Tick Fever in Dogs: Signs, Causes and Tick Panel Tests

Tick fever is an illness of dogs caused by germs that ticks pass on when they bite. A vet may use a CBC, a blood smear, a rapid kit test or a PCR tick panel to look for these germs.

What is tick fever in dogs?

"Tick fever" is a common name for several tick-borne infections. In dogs the main germs are Ehrlichia, Babesia and Anaplasma. They attack different blood cells:

• Babesia infects red blood cells.
• Ehrlichia infects white blood cells.
• Anaplasma can infect platelets or white blood cells. Platelets are the small cells that help blood to clot.

Because they harm blood cells, these infections can cause anaemia (low red blood cells), low platelets, bleeding and weakness. They can also affect organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys. A dog can be infected with more than one of these germs at the same time.

A single bite from an infected tick can pass on the germs. The tick may drop off before you notice it, so not finding a tick does not rule out tick fever.

What signs can tick fever cause?

Early signs may be mild and easy to miss. As the illness goes on, you may see:

• Fever, tiredness and poor appetite
• Weight loss and weakness
• Pale or yellow gums
• Bleeding from the nose or mouth, or red spots on the skin
• Dark or red-brown urine
• Swollen glands
• Painful joints or lameness

These signs are not special to tick fever, because many illnesses look alike. Only an examination and tests can tell them apart. Pale gums, bleeding or collapse are emergencies, so take your dog to a vet at once.

Which tests are used to look for tick fever?

Vets usually test in steps, and your dog may not need every test.

• CBC. A Complete Blood Count (CBC) checks for anaemia, low platelets and changes in white cells. It is often the first clue, but it cannot say which germ is present.
• Blood smear. A Blood Protozoa (Blood Parasite Smear) spreads a drop of blood on a slide, stains it and checks it under a microscope. Babesia can sometimes be seen inside red blood cells. Ehrlichia is much harder to see, and a smear with no parasites does not rule out tick fever.
• Rapid kit test. The Snap 4Dx (Ehrlichia / Lyme / Heartworm / Anaplasma) is a rapid kit for dogs. It looks mainly for antibodies, which the dog's body makes after meeting a germ. It checks for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma, for Lyme disease, which is another tick-borne illness, and for heartworm, a worm spread by mosquitoes.
• PCR tick panel. PCR looks for the genetic material (DNA) of the germs in a blood sample. The three-strain panel looks for Babesia gibsoni, Babesia canis and Ehrlichia canis. The four-strain panel also looks for Anaplasma. The lab lists both: Tick Fever Panel RT-PCR (3 Strain: B. gibsoni, B. canis & E. canis) and Tick Fever Panel RT-PCR (4 Strain: B. gibsoni, B. canis, E. canis & Anaplasma spp.).
• Liver and kidney tests. These show whether the infection has affected these organs.

The Tick Bone Panel groups a CBC, a blood smear, and basic liver and kidney checks. The Pro Tick Bone Safety Panel adds the rapid kit test for dogs. The PCR and rapid kit tests described here are for dogs.

How do vets read the results?

No single test is perfect, so vets look at the whole picture:

• A smear can miss parasites, especially early or late in the illness.
• Antibodies take time to appear, so a rapid kit test done very early may be negative. A positive antibody test can also mean the dog met the germ in the past, not that it is sick now.
• PCR can find a germ when too few are present to see on a smear, and it can name the germ. It can still miss an infection if the sample has very few germs.

Tell your vet if your dog has already had medicines, because they can change results. A registered veterinarian reads the results together with your dog's signs, history and CBC. If treatment is needed, the vet decides what to give and for how long. Depending on how sick your dog is, the vet may choose medicines, hospital care and other support, and will repeat tests to follow recovery. Please do not give your dog any medicine without your vet's advice.

How can you lower the risk of tick fever?

No test replaces tick control.

• Check your dog's body for ticks every week.
• Ask your vet which tick prevention suits your dog, and use it as advised.
• Keep bedding and resting places clean, because ticks can hide in them and in cracks in walls.
• Get help early if your dog has had ticks and then develops fever or weakness.

Related reading: Where Ticks Hide on Dogs and Cats: A Simple Body Check Guide

When to talk to your vet

Talk to your vet if your dog has fever, weakness, poor appetite, pale or yellow gums, bleeding or lameness, especially after tick exposure. Do not wait until a tick is seen.

Pashupatinath Vet Lab provides free sample collection anywhere in Bhopal. For other towns, samples can be sent to the lab by courier, bus parcel or through your local vet, and the lab coordinates by phone or WhatsApp. Routine tests such as a CBC are normally reported the same day or within 24 hours. For PCR and rapid kit tests, the reporting time is confirmed when you book. See all tests for Dog.