Lyme disease is caused by a spiral-shaped microscopic organism. This bacterium lives in the gut of the eastern black-legged tick and the western black-legged tick. It can be transmitted when an infected tick feeds on a dog, person, or other mammal.
Heartworm disease is as scary as it sounds. It is a severe and potentially fatal disease caused by parasitic worms that like to live in the heart and lungs of many types of mammals. Heartworms are a type of roundworm spread by mosquitoes, and dogs of any age or breed are susceptible to infection from them.
Ticks acquire the bacterium that causes anaplasmosis from feeding on an infected host animal, such as a rodent or a deer. Then, they pass the bacteria to your dog by biting. Anaplasmosis can lead to serious symptoms and poses a significant risk to your dog’s health.
The brown dog tick is one of the several species of ticks that can transmit ehrlichiosis. The lone star tick is another. The tick must be attached to your pet for 24-48 hours in order to transmit the infection. Symptoms may not be present until 1-3 weeks after infection.