Tick Bire/bull's Eye

[christinepi]

I found a tick on Tracker today (a deer tick, not a dog tick), and there's this classic bull's eye ring of a bout 1/2" around it. Now for people that's a strong indicator for Lyme. But is that true for dogs? I pulled the tick. We live in San Mateo County in Northern California, where there's a very low number of infected ticks (ca 1%).

 

Anyway, I'm not sure how to proceed. Have his blood checked in a month or so? A while back I talked to our vet about ticks in another context and she said that vets aren't even in agreement whether dogs can get any symptoms/problems from the bacterium. What are opinions/experiences on this group?

Edited January 17, 2011 by christinepi

[Sambuca]

I would imagine that they can get the bullseye. I have often seen the whole area turn red though, so make sure the area is not just red. I firmly believe that they get symptoms from lyme. I've seen dogs with it, and I've seen the progress once they are on meds.

[cleptogrey]

talk to your vet, some put dogs on a prophalitic dose of antibiotics, some don't. w/ human's the dose has to start with-in 24hrs of discovering the bite. some vets do believe in what titers read, some don't(mine) and treat the symptoms. so, flip a coin, but maybe talk to your vet. a test in a month might be wasting $$$, see what he/she says.

 

i generally treat the symptoms.it takes around 2 weeks for the doxy to kick in. the only time i did testing was for emily when she had her mystery sore shoulder, which unfourtunatley did not turn out to be lyme....it was osteo.

Edited January 18, 2011 by cleptogrey

[AEB]

Generally, as for human experience with the bull's eye, it's large, much larger than 1/2 inch. If it hasn't spread beyond that size, it may just be a reaction to the tick saliva, especially if it is raised and itchy. The lyme rash isn't usually itchy. I get circles, but they tend to be raised because I also scratch them, at the site of tick bites. I have seen this on Sadie as well. Call your vet and ask how to proceed. He may tell you to mark your calendar and watch for symptoms. Also, I am not certain, but I believe that the rash takes at least several days to develop and is most likely to develop in a more protracted fashion than that. The tick would likely have fed and fallen off by then? In any event, if you found it in an area that you see frequently and know you removed it within 24 hours of its attachment, she's probably ok. Was it engorged? If not, again, not enough of a chance to transmit. Check her lymphnodes and her temperature. I live in the lyme disease capital of the world and have had many on me over the years and only been on antibiotics a handful of times (and only with symptoms). Call the vet for some info and good luck!

Edited January 18, 2011 by AEB

[BauersMom]

Dogs definitely do get symptoms from Lyme, but that doesn't mean that every case of Lyme gets treated. My vet once said that if he treated every dog that he saw with a positive Lyme titer but with no symptoms, he would become a full time doxycycline dispensary. This is probably mostly true in places where it's endemic, like CT, however.

 

I probably would take a wait and see approach, myself.

[tbhounds]

Dogs do not get the same bullseye that peolpe do. I'm sure the "ring" you are seeing is from inflammation