Tick paralysis

[Kattt]

Another reason to hate the little jerks.
I thought I was fairly informed on tick diseases but this one is new to me.

If your dog starts displaying weakness in the hind legs and/or imbalance, becomes despondent, won’t drink nor eat- do check for ticks and get them out ASAP and then to the vet.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

I just can’t see where ticks benefit the ecosystem. If they did, whatever animals eat them should be flourishing.

Thank you for the PSA , this is worth looking into.

[Dan]

Sadly, a close friend of mine had a dog that died from a tick-borne disease. I don’t recall exactly which disease, but it involves initial symptoms that are fairly minor and easily mis-diagnosed. Those initial symptoms resolve spontaneously, but then the pathogen migrates across the blood-brain barrier and the disease re-emerges in the form of neurological symptoms. If it is treated with the correct antibiotics in the early stage, it is usually treatable. But once the neurological symptoms appear, treatment is extremely difficult, involving hospitalization and high doses of IV antibiotics, which are not always effective.

[MJ H]

If they did, whatever animals eat them should be flourishing.

Possums eat ticks. They are probably flourishing, but they don’t like to be seen.

[Ray J]

++1 to possums.  I use a Vet Prescribed Simparica product on our 100 pound part-sled-dog, it’s a monthly dog chew to treat fleas and ticks.   I take him out to the forest once or twice a week, where he rolls in LBJ Grasslands and we hike the forest and grasslands.  Two weeks in a row I’ve found a tick on him when we got home and he got a bath (he jumps in the old stock ponds out at LBJ).  A few times I’ve found ticks that bit him.  But they are DOA when I find them.  Zero fleas also.

[Kattt]

We are putting our dog Baldy back on a monthly pill as well; were prescribed nexgard but are others better/safer?? We read about side effects and they are scary but we are outside all the time and almost lost our buddy yesterday to tick paralysis so back on some pill he goes.

these demons seem to have survived the fire too; roasted mammals and reptiles everywhere but these guys surviving it sucks. Literally.

[Author]

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