animals. My family has 12 acres of woods that our house is set in so we see ticks all the time. This past year we got some kind of flea/tick spray that works really well, I think it is a brand called Adams but I'm not sure. I would just spray that on the ticks I saw on my dog and then wait a minute and the ticks were lose and easy to pull off.
Other times we just use a pair of pliers and pull it out.

Anyways, we used a hot match to get the one off of his eye lid and the one on his leg - the only thing left was the head....so it's very possible he could have eaten that one. He is on heart worm preventative (just in case of ingestion of a flea...i dont know if ingestion of a tick would make a dog sick....) . . . Do you think he has a tick disease that will be with him his whole life? I read on the internet that you're not supposed to put something hot on the tick. I dont know if this is true or not. Needless to say we're not going into the woods anymore. Please help with my questions. I'm a really stressed out and worried Mommy right now. THanks.

Ingesting fleas isn't what gives heartworms. Heartworms are transmitted from mosquitoes. And like the others have said, you can't really give a diagnosis over the internet, go to your vet (or maybe a different one) and get blood work done if you are really worried.
You don't need to stay away from the woods, just get some flea/tick stuff and put it on him then just look for them a little after you come inside.

 

[livin4thelord8]

Another side note, lyme disease is not necessarily characterized from sickness...one symptom is lameness that switches legs and will not cease even after given treatment. It is also treatable with antibiotics. It takes 24-48 hours for a tick to transmit lyme disease which is why it's important to check you and your pets every day. If you see one on your dog (or you) and he was out 24+ ago...don't freak. Only 10% of dogs actually contract the disease. God bless!