Lyme disease is caused by a corkscrew-shaped bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, carried by ticks. In dogs it produces a confusing picture: most infected dogs show no signs at all, a minority become properly unwell, and a small number develop something serious. Knowing which category you are dealing with is the whole problem.
How it gets there
The bacterium lives in small mammals and birds. A tick feeds on an infected host, picks up the bacterium, and passes it on the next time it feeds — which may be on your dog.
Two things matter about that transfer.
First, it takes time. The tick generally needs to be attached and feeding for somewhere between 24 and 48 hours before transmission is likely. Finding and removing ticks promptly is therefore a genuine prevention method, not just good hygiene.
Second, it is seasonal and regional. Risk clusters where the tick species live and peaks in spring and autumn, though mild winters have extended the season considerably. Your vet knows the local picture better than any general article.
Symptoms
Estimates suggest only around five to ten per cent of infected dogs ever develop clinical illness. When they do, signs typically appear two to five months after the bite, which makes the connection easy to miss.
Look for:
- Shifting lameness. Limping on one leg for a couple of days, then another. This is the classic sign.
- Swollen, painful joints
- Fever
- Lethargy and reluctance to move
- Loss of appetite
- Enlarged lymph nodes near the affected limb
Dogs do not usually get the bullseye rash that people do.
Diagnosis
Testing is less straightforward than owners expect. The common in-clinic test detects antibodies, which tells you the dog has been exposed — not that it is ill, and not that it needs treatment. In high-risk areas a substantial proportion of perfectly healthy dogs test positive.
So vets interpret a positive result alongside symptoms, a quantitative follow-up test and a urine protein check. A positive test in a well dog with no protein in the urine usually means monitoring rather than antibiotics.
Treatment
Dogs with clinical signs are typically treated with doxycycline for around four weeks. The response is often dramatic: many dogs are noticeably better within a couple of days, which is itself part of the diagnostic picture.
Treatment does not always clear the organism completely, and signs can recur. Kidney involvement needs far more intensive management.
Prevention, in order of usefulness
1. Year-round tick prevention
Modern products — oral chews given monthly or every three months, or spot-on treatments — kill ticks quickly, often before the transmission window closes. Choose in consultation with your vet, because the right product depends on your area, your dog’s health, and whether there are cats or small children in the house.
2. Daily tick checks
After every walk in long grass, woodland or heath, run your hands over the whole dog. Ticks favour the head, ears, neck, armpits, groin and between the toes. A fine comb through the coat catches ones you cannot feel.
3. Correct removal
Use a proper tick hook or fine-tipped tweezers. Grip as close to the skin as possible and pull steadily straight out, or twist gently with a hook. Do not burn it, smother it in oil, or squeeze the body — all of these increase the chance of the tick regurgitating into the wound.
Clean the area afterwards and note the date on a calendar. If your dog becomes lame or feverish in the following months, that date is useful information for your vet.
Earth Rated Dog Wipes
Useful for cleaning the bite site and your hands after a removal in the field, when you are nowhere near a tap.
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4. Habitat management
Keeping grass short, clearing leaf litter and creating a gravel or bark strip between woodland and lawn measurably reduces tick numbers in gardens.
5. Vaccination
A Lyme vaccine exists and is used selectively, mostly in high-incidence regions. It is not part of the standard core schedule everywhere, and opinions among vets differ on who should receive it. It is a conversation to have based on where you live and walk, not a default.
What to do if you find a tick
- Remove it properly and completely.
- Clean the site.
- Write down the date.
- Watch for redness or swelling that persists beyond a few days.
- Watch for lameness, fever or lethargy over the following months.
- Ring your vet if any of those appear, and mention the tick.
Most tick bites come to nothing. The routine above is cheap insurance against the ones that do not.
This article is general information. Local tick risk and the right prevention product vary considerably, so your own vet’s advice takes precedence.
