HELP!!!! Found about 50 ticks on dogs! UPDATE #4

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Last week we had our daughters two goldendoodles for a week so I packed them all up and took them to our cabin in the woods. Great right? Run free, new surroundings.....DEER TICKS!!! My two are treated so we have never seen a tick or flea in the 7 months we've owned the cabin, but my daughters dogs are not treated. (Don't ask).  Her two are just littered with them and we've been pulling them out all morning. The groomer suggested Dawn bath and leave on for 20 min. so we did that.   I am doing bug bombs in both of our houses today as well. 

So my question is....how often do you see dogs get very sick from tick bites? I know what they can transmit and know what to look for, I hope, but is it common for them to get sick? Considering the amount of ticks and dogs out there, I don't hear of it often. Is my head in the sand? 

Any advice oh wise experienced Tick people. 

UPDATE:

After picking off all the ticks, having houses sprayed and watching children diligently, we have not seen any more ticks for a few weeks. Both dogs were tested (blood work) for Lymes and other diseases last week and all negative, with a follow up in 6 months. So now we just wait, and wait, and wait, as it can be months to years before problems can develop.  Being that Marley is 8, we may think it;s just old age if he develops Lymes like issues, but now that we know there is a possibility, we will stay on top of his blood work for years to come. 

Thank you all for your responses. 

UPDATE:

Daughter just informed me that their 3 year old doodle had a seizure last night. Ran around confused, peed all over, collapsed downstairs and confused.  He will be going to the Vet asap, not sure what our vet does for weekends but will find out.  Any advice from anyone? I'm feeling so bad for having exposed them to this danger. 

 UPDATE: 

Daughter took doodle to Vet today and the blood work for the major tick borne diseases were negative. Sign of relief for me, but no real answers as to the cause. So she advises wait and see, keep a journal, and if he has more then they will do more expensive blood work. The good news is he is otherwise very healthy.  So we just wait and see for now.  Thank you all for your comments. 

UPDATE March 15,2016

Daughter's doodle had 3rd seizure since first one on Oct. 17. One on Jan 22 and another last night. She stopped Heartguard and Frontline in January, so we've ruled out that. Still in documentation stage, however, he has gone from 3 months apart to 2 months apart. I advised her to read all she can (has twin 1 yr old boys!!) on our Seizure group here and see if time between the next one is even sooner. Anyone have any reason to advise getting him on meds ASAP? Or is waiting still an option?

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

We live in PA and part of my property is wooded, so ticks are a big problem. Finn is treated and he gets a Lyme vaccine as well since no treatment is 100 %.  I don't know that if it's effective against Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I occasionally hear of Lyme here but not the other.  With that many tick bites, I'd talk to the vet just to see if and when he recommend they be tested.  I think it's easier to treat them early.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Thanks Cheryl, it makes sense to test early instead of waiting for symptoms. We will call monday. I'm still removing them and have a feeling I will see more swollen up tomorrow that I can't even see yet. THanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another tick borne illness seen in dogs is ehrlichiosis, which is most common in the south and southwest; and there's also anaplasmosis.

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/ani...

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/ani...

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Thanks Karen, I did read this today. Im just feeling so bad and anxious about this. Its bad enough if it happens to my own dogs, but for me to be responsible for my daughters dogs to get sick is just too much.!!!  I will call Vet sunday and see how soon they can be tested. I read about false negatives, so there must be a time that they recommend. They have had these ticks on them for at least a week. So they've had plenty of time to bite and feed on these poor dogs.  

[Terri and Harley]

I would definitely have the dogs checked for Lyme's Disease. I believe that the ticks need to be feeding for at least 24 hours to transmit the disease, but I'd put in a call into the vet, anyway.

Good luck! I hope the Dawn works!

Terri and Harley

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Yes, we will call the vet on monday and see when the recommended time after exposure is to test. Thank you. Dawn didn't really work, I found another 10 or so alive, a few hours later. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

Maybe after all this, your daughter will rethink not using tick treatment.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Oh YES!!! She will need to now as there can still be live ticks in her house or yard now.  Her husband was shocked that they havent been treated, had assumed she was doing. She is a very responsible dog owner, and its not a problem in our area, but the cabin we own is in the mountains with wildlife all around. 

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

Lincoln is treated monthly and had the lyme vaccine but he got lyme.  It takes about 3-5 months for the symtoms to show up.  He started to limp and we took him to the vet who did some tests and finally found it was lyme.  Fortunatley the manufacturer of the vaccine pays for the blood work and prescription.  Lincoln i s still on the anitbiotic so we will see if he is cured after 6 months.  He gets tested again to see if his markers are 30 or below ( they are 149 now) if not below, then he may need another round of treatment,.    Vet said he may have been bitten before the vaccine, but the vaccine is not 100%. 

[Nancy & Echo]

At least with humans, this is what the CDC says about lyme testing.  I assume its not any better in dogs.

I have heard that the diagnostic tests that CDC recommends are not very accurate. Can I be treated based on my symptoms or do I need to use a different test?

You may have heard that the blood test for Lyme disease is correctly positive only 65% of the time or less. This is misleading information. As with serologic tests for other infectious diseases, the accuracy of the test depends upon the stage of disease. During the first few weeks of infection, such as when a patient has an erythema migrans rash, the test is expected to be negative.

Several weeks after infection, currently available ELISA, EIA and IFA tests and two-tier testing have very good sensitivity.

It is possible for someone who was infected with Lyme disease to test negative because:

1. Some people who receive antibiotics (e.g., doxycycline) early in disease (within the first few weeks after tick bite) may not develop antibodies or may only develop them at levels too low to be detected by the test.
2. Antibodies against Lyme disease bacteria usually take a few weeks to develop, so tests performed before this time may be negative even if the person is infected. In this case, if the person is retested a few weeks later, they should have a positive test if they have Lyme disease. It is not until 4 to 6 weeks have passed that the test is likely to be positive. This does not mean that the test is bad, only that it needs to be used correctly.

3. Where can I get a test to make sure that I am cured?

As with many infectious diseases, there is no test that can “prove” cure. Tests for Lyme disease detect antibodies produced by the human immune system to fight off the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that cause Lyme disease. These antibodies can persist long after the infection is gone. This means that if your blood tests positive, then it will likely continue to test positive for months or even years even though the bacteria are no longer present.

A research tool called PCR can detect bacterial DNA in some patients. Unfortunately, this is also not helpful as a test of whether the antibiotics have killed all the bacteria. Studies have shown that DNA fragments from dead bacteria can be detected for many months after treatment. Studies have also shown that the remaining DNA fragments are not infectious. Positive PCR test results are analogous to a crime scene – – just because a robbery occurred and the robber left his DNA, it doesn' t mean that the robber is still in the house. Similarly, just because DNA fragments from an infection remain, it doesn' t mean the bacteria are alive or viable.

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/faq/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/diagnosistesting/index.html

I sure hope Lincoln is well.

 

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Good luck, Sue!  Hope everything turns out ok!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Thank you Robin, and everyone for their input. The vet told DD to start treating immediately and to wait one month for blood work. Of course sooner should symtoms appear.  THe few ticks we found today were dead and dried up although still attached. I did treat them a few hours before the Dawn bath, waiting for it to dry. I couldn't bring myself to wait any longer!  So not sure it the frontline did it's job or the dawn.  I don't know if DD told Vet that they were treated before bath and if she'd still want them given another dose or not.  SHe is having the house and yard sprayed on friday with hopes of killing any lingering eggs.  I will keep everyone posted as we watch her precious two doodles for any symptoms.