Paralysis tick is a dangerous parasite because it can cause a fatal disease named tick paralysis in your dog. Therefore it is very important to know if your dog or cat has a tick on her/him. However, tick can be as tiny as a pinhead and is very difficult to find. So, by the time you find it, and even you can’t find it at all, your pet may start suffering from the ill effect the tick causes. Gordon Vet Clinic, a renowned vet clinic near North Shore, has very valuable information in this regard.
Symptoms
In fact, the best thing to do is prevent paralysis tick from coming to your pet. However, it can come in any way you can’t predict. In such a case, you should know what the symptoms are so that you can know that your pet has a tick and then you can quickly take proper measures.
1. Weakness in Hindquarters
Actually paralysis tick causes paralysis symptoms in various forms. However, the most prevalent symptom is weakening of hindquarters. This quickly progresses in all four legs. When tick toxin enters your pet’s body, it firstly attacks the hindquarters and urinary bladder, therefore your pet starts looking lame while moving. It looks shaky and unsteady because hind limbs are weakened.
2. Difficulty in Breathing
The next organ the tick toxin affects is respiratory system because of which the pet starts feeling difficulty in breathing. Actually many organs in the throat area are affected, such as throat and larynx. As a result the pet starts feeling difficulty in barking and swallowing food. It starts refusing food and vomiting takes place too. Often the pet behaves as if something is stuck in her/his mouth.
3. Excessive Licking
A paralysis tick, when attaches to your pet’s body, causes excessive licking or nipping in the pet. If your pet is also experiencing difficulty in swallowing, you should not allow her/him to eat or drink because the accumulation of food or drink (due to inability of swallowing) can cause pneumonia.
4. Difficulty in Blinking
The paralysis even may reach your pet’s eyes and the animal may start experiencing difficulty in blinking. Sometimes even partial facial paralysis is seen especially if the tick is embedded itself in the head area.
5. Mysterious Scabs
When tick attaches to your pet’s skin, it forms a ‘tick crater’ there which is a round elevated skin with a depression in its centre with a scab on it. So, if such scabs are seen on your pet’s skin, you should assume that tick infestation has taken place.
In short, when your pet feels lame at her/his hind legs, start refusing food and vomiting, experiences difficulty in breathing, urinating and blinking and show the other symptoms above, you should consider them as signs your dog has a tick.
What to Do upon Finding Tick Signs?
You should immediately take your dog to your vet because once the tick toxin enters your dog’s body, it can start causing its ill effects by binding to the nerve endings because of which the animal may even die within some hours.
What to Do if a Vet is Unavailable?
If due to some reasons, you can’t access a vet, you should try to find and remove the tick on your own. You can remove them with your fingernails or a specialised tool or even a pair of scissors. You should remove the tick carefully without squeezing its body as squeezing may allow more tick toxin and pathogens and allergens to come out of the tick’s body. Try to keep your dog as calm as possible.