Dog owners: tick season (Lyme) has started in the Whites

I've just returned from the vet in Littleton NH, who is reporting another big tick year has started here already. One of my dogs is showing an elevated antibody bloodcount level for Lyme Disease, which probably means that he was exposed last summer. He hikes a lot. I had them on the anti-parasitical Revolution. It was not very effective towards the end of the summer. Revolution now no longer claims that it protects dogs against lyme-bearing ticks. I've moved to Frontline and Heartguard for this summer. I am also going to vaccinate the dogs for Lyme this year. Vets up here are beginning to recommend it as protocol for all dogs. 20% of the dogs they test now show positive for Lyme exposure. Ten years ago I never saw a tick on dogs in this area. Now they're crawling with them. I pulled a bunch off me last summer too.

Tick Talk

We never had mourning doves or opossums up here either. My dogs and I happened to walk through a moose winter kill two springs ago. About ten minutes later I was freaked out to see a veritable army of ticks marching up the legs of my Yellow Labs. I have always found the Sawyer Pond area loaded with ticks in the spring and early summer. Nothing like driving down I-93 at 65+ and discover ticks crawling up your pants legs. I don't mind leeches, but ticks tick me off.

Just to add.

The Blue Hills in MA is loaded with ticks this year.

Jackson, my dog, is averaging about 8-10 week. This is with the Frontline.

Peace.

Dalraida said:

My dogs and I happened to walk through a moose winter kill two springs ago. About ten minutes later I was freaked out to see a veritable army of ticks marching up the legs of my Yellow Labs.

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The good news is that the army of ticks you saw there were "winter ticks," a type that doesn't carry Lyme Disease. They're deadly to moose. They prey on moose in the winter and then drop off and go dormant in the summer. But they prey on moose to the extent that they kill them. Moose can't groom. All they can do is to rub against trees to get rid of winter ticks, depiliate themselves, opening up to infection, the ticks literally suck them dry of blood, and the moose die. Here's a moose cow that succumbed to winter ticks in my backyard a few years ago. I'd seen her earlier. She looked pale. That's because she was so tick-infested that her hair was falling out. Fish & Game came out but could not remove the carcass to the moose dump because the ground was so soft. They dragged her as far away from the house as possible. If the stench reached us, their advice was to drench the carcass in lime. The bears cleaned up, however. I remember seeing thousands of ticks near the carcass. I've got a strong stomach but this pushed my envelope. But, remember, these winter ticks are a different breed from lyme-bearing ones. Ticks are very specialized, it seems.

Jaytrek57 said:

Jackson, my dog, is averaging about 8-10 week. This is with the Frontline.

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That doesn't sound very encouraging about Frontline. But it takes 24-hours for an attached tick to transfer the Lyme virus to the dog, and Frontline supposedly kills the ticks (or impairs the ability to inject the virus) in 12 hours. It's not instant repellent. That's what I hear, at least. I wonder how long it takes for ticks to inject the virus into the human bloodstream.

I use Interceptor and Advantix. Both dogs are innoculated with Lyme vaccine.Have not had a problem.

Ticks, leeches, black flies... anything that sucks blood is just evil.

According to Revolution's own literature, it is effective only against dog ticks, which are not thought to carry lyme.

The problem with Frontline and other "spot-on" tick remedies is that the tick actually has to be on the dog before being affected by the remedy. For some remedies, the tick must actually bite to be affected. In my research, I've found differing reports in how long it takes for lyme to be transmitted, anywhere from 2 to 48 hours, with no differences reported between human and canine.

I see the advantage to Frontline as this: even if the tick bites my dog and transmits lyme, it will not live to do so again, to any other thing, including me.

In addition, since ticks spend the majority of their life cycle off the host, it is perhaps more important to treat the environment (i.e. your house, car, furniture, rugs, bedding, etc.) also.

If you hike with your dog, remember that if your dog is exposed to lyme, you probably are too.

Maddy - the profile with your avatar shows that you're in western MA. If your dogs have not yet been tested positive for lyme, you are both very careful and very lucky. Lyme is considered endemic throughout the Connecticut River Valley region in southern New England.

Dugan said:

If you hike with your dog, remember that if your dog is exposed to lyme, you probably are too.

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Is there a vaccine for humans yet?

Got a number of hits with "lyme vaccine humans" in google, so apparently there is. I'd do some research before getting it, though.

