If you spend enough time in the field with your dog, you're eventually going to find a tick.
Maybe it's after an early morning duck hunt. Maybe it's following a weekend chasing pheasants through CRP fields. Or maybe it's after a simple hike in the foothills. No matter where you live, ticks have become an increasingly common part of life for dogs that spend time outdoors.
The problem is that while finding a tick can be frustrating, what you can't see is often far more concerning than the tick itself.
These tiny parasites can transmit bacteria and other pathogens that have the potential to affect your dog's joints, immune system, kidneys, nervous system, and overall performance. For working and sporting dogs, that can mean missed training days, lost hunting seasons, or even long-term health complications if disease goes unnoticed.
The encouraging news is that most tick-borne diseases are preventable—or at the very least, far more manageable when caught early.
Why Sporting Dogs Are at Greater Risk
Sporting dogs do exactly what ticks love.
They charge through tall grass, push into thick brush, retrieve birds from marshes, quarter fields, explore wooded trails, and cover miles of terrain that many pet dogs never encounter. Every one of those environments increases the chance of tick exposure.
Even dogs that spend only a few hours outdoors each week can pick up ticks, and because some species are active nearly year-round in certain parts of the country, prevention shouldn't stop when hunting season ends.
More Than Just an Itchy Bite
A tick isn't simply attached to your dog's skin—it feeds on blood. During that feeding process, infected ticks can transmit disease-causing organisms into the bloodstream.
Some of the most common tick-borne diseases affecting dogs include:
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is one of the most recognized tick-borne illnesses. While some infected dogs never show clinical signs, others may develop fever, swollen joints, shifting leg lameness, fatigue, or reluctance to exercise. In rare cases, Lyme disease can lead to serious kidney complications.
Anaplasmosis
Often causing vague signs like stiffness, lethargy, decreased appetite, and fever, anaplasmosis can easily be mistaken for simple soreness after a long day in the field. Fortunately, it generally responds well to treatment when diagnosed promptly.
Ehrlichiosis
This disease affects white blood cells and may lead to fever, enlarged lymph nodes, bruising, nosebleeds, weight loss, and low platelet counts. Without treatment, some dogs can develop chronic illness.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Despite its name, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever occurs throughout much of the United States. It can cause fever, joint pain, neurologic abnormalities, eye inflammation, and decreased appetite. Early veterinary care is essential.
Your Best Defense Starts Before the Hunt
Tick prevention is far easier than treating tick-borne disease.
Talk with your veterinarian about the best prevention strategy based on where you live and how your dog spends time outdoors. Options may include oral preventatives, topical products, tick collars, and in some regions, vaccination against Lyme disease.
Just as important is making prevention part of your routine.
After every hunt, training session, hike, or camping trip, spend a few minutes performing a hands-on tick check. Pay close attention to the ears, neck, collar area, armpits, groin, between the toes, around the face, and under the tail—places where ticks commonly hide.
Finding and removing a tick early may significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission.
Know the Warning Signs
One challenge with tick-borne diseases is that many symptoms are subtle at first.
You may notice your dog seems a little slower than usual, doesn't finish retrieves with the same enthusiasm, or appears stiff getting out of the kennel. Some dogs develop fever or lose their appetite, while others begin limping or seem unusually tired after activity.
Because these signs can resemble many other conditions, it's important to let your veterinarian know if your dog has had recent tick exposure.
Prevention Is a Year-Round Commitment
It's easy to think about ticks only during the warmer months, but depending on your location, some tick species remain active well into the fall, winter, or even year-round.
Protecting your dog means staying consistent with preventatives, performing regular tick checks, keeping your yard maintained, and staying informed about the diseases found in your region.
Those few extra minutes of prevention can save your dog from weeks—or even months—of illness.
The Dogs Give Us Everything
Our sporting dogs don't hesitate.
They leap into icy water, push through thick cattails, climb rocky hillsides, and hunt until the job is finished. They trust us to prepare them, condition them, feed them well, and protect them from the risks they can't understand.
Tick prevention is one more way we honor that trust.
The next time you finish a hunt or load your dog into the truck after training, take a few extra minutes to run your hands through their coat and check every inch of them. That simple habit may be one of the most important things you do all season.
Because sometimes the biggest threats come from the smallest bites.
Want to learn more?
Listen to this week's episode of Dog Driven, Tiny Bite, Big Consequences, where we dive deeper into tick biology, the most common tick-borne diseases, prevention strategies, and practical tips every sporting dog owner should know before heading into the field.
Until next time, keep your dog healthy, keep them prepared, and as always...
Stay Dog Driven.
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