Signs of Ticks in Dogs: Protecting Your Pets in Tick Season
The paralysis tick lives all along the NSW coast, Sydney included, and one bite can be fatal.
Tick season peaks in spring and summer but now runs all year, so prevention and checks do too.
Check your dog nose to tail daily with your fingertips: lips, ears, collar line, toes, tail.
Wobbly back legs, a changed bark, retching or heavy breathing mean come in straight away.
Found a tick? Remove it, keep it, call VECA, and do not wait for symptoms.
The signs of ticks in dogs come in two kinds. The first is the tick itself: a grey-blue lump somewhere between a lentil and a pea, legs tucked in close to the skin, often mistaken for a skin tag or a nipple. The second is what its toxin does, and on the NSW east coast that means the paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus. Those signs start small. A wobble in the back legs. A bark that sounds hoarse or different. A cough or retch after eating. Breathing that is heavier than the weather explains.
Any one of those in a dog that lives in or has visited Sydney is an emergency, whether or not you have found a tick. We treat tick paralysis at both VECA hospitals, in Campbelltown and at Norwest in Rouse Hill, and dogs seen early do better than dogs seen late. Here is how to check your dog, what to do when you find one, and how to keep your pets protected.
The paralysis tick on the NSW east coast
Ixodes holocyclus lives along the eastern seaboard from north Queensland to Victoria, mostly within about 20 kilometres of the coast and through the bushland behind it. Its natural hosts are bandicoots and possums, which carry it without harm. Dogs and cats have no such tolerance. As the female tick feeds over several days, she injects a neurotoxin that blocks the signal between nerve and muscle, starting with the hind legs and working forward to the throat and the muscles that drive breathing.
Sydney sits squarely inside the range. The University of Sydney's veterinary teaching hospital lists bushland, parks, suburban gardens and coastal areas as places dogs pick up ticks, and that includes the Georges River and Dharawal bush on the edge of Campbelltown and the reserves through the Hills District. Animal Medicines Australia's 2025 fact sheet notes that only about half of pet owners in paralysis tick regions use any tick protection, which goes a long way to explaining how many cases we see.
When is tick season?
The old answer was spring to summer, roughly September to March, with the peak in the warm, humid weeks after rain. That is still when most cases come through the door, because that is when adult female ticks are most active, and dogs are out at the beach and in the bush.
The current answer is all year. The University of Sydney's veterinary hospital states that paralysis ticks can be active throughout the year in the Sydney region, and vets along the coast reported cases through the 2026 winter rather than the usual lull between May and September. For a Sydney dog, tick season has no off switch, so prevention and checking should not have one either.
How do I know if my dog has a tick? Check nose to tail
Your fingertips find the physical signs of ticks in dogs better than your eyes do. Work slowly over the whole dog with the pads of your fingers, pressing gently against the lie of the coat so you feel every small bump. On a medium dog, a proper check takes three to five minutes.
Lips, gums and the corners of the mouth
Inside and behind the ears, and along the ear flap edges
Eyelids and the folds around the eyes
Under the chin, the throat, and under the collar (take it off)
Armpits and the front of the chest
Between the toes and between the paw pads
Groin and the inside of the thighs
Under the tail, around the anus, and in any skin folds
Most paralysis ticks are found forward of the front legs, on the head, neck and chest, so that end of the dog gets the most attention. Long or thick coats make the job harder; parting the fur with a comb helps, and some owners of spaniels, retrievers and doodles keep the coat clipped short from spring onward for exactly this reason.
What does a tick look and feel like?
Knowing how to spot a tick on a dog is mostly about knowing what you are feeling for. A freshly attached paralysis tick is a flat grey or cream speck a few millimetres across. As it feeds, it swells into a smooth, firm, grey-blue or grey-green oval, lentil-sized at a couple of days and pea-sized or larger by day four or five. The legs stay at the head end, near the skin, which is the easiest way to tell a tick from a skin tag or a nipple.
Under your thumb, a tick feels like a small, hard, slightly squishy bead that does not slide under the skin the way a lump would. If a tick has already dropped off or been scratched off, it leaves a crater, a small round sore with a raised rim. A crater counts among the signs of ticks in dogs too, because the toxin can still be at work.
Early signs of tick paralysis, and why it is an emergency
The toxin works from the back of the dog forward, and from mild to severe over hours to a day or two.
Wobbly, weak or crossing back legs. Slipping on tiles, struggling with stairs, sitting down mid-walk.
A change in bark or meow. Hoarse, high-pitched, quieter, or gone.
Retching, gagging, coughing or vomiting, especially after eating or drinking, because the swallowing muscles weaken.
Drooling, not eating, and breathing that is heavier, slower or grunts on the out-breath.
Left to run, the weakness reaches the front legs, the dog cannot stand, the breathing becomes laboured, and the gums turn blue. Two things make this an emergency rather than a wait-and-see. First, the toxin keeps acting for a day or more after the tick is removed, so signs often get worse before they get better. Second, the treatment, tick antiserum plus supportive care, works best when given early. We have mechanical ventilation on site for the dogs whose breathing muscles fail, and that is the point we would much rather you never reach.
