Friends Upset Over Tick Situation – Are we really in the wrong?

[Dogowne91]

Hi everyone,
Would really appreciate some honest opinions on something that’s left us a bit stunned.
We just got back from a 2-week holiday and had left our dog with close friends who kindly offered to look after him. They also have two dogs, and they spent loads of time together — running around the house and their big garden, playing, sleeping near each other, out on plenty of walks, the usual.
When we picked up our dog, they told us they’d found 8 ticks in a matter of days — some on our dog and some around the house (sofa, bed, floor) which explained why they had asked if our dog was on tick prevention whilst we were away. We were honest from the beginning: he wasn’t and hasn't been for at least a couple of years. Totally our fault, just hadn’t gotten around to it. We also discovered they have treated him straight away once they discovered he wasn't up to date with it (they spoke with a vet first).
They’re clearly really upset and, honestly, we’re a bit taken aback. We obviously didn’t mean to put anyone at risk and feel bad — but also, we live in the Devon countryside where dogs are running through fields and long grass all the time and if we find ticks, we normally simply remove them from him. Ticks are kind of unavoidable here and the likelihood of Lyme disease is not that bad.
We’re now wondering… did we seriously mess up? Should we have flagged this before leaving him with them? We never thought it would cause this kind of fallout.
Would really appreciate some honest thoughts. Is this as big a deal as they are making it seem?

I’d be giving them a lovely gift and a huge apology. Though hopefully you’re giving them something anyway to thank them for saving you two weeks’ worth of kennel fees or paying for a dog-sitter?

Once again, I'm really impressed by the level of knowledge on this thread. Especially as went through four years of battling to get a diagnosis.

On one memorable occasion, I went back to my GP with my advanced blood test prescription from Marseille to be told, "You can take these tests if you like but I guarantee you that they will come back with nothing. You suffer very much from anxiety, madame."

Thank goodness I ignored him.

I might have been better off getting an appointment with the vet when it all started in 2020.

You messed up and you should be at least offering to pay treatment to her dogs and her home . How can you think ticks are a normal thing ? Couldn’t you treat your pet before leaving him ? I’m shocked you are downplaying this .
My dad almost died from lymes a few years ago . Ticks are not a joke and not normal to find alive in anyone’s house . Vile

Our vet thinks about lymes whenever she sees a dog. We are in tick infested country (richmond park) and it has been a huge problem here for years. Our dog came back from a trip to Scotland and the next day he was struggling to get up. We thought he'd hurt his leg and took him to the vets the next day because it was new years eve over a weekend and they would be closed for 4 days - otherwise we would have waited.

The vet ran blood tests and found the lymes that way. We were amazed. We hadn't found a tick. It was December. We thought he'd pulled a muscle or sth.

The vet was so vigilant. Basically lymes can affect any part of the body. But it can be difficult to spot it as it can look like lots of other things.

Why?

Friends dogs are already treated for ticks regularly, no additional treatment needed.

We don't treat houses for ticks in the UK as only one species can live in a house and its very rare (oddly, it is the brown dog tick however most ticks we see are not dog ticks, they're deer/sheep ticks. In a similar fashion, dog fleas are rare too, its cat fleas we see most commonly!).

I agree OP should reimburse her friend for the treatment her own dog recieved and apologise for not having checked the situation first... but there are a LOT of dramatics going on here. Lyme disease is serious, yes - but having dogs and living rurally, ticks are an ever present risk and having a dog not treated for ticks in the really does not increase the risk to anyone but that particular dog.

Because they will stay on furniture they survive 60c washing too . Yes friends dogs will be ok if treated but what about the humans ?

It’s appalling that you both don’t protect your dog from tick borne illnesses AND sent your tick ridden dog to someone else’s house. I’d be fuming.

I'm surprised at the level of upset over this from everyone on the thread. I don't worm or flea my dog either - do a worm count test once a year and flea comb him every once in a while to check he doesn't have fleas. Is everyone really giving their dogs unnecessary treatments all the time? Do you all worm your kids regularly and treat them for headlice just in case? Genuinely curious!

Please read up on worming etc.. worms can pass on some horrible diseases in humans. Read up on ticks and Lyme Disease - it's really awful as can be life long condition if not treated within days of a tick bite.

I'm afraid it’s pure ignorance on your part. Worms can be fatal to dogs. OP isn’t bothering to worm them either.

that is your choice for your dogs in your house.

Whilst unpleasant, worms in children are not
fatal. They can be to dogs. And headlice don’t carry the risk of severe disease for the human, which ticks do.

I have always wormed my dogs yes. Fleas and ticks no, I observe, remove, dispose of ticks and have never had a dog with fleas. If a dog did get a flea infestation, I would treat it. I’m not ignorant, I’ve had many dogs and each has been fully vaccinated, wormed, and OTom hooked for any ticks. Easy and effective. Up to others if they choose to prevent treat. I certainly wouldn’t think that my dogs need rehoming for this regime!

This is because of the life cycle of ticks and the way they feed. The way they feed makes it very difficult to treat them.

A tick is just as likely to jump on a human as a pet but we don't douse ourselves in neurotoxins just in case. It's madness.

I have to give flea treatment because I'm mildly allergic to flea bites. The bites can make me come out in big persistent welts. Even so.. when the last insecticide potion failed (the fleas eventually develop resistence) we found flea larvae on my bed covers <boak>. I've never liked the cats as much since that discovery.

I don't care if PP think it's irresponsible not to give parasite treatment. The situation isn't that simple to me. I can understand people genuinely thinking it's not a problem in their pet is why they don't. Fair enough.

I do a line in compassion & tolerance... not fashionable, I know !!

Yes thread worms in children and headlice are quite harmless but definitely cannot be compared to worms in dogs which can carry some serious diseases that can kill dog or make you go blind!!

I don't believe a tick is just as likely to latch onto a human as a dog. My dogs regularly get ticks - my husband and I have never had one (touch wood). The dogs brush against the foliage more and they have no protection while we wear long trousers, long sleeves.

You can find them everywhere but they are more prevalent in the South of England and the Scottish Highlands.

Funny how it’s always women suffering anxiety at the doctors!

I was told the only thing they could do was give me anxiety meds for my symptoms until my hypothyroidism diagnosis. I was told I probably just had anxiety when I was still bleeding after an operation and eventually had to go back to theatre and have a blood transfusion.

It’s rubbish what women have to go through to get taken seriously.

It's because you don't have shorts on. They leap towards vibration and Co2 and just bounce off clothing.

Wear shorts and no socks in bracken where there's deer, especially if you have hairy legs and you will be covered in them.

that's fleas. Ticks can't jump. They rely on being brushed off the grass or undergrowth onto a host.

not always women. My late husband was given valium for stress when it was actually bowel cancer. I am glad to say that that doctor is no longer in practice.

Read this back to yourself and take on board how much time and effort this took them. Apology at the very least.

Ticks do not need you to strip the house and steam everything and wash on high temps (yes lower temps won't kill them, but they also can't cling to clothing well and will be washed away, and the temperature of a dryer would definitely do for them)...

They'll only survive a day or two max inside your house and even then, they can't reproduce successfully in the house - they need to lay eggs outdoors in a moist environment for the nymphs to hatch and latch onto the right host species. In your house, that's never going to happen.

Anyone dog sitting, in an area known for ticks, should be checking the dogs for ticks after each walk, regardless of tick treatment. Not willing to do that, don't look after someone elses dog.

And the fleas???