Hi Michael. All tick species can be potential vectors of blood-borne infections like Ehrlichia and Babesia. However, these are only likely in endemic areas and therefore, most ticks are only a minor nuisance. You can visit your vet, or buy a tick removal tool from your local pet store.

Are the other tick species a serious concern? If we suspect our dog has one is it a urgent or minor matter?
Cheers

Hi Richard. The symptoms you describe are not typical for tick bite, and the diseases caused by ticks would not respond to the tablet unless another one was still attached elsewhere. Tick-based disease is also unknown in the Adelaide hills and so there is likely to be another explanation.

I thought I pull a tick body out of my dog i lost it on the floor, when I rang the vet they told me we don’t have ticks in SA, my dog started getting very sick couldn’t walk week back legs, loss of appetite, jerking neck when drinking and so on, took her to the Vet got bloods done, told me it wasn’t good. And told me she wouldn’t make it through the night, I needed to consider putting her down in the next 2 hours, I said I couldn’t do that now because I needed more time. I’ll keep her over night. The next morning she was still with me and still showed no suffering. So I decided to look at the erea where the tick I thought was it was weeping and still pinkish red and what looked like a bite hole in the middle. I took a picture and went to the vet. I gave it to the receptionist and she took it out and showed the vet, came back and told me he didn’t think it was a tick bite, didn’t even come out to have a proper look. I decided to get her a tick tablet I gave it to her yesterday, and she woke up today got up done 2 U Turns on the bed laid back down and ate some biscuits. Considering she couldn’t stand up 24hrs ago it seems like the tablets was working, I’ll have to wait for another 48hrs to make sure but at the moment it starting to look good she’s drinking more and eating more, but at the moment I’m not certain if it’s because of the tick tablet. Her blood counts were really bad but we will see
Rick

I think a paralysis tick just killed my kelpie. The symptoms fit, although I’ve lived on east coast I’ve mostly lived in Adelaide. So it didn’t occur to me until after it was too late. A Sydney friend suggested it sounded like a tick and I realised that she was probably correct. Sad that I nor vet considered it as a possibility. He could have been saved.

Hi Anna. That’s an interesting view point and not an unusual one. While the possibility cannot be excluded, there is no evidence of Lyme disease being present in Australia. As these symptoms can be caused by many common diseases, it’s important to see a vet and rule them out before considering the rare ones.
Having said this, I agree with you completely about prevention. It’s now so easy to prevent ticks on dogs and cats (at the same time as fleas and mites) that everyone should do it regardless. This link gives a review of common tick products available in Australia.

Hi Brigitte. If the signs are similar to tick paralysis, you might like to read my page on the causes of hind leg weakness in dogs.