A few years ago I asked my doctor to make a lyme test part of my annual physical. I was surprised both with his reluctance to do so, and the pressure it's taken every year since to keep it going. I have discussed with him that my dog has tested positive for lyme, and that I'm exposed to the same tick population that my dog is. Not once has he mentioned the availability of a human vaccine.

Dugan said:

A few years ago I asked my doctor to make a lyme test part of my annual physical. I was surprised both with his reluctance to do so, and the pressure it's taken every year since to keep it going.

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Thanks, Dugan. I'm not rushing out to get it, but I'll take it up with someone at Dartmouth Hitchcock. Local NH physicians were slow to catch on to giardia in humans back in the early '80s too if it's any consolation. (Yes, it was in the White Mountains then.)

Waumbek said:

Is there a vaccine for humans yet?

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IIRC, there is (or was), but it is only about 75% effective and there have been some problems with it.

(It is possible that it has been removed from the market.)

Doug

lymerix was taken off the market years ago after some patients given the vaccine contracted chronic lyme disease syndrome.if theres something new i would love to hear about it!

supposedly it takes 36 to 48 hours of feeding plus the time it takes for the tick to find a nice place and attatch itself to transmit the disease.

this sounds like ample time though an adult deer tick is the size of a sesame seed and nymphs the size of a poppy seed.i never found the tick that gave it to me and never developed the rash so i strongly recommend having someone help with the body check if possible!

happy mothers day

Dugan said:

T
Maddy - the profile with your avatar shows that you're in western MA. If your dogs have not yet been tested positive for lyme, you are both very careful and very lucky. Lyme is considered endemic throughout the Connecticut River Valley region in southern New England.

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I think I have been very careful. Those mutts see the vet more than I ever thought of seeing the doctor.
I had my dogs innoculated from the day the Lyme vaccine became available a good number of years ago. I have always used the topical and changed from Frontline to Advantix. Vet recommendation. (The golden pup on TV who writes the thank you letter to his parents from camp seems to swear by it!) The two Rotweillers who live next door both got Lyme last year hiking. The owner does not believe in vaccines and topical prevention.
I got Lyme vaccine for myself several years back but they took it off the market. It appears from one of the posts than it is available again. It"s worth investigating.

Since the topic has broadened to include humans:

I use permetherin on my clothing and socks to "discourage" the ticks. No problems so far...

Doug

Wow, i had no idea ticks were a problem in the Whites. When i go hiking in other tick infested areas i dust my socks with sulphur. That's based on a very unscientific old wives' tale from my mom, but it seems to work.

Never mind the Whites. There is no region in the world, including Antarctica, where ticks are not found. Ticks are also not limited by season, though they do tend to be less active in the winter in New England. There are other tick born diseases, and more kinds of ticks than deer ticks can carry them.

Yes ticks can be scary...they are the source for rickettsial diseases spotted fever, rickettsiapox.etc. and of course those nasty spirochetes.
My wife dug one out of my side two weeks ago. I was standing to long in the brush looking at a warbler. I took a remedy prophylacticly and have not had a problem.

With these diseases the initial symptoms are common but not always there ie the rash, flu like symptoms..some unfortuntates can get an infection and may not know it. The determining factor is blood work to look for the antibodies. So just because you don't get the target rash doesn't mean you dodged a bullet.

Dugan said:

Never mind the Whites. There is no region in the world, including Antarctica, where ticks are not found. Ticks are also not limited by season, though they do tend to be less active in the winter in New England. There are other tick born diseases, and more kinds of ticks than deer ticks can carry them.

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My dog got a Lyme tick in February a couple of years ago. They come out at the first warm day/thaw. This was about 15 miles north of Boston. By the way...she is fine, but it was touch and go for a couple of days...she could not stand or walk, but the antibiotics turned her around quickly.

Dugan said:

Never mind the Whites. There is no region in the world, including Antarctica, where ticks are not found. Ticks are also not limited by season, though they do tend to be less active in the winter in New England. There are other tick born diseases, and more kinds of ticks than deer ticks can carry them.

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From what I have read about the disgusting things they are one of natures most effeint vectors for infectious microbes, because of how the go from hst to host with out the host knowing so it can remove the tick and they will attach to all sorts of animals and brids .
I did not know they live in Antartica . there is no escape .

We found a tick on our dog two weeks ago during the warm up.