Wherever you live, your pet could pick up ticks. These parasites live not only in rural areas but in urban parks and gardens too. They find a host, such as your cat or dog, by 'questing' – waving their forelimbs in the air – at the tip of vegetation. As an animal brushes past, ticks transfer to them and attach themselves by biting through the animal's skin and cementing themselves in place.

1 in 3 ticks have been found to carry an infectious disease that may affect dogs*. One such disease is Lyme disease, which can affect both people and animals. In fact, cases of Lyme disease in the UK have increased by 300% in humans since 2000**.

Lyme disease can affect both people and dogs, with the flu-like symptoms including fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, joint swellings and stiffness when moving. The intensity of these symptoms can fluctuate for months, and if left undiagnosed can lead to permanent disability. We have teamed up with BADA-UK (Borreliosis & Associated Diseases Awareness UK), a charity dedicated to raising awareness about ticks and the diseases they transmit. For more information and to download educational materials, visit BADA-UK.

Other diseases that can affect pets include:

• Babesiosis – causes infected red blood cells to burst and in severe cases can lead to collapse andorgan complications, which can be fatal
• Ehrlichiosis – affects the white blood cells with symptoms including anaemia, depression, loss of appetite and excessive bleeding
• Anaplasmosis – affected animals show signs including lameness, weakness and fever.

* Source: Personal communication. F. Smith, University of Bristol.
** Source: Health Protection Agency.

Ticks have two stages of feeding – slow and then rapid engorgement. During the rapid engorgement stage, the alternate phases of salivary secretion and blood ingestion speed up. This is when diseases are most likely to be transmitted. As the tick secretes fluid into your pet, diseases can be transmitted along with it.

If you're thinking of taking your dog on holiday, it's important to be aware of ticks – bloodsucking parasites that can transmit diseases to your pet. Your dog is at higher risk of tick-borne diseases when travelling abroad. And although the Pet Travel Scheme no longer requires travelling dogs, cats or ferrets to be treated for ticks, it's advisable to do so. This will help prevent exotic ticks and the diseases they carry from entering the UK and Ireland and affecting pets here.

Disease hotspots

These are some of the most common tick-borne diseases and their associated risk level. If you are thinking of travelling abroad with your pets you might like to visit fleatickrisk.com before you go.