Tick-borne diseases cause significant welfare impairment in dogs, with year-round tick prevention using veterinary-recommended products being the most effective welfare intervention for dogs with outdoor exposure.
Tick-borne diseases cause significant welfare impairment - the fever, joint pain, and systemic illness of Lyme disease or the platelet destruction of anaplasmosis cause days to weeks of suffering that year-round prevention eliminates entirely. The cost-effectiveness of prevention versus treatment is enormous: a monthly chewable tablet costs a fraction of treating tick-borne disease. Dogs in endemic areas that receive consistent tick prevention live without the periodic welfare crises of tick-borne illness. The welfare calculus is clear: prevention is both more effective and far less expensive than treatment of the diseases prevention prevents.