See below for the tick surveillance submission form. If you suspect your animal has been in contact with ticks, contact your veterinarian for assistance.

• Symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs: Initially you'll see a large round red rash around the bite area. Infections of the skin, joints, muscles, heart, and nervous system can follow unless treated.
• Humans contract Lyme disease the same way animals do—by getting bitten from an infected tick.
• Not all animals or people who have been bitten by a tick will contract Lyme disease. It is thought to take 36-48 hours before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted, so getting a tick removed as quickly as possible is very important.
• Incidence: Ticks are typically found from April through October in Alberta.
• If you find a tick on your pet, yourself, someone else, or anywhere outside, Alberta Health asks you to submit it for testing as part of a tick surveillance program. The directions given for safely removing a tick are for both animals and humans and are available by clicking "More Tick Info from Alberta Health" below.

 

More Tick Info from Alberta Health

Alberta Lyme

Resources:

1. The summary of the Alberta Health 2020 surveillance report states that 15% of blacklegged (Ixodes) ticks in Alberta tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.)
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that “Ticks not known to transmit Lyme disease include Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)”.
3. Government of Canada information.
4. Videos about ticks from the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)
5. Pets and Ticks - a comprehensive website that brings the Pet Tick Tracker together with up-to-date, evidence-based information on ticks in Canada.