Tick Fever in Dogs in India: Signs, Tests, Treatment

“Tick fever” is the everyday name for a group of infections that ticks pass to dogs. They are common across South India, they can be serious, and they are largely preventable with year-round tick control. This guide covers what to watch for, how vets test and treat it, and what prevention costs. If you think your dog has tick fever, see a vet: the right treatment depends on which infection it is.

What tick fever is

The infections that matter most in South India are:

• Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis): attacks white blood cells and often lowers platelets, the cells that stop bleeding.
• Babesiosis (Babesia): a parasite that destroys red blood cells. In sick dogs tested at the Veterinary College in Hebbal, Bangalore, the small species Babesia gibsoni was the most common (Mahalingaiah et al., 2017), and a Kerala study found it in nearly half of 150 pet dogs brought to clinics (Jain et al., 2017). This matters for treatment, below.
• Anaplasmosis (Anaplasma platys): also lowers platelets.

A dog can carry more than one at a time. The main carrier is the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), which can live and breed indoors, in homes and kennels, so it doesn’t need a park to find your dog.

Ticks don’t need long. Ehrlichia can pass to a dog within 3 to 6 hours of a tick attaching (CAPC). Daily tick checks help, but they can’t replace a preventive.

Symptoms

Early signs are easy to mistake for a dog that’s “just tired”:

• Sleeping more, less interest in walks
• Eating less
• Fever. A dog’s normal temperature is 37.5 to 39.2°C (99.5 to 102.5°F) (Merck Veterinary Manual). A digital thermometer in the rectum gives the real number. Above 39.2°C (102.5°F) is a fever: call your vet.
• Pale gums: lift the lip and look. Healthy gums are pink.
• Tiny red spots on the gums or belly, or bruises you can’t explain
• Swollen lumps under the jaw or in front of the shoulders (lymph nodes)

Go to a vet now if you see:

• Nosebleeds or bleeding from more than one place
• Very pale, white or yellow gums, or yellow whites of the eyes
• Dark red or brown urine
• Collapse, extreme weakness, or a seizure

Ehrlichiosis can also go quiet for weeks or months and come back as a long-term illness with weight loss, eye problems and bleeding. A dog that “recovered” on its own may still be infected.

How vets test for it

• Complete blood count (CBC): low platelets and anaemia are common clues.
• Blood smear: looking for Babesia inside red blood cells under a microscope.
• Rapid antibody test: an in-clinic kit for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma.
• PCR: a lab test that finds the organism’s DNA and tells the species apart.

How it is treated

• Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis: the antibiotic doxycycline, given for 28 days (CAPC). Shorter courses can fail to clear the infection, so finish the whole course even if your dog looks well after a week.
• Babesiosis: the drug depends on the species. Imidocarb works for the large Babesia. For Babesia gibsoni, the common one in sick dogs here, a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin is the only treatment shown to bring the parasite below what a PCR test can detect; vets also use other combinations, such as buparvaquone with azithromycin (CAPC; Solano-Gallego et al., 2016). Treated dogs can stay carriers.
• Severe cases may need a drip, a blood transfusion and a hospital stay.

Your vet chooses the drug and dose. Don’t start or stop antibiotics on your own.

Prevention

CAPC advises year-round tick control (CAPC), and no study shows a safe tick-free season in Bangalore. There are three main kinds of product. Choose with your vet, based on your dog’s weight, age and health.

Chews (isoxazolines)

Prices on Supertails for a medium to large dog, checked 20 October 2026. Chews are sold by weight band, so buy the band your dog’s weight falls in:

• Bravecto (fluralaner), 20 to 40 kg: every 12 weeks, ₹1,805 a chew, about ₹650 a month
• NexGard (afoxolaner), 10 to 25 kg: monthly, ₹2,091 for 3, about ₹700 a month
• NexGard (afoxolaner), 25 to 50 kg: monthly, ₹2,364 for 3, about ₹790 a month
• Simparica (sarolaner), 20 to 40 kg: monthly, ₹637 a chew, about ₹640 a month

The US FDA says this group of medicines has been linked to muscle tremors, wobbliness and seizures, and that “seizures may occur in animals without a prior history”. It still considers them “safe and effective” (FDA, 2023). Tell your vet if your dog has ever had a seizure.

Collars

Tick collars are a recognised option. Kiltix (flumethrin with propoxur), sold in India for about ₹660 to ₹765, is labelled to last up to seven months. Collars containing amitraz can poison a dog that chews and swallows one, and amitraz is not recommended for cats or small breeds such as Chihuahuas and Pomeranians (Merck Veterinary Manual). If you have a cat, ask your vet before using any collar or spray: some tick chemicals are toxic to cats.

Spot-ons and sprays

Products such as Frontline (fipronil) are applied to the skin monthly. They suit dogs that can’t take chews; ask your vet which one.

What doesn’t work

Neem oil, garlic and other home remedies have no good evidence of protecting dogs, and garlic is toxic to dogs: it damages red blood cells (Merck Veterinary Manual).

Daily checks and your home

Every evening, run your hands over your dog, paying attention to:

• Ears, inside and behind
• Under the collar
• Between the toes
• Armpits and groin
• Under the tail

To remove a tick, grip it with fine tweezers as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out, slowly. Don’t squeeze it with your fingers. Note the date, so you can tell your vet if your dog falls ill in the next three weeks.

Because the brown dog tick breeds indoors, also:

• Wash your dog’s bedding every week.
• Vacuum sofas, carpets and corners where your dog sleeps.
• If ticks keep coming back, the house itself may be infested. Ask a pest-control service for a treatment that is safe for pets.

Long grass in parks is where dogs pick up ticks outdoors. If you walk in parks, see which Bangalore parks allow dogs, and check your dog when you get home.

Seasons: we found no study showing a tick-free season in Bangalore, so keep prevention going every month.

FAQs

I found one tick. Does my dog have tick fever? Not necessarily: most tick bites don’t make a dog ill. But Ehrlichia can pass within hours, so remove the tick, note the date, and watch for tiredness, fever or pale gums over the next three weeks. Ask your vet whether a blood test is worth doing.

Can my dog catch it from another dog? Mostly through ticks. Babesia gibsoni can also spread through bite wounds in dog fights and through blood transfusions, which is one more reason to keep your dog out of fights (CAPC).

Is there a tick fever vaccine in India? We found none. Vaccines against Babesia canis have been sold in Europe, but that is a different species from the ones common in India, and they gave only partial protection (Solano-Gallego et al., 2016); one of them, Nobivac Piro, has since been withdrawn (EMA).

My dog had tick fever and recovered. Is it immune now? No. Protective immunity doesn’t seem to develop, and dogs can be infected again (CAPC). Keep up prevention.

Can I catch it from my dog? Not directly. People get these infections from tick bites, the same way dogs do, and the dog types rarely infect humans (CAPC). Wear gloves or use tweezers when you remove ticks.

How much should I budget for tick prevention? About ₹650 to ₹800 a month for a medium to large dog, from the prices above. See the full cost of raising a dog in Bangalore.

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