Signs often start mildly in the evening and worsen overnight, which is why we are open at 2 am.
What to do if you find a tick on your dog
Remove it straight away. Use a tick hook or twist-off tool from the pet shop or chemist, slide it under the tick at skin level and twist or lever it off. Fine-pointed tweezers gripping the head at the skin also work. Do not squeeze the body, and do not put methylated spirits, oil or anything else on it first.
Keep the tick in a zip-lock bag or a jar so we can confirm the species, then go over the whole dog again. Where there is one, there may be another.
Call VECA, even if your dog looks completely normal. We will tell you whether to come in now or what to watch for over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Keep your dog cool, quiet and calm. Heat and exertion make the toxin's effects worse.
If there are any signs at all, no food or water, and come straight in. Swallowing is affected early, and a dog that inhales food or water has two problems instead of one.
The whole point of catching a tick early is that you get to act before the toxin does.
Care tip: The coast trip rule: any time your dog comes home from the beach, the bush, the river or a weekend away, do a full nose-to-tail tick check that evening and again the next morning, even if they are on prevention. Found one? Call VECA on 02 4089 4638 (Campbelltown) or 02 4089 4630 (Norwest), any hour.
Prevention of ticks in dogs (and cats)
Prevention of ticks in dogs rests on two habits: a vet-prescribed tick preventative given on time, every time, and a daily hands-on check regardless. Preventatives kill ticks that attach, but a tick can still bite before it dies, and a missed or late dose leaves a gap. The daily check catches what the product misses.
Preventatives come as monthly or longer-acting chews, spot-on liquids, tick collars and, for some dogs, a longer-acting injection given by a vet. Which one suits your dog depends on their weight, their health, whether they swim and what else they are on, so ask your regular vet rather than picking from a shelf. Whatever you choose, run it all year in Sydney. Around the house, keep the grass short, clear leaf litter and discourage bandicoots and possums from nesting under the deck.
Cats get tick paralysis too, with the same signs: wobbly back legs, a changed meow, retching, laboured breathing. Cats need a product made for cats. Several dog tick treatments are poisonous to cats, so never share a dog's spot-on, and keep the cat away from a freshly treated dog until it has dried. Indoor cats with a balcony, courtyard or open window onto a bushy garden are not exempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
I removed a tick yesterday, and my dog seems fine. Does he still need a vet?
Call us and describe what you found and when. The toxin can keep acting for 24 hours or more after the tick comes off, so a dog that looks fine in the morning can be wobbly by night. If the tick was small and your dog is on current prevention, we may advise close watching at home. If it was engorged, or there is any change in barking, walking or swallowing, come in.
Can my dog pick up a paralysis tick in a suburban backyard in Campbelltown or Rouse Hill?
Yes. Ticks arrive on bandicoots, possums and other wildlife, and both areas back onto bushland and creek corridors. The University of Sydney's veterinary hospital lists suburban gardens among the places dogs pick up ticks. Backyard cases are a smaller share than dogs back from the coast or bush, but they are not rare, so daily checks apply at home too.
Should I pull the tick out myself or leave it for the vet?
Remove it as soon as you find it. Every hour attached is more toxin. Use a tick hook or fine tweezers at skin level and lift or twist it off without squeezing the body. If part of the head stays behind, do not dig for it; it will work out on its own. Keep the tick in a bag and call VECA so we can tell you whether to come in.
Found a tick, or noticed a wobble, a changed bark or heavier breathing?
We are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Reviewed and Approved By
Dr Phil Hayton, Emergency & Critical Care Veterinarian at VECA
Dr Phil Hayton is an Emergency and Critical Care Veterinarian, working in Client Relations at Veterinary Emergency Care Australia (VECA). He has experience across emergency medicine, critical care and veterinary diagnostics, including a professional background in veterinary virology. He is passionate about clear communication, client advocacy and helping pet owners navigate difficult decisions about their animals' care.
Sources
References for statistics and claims cited in this article.
1. University of Sydney Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ticks (dogs: preventative health) | https://www.sydney.edu.au/vet-hospital/small-animals/dogs/preventative-health/parasites/ticks.html
2. Animal Medicines Australia, Fact Sheet: Tick Awareness and Prevention, 2025 | https://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Fact-Sheet-Tick-Awareness-and-Prevention.pdf
3. Australian Veterinary Association (VetVoice), Time to put a tick prevention plan in place for pets | https://www.vetvoice.com.au/media-releases/time-to-put-a-tick-prevention-plan-in-place-for-pets/
4. Region, Tick 'season' now a year-round threat: here's what to do about it, 8 September 2026 | https://region.com.au/tick-season-now-a-year-round-threat-heres-what-to-do-about-it/996174/
5. VECA, 24 Hour Emergency Vet Clinic in Campbelltown and Norwest | https://www.veca.com.au/emergency
Comments