How to Prevent Lyme Disease in Animals

Animals contract Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick that carries the Lyme disease bacteria. Most often, deer ticks or Western black-legged ticks carry the bacteria and infect animals. Some animals show no signs of Lyme disease, while others experience fever, swollen lymph nodes, limping, painful joints, loss of appetite, dehydration or lethargy. Cats and dogs often contract Lyme disease after being outside or walking through wooded areas. To prevent Lyme disease, limit your pet's exposure to ticks and frequently check its fur.

Things You'll Need

Tweezers
Tick-killing ointment, spray, shampoo or collar
Lyme disease vaccination

Instructions

- 1
  Limit your pet's exposure to wooded areas or tall grasses. Ticks typically live in bushes, tall grasses, leaf litter or shrubbery. Keep your animal's play area free of this vegetation to limit its exposure to Lyme disease-causing ticks.
- 2
  Visually inspect your animal after it goes outside. Carefully look through its fur for small, black ticks. Pull ticks from your pet's skin using a clean pair of tweezers. Wash the affected area after pulling a tick from your animal's skin.
- 3
  Brush your pet frequently during the spring and summer to dislodge any ticks crawling on its skin.
- 4
  Use a preventative pharmaceutical product to kill ticks on your pet. Purchase tick-killing topical ointments, sprays, shampoos or collars for your animal. Consult your veterinarian about recommended brands and treatments. Use the tick-killing treatment at least once per month.
- 5
  Get your pet a Lyme disease vaccination if possible. Check with your veterinarian about available treatments for your pet. As of 2011, there was a Lyme disease vaccination for dogs but no vaccine for cats. Get your dog vaccinated once per year to prevent Lyme disease.