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So I realize this thread isn't for medical/diagnostic advice, but I had some quick questions regarding ticks. We just moved to a new house recently and yesterday when I was petting my dog I found a tick on him. I removed it with some tweezers but was unable to remove the head. There was some blood in the tick's abdomen which popped after being removed (didn't look engorged, but had clearly started feeding). I checked him for more ticks and didn't find any. Tonight I was petting him again and we found 2 more ticks that had bitten him and again removed them, but like the first time, the heads did not come out. My buddy isn't having any symptoms and the location of the first bite doesn't look bad (a little red, but pretty much the same as yesterday), I'm just not sure what to do as he's never had a tick before. We currently live in western Missouri in the suburb of a major city.
So my questions are as follows:
Should I take him to a vet even if he's asymptomatic or should I just keep an eye on him? I'm off for the next month until residency starts, so I can watch him pretty closely.
If yes to the vet, what tests should I reasonably ask for/have done when I take him? I'm assuming Lyme Disease and Erlichiosis are the big ones, but is there anything else he would need to have done? Also, how much should I expect to pay for the tests? Our dog's health is really important to us, but it would be really hard for us to drop a couple hundred dollars right now as money is going to be tight until I start getting paychecks. Would greatly appreciate any input on this and what the whole procedure is for dogs that get ticks.
Before anyone asks, I'm not sure what kind of ticks bit him and hopefully we won't find more as we're keeping him out of the backyard until I can treat it. If I do find another one I'll take a picture and post it.
So my questions are as follows:
Should I take him to a vet even if he's asymptomatic or should I just keep an eye on him? I'm off for the next month until residency starts, so I can watch him pretty closely.
If yes to the vet, what tests should I reasonably ask for/have done when I take him? I'm assuming Lyme Disease and Erlichiosis are the big ones, but is there anything else he would need to have done? Also, how much should I expect to pay for the tests? Our dog's health is really important to us, but it would be really hard for us to drop a couple hundred dollars right now as money is going to be tight until I start getting paychecks. Would greatly appreciate any input on this and what the whole procedure is for dogs that get ticks.
Before anyone asks, I'm not sure what kind of ticks bit him and hopefully we won't find more as we're keeping him out of the backyard until I can treat it. If I do find another one I'll take a picture and post it.
