· For pet owners ·

Ticks and pets.

A dog who runs in tall grass is one of the most efficient tick-delivery systems in Canada. Most of the ticks that end up on people in suburban yards arrived on a dog first. Prevention for pets is simpler than for humans: ask your vet for a year-round preventive.

Why dogs matter

Dogs are tick magnets.

A questing tick (one waiting on a blade of grass with its front legs out) grabs the first warm furry leg that brushes past. That’s almost always a dog. Once aboard, the tick feeds in place or drops off in the house and looks for the next host, often you. An unprotected dog is the biggest single source of tick exposure in many suburban households, even when nobody goes near the woods.

Three reasons

Why prevention matters more than checks alone.

Ticks can hide in dog fur for hours and you won’t see them.
An engorged tick on a dog has already been feeding for many hours.
A tick that falls off your dog inside the house can still find a human host days later.

The dog tick check

A flat hand finds engorged ticks.

Take 30 seconds at the back door before the dog comes inside. Engorged ticks feel like small soft grapes hidden in fur. Unfed ticks are harder to find by feel; a fine-toothed flea comb works for those.

Ears, inside and out. The fold of the ear flap is a favourite attachment site.
Around the head and muzzle. Especially if your dog noses in tall grass.
Neck and collar area. Lift the collar and run a hand underneath.
Armpits. Where the leg meets the body. Common spot.
Belly and groin. Thin fur and warm skin, so ticks go there.
Between toes. Spread each pad. Ticks often attach where they first land.
Base of the tail. The last spot before the back legs.

If you find one

Remove and save.

Same as for humans: fine-tipped tweezers, grip at the mouthparts, straight pull. Save the tick on an index card with the date and where it was attached. A tick that fed on your dog tells your vet what’s circulating in your area.

Prescription prevention

What your vet will likely recommend.

Four products cover most of the Canadian market. All need a vet’s prescription.Talk to your vet before starting any of them.The right choice depends on your dog’s weight, breed (some collies and related breeds are sensitive to certain isoxazolines), other medications, and your local tick species.

Bravecto

Oral chewable · 12 weeks

Single chewable tablet protects against ticks and fleas for 3 months. Popular for active outdoor dogs because of the long interval. Active ingredient: fluralaner (an isoxazoline).

NexGard

Oral chewable · monthly

Beef-flavoured chewable taken monthly. Same drug class as Bravecto (afoxolaner). Useful if you want monthly coverage you can stop quickly.

Simparica · Simparica Trio

Oral chewable · monthly

Simparica covers fleas and ticks; Simparica Trio adds heartworm and intestinal worm protection in one tablet. Active ingredient: sarolaner.

Seresto collar

Worn collar · 8 months

Slow-release collar that protects against ticks and fleas for up to 8 months. Useful for dogs who don't reliably take oral medication, or as a supplement during peak season.

Important caveats

Always check with your vet.

Isoxazolines (Bravecto, NexGard, Simparica) have a known rare side effect in dogs with neurological conditions or seizure history. Tell your vet if either applies.
Most of these are not approved for cats. Do not give canine products to cats. Permethrin and isoxazolines have caused serious harm to cats. There are cat-specific options (e.g. Bravecto Plus for Cats); ask your vet.
“Natural” alternatives (garlic, apple cider vinegar, essential oils) do not reliably prevent tick bites and can be toxic to pets in their own right.

Vaccinate, too

Three Lyme vaccines for dogs are licensed in Canada.

In established Lyme areas, vets often pair a vaccine with the year-round product. The two do different jobs. The product kills ticks before they transmit anything, and the vaccine primes your dog’s immune system in case one gets through. Most vets recommend both for dogs that spend time in long grass, on wooded trails, or at the cottage.

Nobivac Lyme

Merck · annual booster

Bacterin raising antibodies to both OspA and OspC, so it kills the bacteria in the tick and in the dog. Two doses to start, then annual.

Vanguard crLyme

Zoetis · 15-month duration

Recombinant OspA plus a chimeric OspC. Labelled for 15 months of immunity, which stretches the booster schedule.

Recombitek Lyme

Boehringer Ingelheim · annual

Recombinant OspA vaccine. Two doses to start, then annual boosters.

What to ask the vet

Is the vaccine worth it for my dog?

Figure on $40-60 per dose plus the vet visit. Whether that’s worth it depends on where your dog spends time. A city dog who never leaves the neighbourhood, probably not. A dog who joins you hiking, hunting, or at the cottage in southern Ontario, Quebec, or the Maritimes, yes.

A note for humans

No Lyme vaccine for people yet.

There is no approved Lyme vaccine for people in Canada. The closest candidate, Pfizer’s VLA15, is in phase 3 trials. If the results hold up, approval could come in the next year or two. Until then, your dog can be vaccinated and you can’t.

Common worry

Can my pet give me Lyme?

Direct transmission

No.

Lyme disease is not transmitted directly between dogs and humans, or between dogs. Your dog cannot infect you by sharing food, water, the couch, or licking your face. The bacteria need a tick bite to move between hosts.

Indirect transmission

Yes, via ticks.

Your dog can bring ticks into the house that then bite you. That is the real pet-to-human route, and it’s common. A dog on prevention blocks it almost entirely.

Rare but striking

Tick paralysis in dogs.

A toxin in the saliva of some ticks (in Canada, mostly the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the American dog tick) can paralyze dogs. It usually starts as weakness in the hind legs and moves forward over hours. It looks alarming.

What to do

Remove the tick and it stops.

Removing the tick almost always reverses the paralysis within 24-72 hours. The treatment is to find and remove every tick. If your dog suddenly can’t use their hind legs and you find an engorged tick, that’s very likely the cause. Go to the vet anyway. They’ll find any ticks you missed.

Tick identification - for figuring out what came off your dog.
How to safely remove a tick - same for dogs and humans.
In the field - including how pets bring ticks home.
For my kid - for households where the dog and the kids both spend time outside.

Last reviewed May 29, 2026

General information only, not medical advice. In an emergency, call 911. Read the full disclaimer.