Health
Lyme Disease and Ticks: Protecting Your Dog
A growing map
Lyme disease, carried by blacklegged (deer) ticks, is expanding well beyond the Northeast and upper Midwest into new counties every year. Dogs that hike, hunt, or simply live near woods and tall grass are most exposed.
Signs in dogs
Many infected dogs show nothing at first. When signs appear, look for shifting-leg lameness, swollen joints, fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite — often weeks to months after the bite. Untreated, Lyme can damage the kidneys.
Prevention that works
Modern monthly or 12-week chews and topicals kill ticks fast, usually before disease transmits. Add daily tick checks after outdoor time — ears, armpits, between toes — and remove any tick promptly with tweezers, straight out.
Ask about the vaccine
In high-risk regions many vets recommend the canine Lyme vaccine on top of tick preventives. Your vet can also run a quick annual blood test that screens for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases at the same time as the heartworm test.
If the day is coming
Ease The Paw coordinates in-home pet euthanasia across South Africa — we find and book the vet, arrange the cremation and handle the keepsakes, so you can simply be present. A flat R950 covers the coordination and your keepsake memorial; the vet and cremation are billed separately at their own rates.
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