Shaped like a teardrop with eight legs, the tick is cousin to the spider. Often no larger than a poppyseed (except when they're engorged with blood), ticks use forearm hooks to snag onto fur and a pair of sharp mouthparts to dig into skin and feed on the blood they need to mature and reproduce. That's disgusting enough, but ticks also carry diseases that affect dogs and people, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis.

Tick-Borne Illnesses

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States. It's caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete bacteria that's spread by the bite of an infected tick. In dogs, Lyme disease is characterized by sudden lameness, with one or more joints becoming swollen and painful. Treatment requires two to four weeks of antibiotics. Be sure to wear gloves when removing ticks from dogs.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an infection characterized by fever, depression, vomiting, diarrhea, enlarged lymph nodes, discharge from the eyes and nose, and muscle or joint pain. It's caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and is spread by several species of ticks. The disease was discovered in the Rocky Mountain area, but now most cases occur in the southeastern United States, the Midwest, the Plains states, and the Southwest. Suspect Rocky Mountain spotted fever if your pug has suffered tick bites during tick season — April to September. Your veterinarian can confirm it with a blood test. It's treated with antibiotics and supportive therapy.

Ehrlichiosis often resembles Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Signs include fever, lack of appetite, eye and nose discharge, and swollen limbs. It's caused by the rickettsial organism Ehrlichia canis, spread by the bite of the brown dog tick. Ehrlichiosis is usually seen in the Gulf Coast area, the Eastern seaboard, the Midwest, and California. Unlike most tick-borne diseases, it can occur year-round. It's treated with antibiotics and supportive therapy.

Pugs At Risk

Your pug is most at risk for ticks if he enjoys spending time outdoors. Favorite tick environments are wooded areas or yards that have lots of leafy debris where the tick can lie in wait for its prey. Check for ticks any time your pug has been outdoors or has been for a walk in tick-infested areas.

Removing Ticks

Ticks can attach anywhere on the body, but they're especially fond of the head, neck, ears, and feet (between the toes). The blood of ticks is dangerous to people, so put on gloves before you start your tick hunt. If you find a tick on your pug, remove it with tweezers. Grasp the tick at the head and use steady pressure to pull it away from the skin. Old wives' tales suggest smothering the tick with petroleum jelly, covering it with alcohol, or applying the tip of a burned match to its body, but these techniques are more harmful than helpful. Once the tick is removed, drop it in a jar containing alcohol or flush it down the toilet. Certain flea-control products kill ticks as well, another good reason for a flea-control program.