# Miniature tick infestation.. Need help identifing.



## piston (Apr 18, 2010)

Just found out about this today, I wrote the story, hope it's not too long. 

Wow, what a stunner. For the last 3 weeks or so Piston and Aika have been scratching from itching more that usual. 2 weeks ago, Piston started scratching so much under his belly that he lost some hair and had a big irritation spot. I shaved a part of his belly and could not see anything other that the irritation. So I took I'm to the Vet, got checked for bacteria, tested negative. With the bad irritation and him scratching he got pills for the scratching and antibiotics. All was good, itching seem to go away, until the we finished his pills. 

2 days later he is still going at it and his belly is getting worse. BTW Aika still scratched the same.

At this point I am starting to loose it...imagine the dogs. 

After grooming, checking them etc... I see little black spots on Piston's belly that I did not see previously. Looked like tinny little scabs. I use a flash light and tweezers and manage to pick one out. After looking at it closely with a magnifying glass, it looks like a tick. Like a flee but a tick like bug!!!!!!!

I comb through Piston's hair and he is infested. I have picked ticks out of my dog's from walks, but never something like this. About 1/32-1/16 of an inch. (1mm-3mm). 
I took a few of them to the Vet and she confirmed that it is in the family of the tick but could not identify it and we will send it out find out exactly what they are. 

Sooooo, Pistons, Aika and Jacouille have them. Althoug Aika and Jacouille aren't so bad. So all of them got a special shampoo shower today and the tick medication. Then out of revenge I have been looking though the dog's with tweezers crushing them.

Unfortunately I cannot take a proper picture of them but here is a pic of piston's back of the ear..... burk!!!!

See the little black spots..these are the big ones..










If this type of parasites happened to someone or someones knows about this please give so info!!!

If the tick treatment works I will have to keep giving it to them as it's 100% sure they got this in the fields back of the house. 
The Vet told me about a lyme increase in the region  but I can't keep the crew indoors, they love it too much outside.

Thanks

Piston, Aika, Jacouille Julie and Seb.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up


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## Jean_NJ (Dec 15, 2010)

*Are they Deer ticks?*

You mentioned Lyme disease. It is a tick-borne illness carried by the deer tick. They are very small about the size of a sesame seed, sometimes I would mistake them for a small scab. Hard to tell from your picture, but it certainly could be them.

Where I live deer ticks/Lyme disease is quite prevalent. The dogs usually get frontline and if it's a bad year sometimes the vet will prescribe a medicated dog collar (not my favorite). 

There is a vaccine, but my little dog ended up getting Lyme disease while he was vaccinated for it. When he had it he was young, and for about 2 weeks he was just really sleepy which was out of character. He had to be on antibiotics for a month, but he recovered. In can be debilitating but if you don't let your dogs out and play it's not healthy either. 

Good Luck and just look for any symptoms such as lethargy or limping


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

From an old Parisitology textbook of mine:

Dogs can be infested with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (the brown dog tick), Dermacentor andersoni, D. variabiis, Amblyomma maculatum and Ixodes scapularis. Mites closely resemble small ticks (and some mites are microscopic).
Do you have a magnifying glass to look at them? Ticks have short hairs or are bare, mites bodies have long hairs, the mouth parts of the tick are exposed and have teeth, this body part is hidden and unarmed in mites. The ticks body texture is leathery in appearance and the mites body is membranous in appearance.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Lyme disease is vicious, and the vaccine is better than it used to be. I encourage anyone in Lyme country to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and that their tick prevention works for deer ticks. 

If the ticks present on your dogs are deer ticks, testing for Lyme is important. It is highly treatable, but devastating if not treated. My Joker has been treated three times, since I will take no chances with that disease.

Good luck!


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## piston (Apr 18, 2010)

Sorry for taking a long time replying I got really sick the last week. 

here are the pictures of the little ticks










So, after the shampoo and Andvantix all 3 dogs are tick free. 

I just can't identify the ticks properly. I send a few of them to the national health lab for testing. 

So I guess I have to keep them on a tick treatment permanently.

I'll keep posted as soon as I get the type of tick.

Thanks for you help it is great


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Umm..those aren't any kind of tick I know of. From your initial description, I was assuming they were "seed" ticks (tiny nymph stage ticks, probably deer tick).

However, those photos you've posted look more like bed bugs than anything else. Sorry man, those are a huge pain to get rid of (less dangerous than ticks, though, since they don't carry any known serious diseases like ticks do). Are you guys getting odd rashes or welts at all?

If I'm wrong, and they're ticks, Frontline or Advantix should work to kill them, though they both take hours to do so, during which the ticks may feed and pass disease. If they're ticks, you'll also want to do a regular SNAP 4Dx blood test (we do it about every six months) which tests for the three most common tick diseases (Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis).


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I think TK is right, those look like bed bugs, this is a picture of them. You need to call an exterminator!!


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## piston (Apr 18, 2010)

mylissyk said:


> I think TK is right, those look like bed bugs, this is a picture of them. You need to call an exterminator!!


Actually the ones on my pictures have been dead for a week, but when living looked just like ticks with the little legs in front and inbeded in the skin of the dog in the same fasion. We checked with the vet and she thought the same thing. Very weird. I checked the whole house for them and I can't find any. In the beds(ours and the dogs, on and under carpets, walls etc...)


hours after the application of the advantix they were all gone off Aika and Jacouille and took 24h to get all of them off Piston. So the tick medecine worked...

Wow, I will definitelly let you guys know once the results are back from the lab.

Thanks for all the help


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

They could be lice.... 

When we brought our cat home (he was a barn dropoff), he was covered with fleas and lice. I'm not sure if dog lice look different, but... could be. 

I'm glad you got it cleared up. Those things were disgusting looking.


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## piston (Apr 18, 2010)

Megora said:


> They could be lice....
> 
> When we brought our cat home (he was a barn dropoff), he was covered with fleas and lice. I'm not sure if dog lice look different, but... could be.
> 
> I'm glad you got it cleared up. Those things were disgusting looking.


I think you are on the right track!!! Looks a lot like a lice. A very good news it's that the human lice don't like dogs and the dog lice don't like humans. 
Now I can't wait for the lab results  

The only thing I can figure out were Piston got that is the big manure mountain in the back of the field were he had a great time rolling in it a few times... yummy!


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

There's a couple of kinds of dog lice, and it could totally be that. Pretty sure they ain't ticks.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Here is an article about dog lice with a picture
Dog Lice | Dog Blog | Dog Treats & Dog Supplies


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