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Consultation
Examination and a diagnostic plan with a licensed veterinarian.
120 AED
- Full examination, gums and temperature
- Tick search across the whole coat
- Blood testing plan explained
- A prevention plan you take home
Tick Fever in Dogs in the UAE — Testing and Treatment
Endemic here, easy to miss early, and far more treatable when it is caught before the platelet count falls — which is why the blood test matters more than the symptom list.
- AED 120 Consultation
- Same visit Blood results
- All year in the UAE Risk season
- Al Quoz 3 Dubai
Endemic in the UAE
Why the blood test matters more than the symptoms
Tick fever in dogs in the UAE is not a rare tropical diagnosis — it is one of the more common serious illnesses we see, and it is endemic to the region rather than something dogs bring back from elsewhere. Ehrlichia and related organisms are carried by the brown dog tick, which lives comfortably in this climate all year and does not need a winter break.
The reason it gets missed is that the early stage is vague. A dog goes quiet, eats less, seems a bit stiff, maybe runs a temperature for a day or two, and then appears to recover. What has actually happened in many cases is that the infection has moved into a subclinical phase, and the visible problem — nosebleeds, bruising, pale gums, sudden collapse — arrives weeks or months later when the platelet count has fallen far enough to matter.
So diagnosis here rests on a blood test rather than on how the dog looks. At Petbook Veterinary Clinic in Al Quoz 3 the consultation is AED 120, and blood work runs in our in-house laboratory, usually with results before you leave. If your dog is already bleeding, collapsed or very pale, that is an emergency — call rather than book. Prevention products are dispensed from our in-house pharmacy.
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Blood test, same visit
Platelet count and infection panel run in our own lab — usually back before you leave.
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A year-round risk here
The brown dog tick does not die back in winter in this climate. Prevention is not seasonal.
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Caught early, treated well
The acute phase responds well. What makes cases difficult is months of delay, not the organism itself.
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Treatment dispensed here
The course and the prevention plan come from our in-house pharmacy in the same visit.
What Dubai dog owners say about Petbook
Reviews from our public Google profile — not written by us.
4.7 446 Google reviews
- ★★★★★
Mohamed Hamada 3 months ago I had a very good experience at this clinic. The staff were professional, caring, and really took the time to check my dog properly.
What it costs
Consultation and testing
The consultation is AED 120. Blood work — a complete blood count and, where indicated, an infection panel — is quoted before it is run, and so is treatment, because the course depends on the stage. Message us on WhatsApp for a same-day quote. A dog that is bleeding or collapsed should come in immediately rather than wait for a quote.
Step by step
How tick fever is diagnosed
The examination raises the suspicion; the blood test settles it. Neither works well on its own.
- Step 01
History and exposure
Where the dog walks, whether ticks have been found, and what prevention is actually being used. A single missed month is often the whole story.
- Step 02
Examination
Temperature, gum colour, lymph nodes, spleen, and the skin checked in the places ticks hide — between toes, inside ears, under the collar.
- Step 03
Complete blood count
The platelet count is the number that matters most here. A low count in a dog in this region moves tick fever to the top of the list.
- Step 04
Infection testing
Where indicated, a specific panel identifies the organism rather than treating a guess — which also tells us what course length to expect.
- Step 05
Treatment course
A defined course of medication, dispensed here, with supportive care where the dog is anaemic or dehydrated.
- Step 06
Recheck the bloods
We repeat the count rather than stopping on appearance. A dog can look well while the platelets are still recovering.
Prevention is the whole game
A year-round plan, not a summer one
Every effective tick preventive works on a schedule, and the schedule does not have an off-season in this climate. We fit the product to the dog's weight, coat and lifestyle, dispense it from our in-house pharmacy, and write the next due date down — because the most common cause of tick fever we see is a lapsed prevention schedule, not an unusual exposure.
- Product matched to weight, coat and where the dog actually goes
- Next due date written down, not left to memory
- Household and environment addressed, not just the dog
Why this is a UAE problem
What makes tick fever different here
This is one of the clearest examples of a disease where overseas advice does not transfer. The tick that carries it thrives specifically in this environment.
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No winter die-back
In Europe tick season has an end. Here the brown dog tick is active year-round, so a gap in prevention is a gap in protection.
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It lives indoors too
This species survives happily in kennels, villas and cracks in walls — reinfestation often comes from the home, not the park.
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Shared compound lawns
Communal grass and dog parks concentrate exposure. Dogs pick ticks up metres from their own front door.
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Common in rescued dogs
Dogs rescued locally often carry a past infection nobody recorded. A baseline blood test at adoption is worth doing.
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Prevention lapses in summer
Walks stop in the heat and owners assume the risk stops with them. The tick is still in the villa and the garden.
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Local vets know it best
This is a regionally specific disease, and the pattern of what to test and when comes from seeing it repeatedly.
When to test
When a blood test is worth running
Because the middle phase of this disease is silent, testing is often justified by history rather than by how the dog looks today.
- Any dog that is quiet, off food or feverish with no obvious cause
- After a tick is found — even a single one, and even if the dog seems fine
- At adoption, for any locally rescued dog, as a baseline
- Before anaesthesia in a dog with any history of tick exposure
Do not wait on these
Signs that need a vet today
The late stage of tick fever is a bleeding disorder. These are emergencies, not appointments for next week.
- Nosebleeds, or blood in urine or stool
- Pinpoint red or purple spots on the gums or belly
- Pale or white gums
- Sudden weakness, wobbliness or collapse
- Bruising that appears without an injury
- Fever with lethargy and refusing food
Common questions
What is the treatment for tick fever in dogs?
A defined course of an appropriate antibiotic, usually for several weeks, alongside supportive care where the dog is anaemic, dehydrated or bleeding. The specifics — which drug and for how long — depend on the organism and the stage, which is why we test rather than treat on suspicion. We do not publish dosing here; that is set for the individual dog by the veterinarian after the examination and blood work.
Can dogs recover fully from tick fever?
Yes, and most do when it is caught in the acute phase — the platelet count recovers and the dog returns to normal. Recovery is less predictable in dogs that have carried the infection silently for months before diagnosis, where the bone marrow has been affected for longer. That difference is the whole argument for testing a dog that has simply been quiet and off food, rather than waiting to see whether they pick up.
How many days does tick fever last in dogs?
The acute phase typically runs for a couple of weeks, but that is not the useful number. Left untreated, the infection frequently moves into a subclinical phase that can last months with no visible signs at all, before resurfacing as a bleeding problem. Treatment courses run for weeks, and we recheck the blood count before stopping rather than judging by how the dog looks.
What kills ticks on dogs naturally?
Nothing reliable enough to depend on in a region where this disease is endemic. Various oils and home remedies are widely recommended online; some repel ticks weakly, none kill an attached tick predictably, and some — including undiluted essential oils — are toxic to dogs and cats. If a tick is already attached, remove it properly with a tick hook rather than pulling, burning or smothering it, and use a veterinary preventive on a schedule for the actual protection.
Can I spray vinegar on my dog for ticks?
It will not protect your dog. Vinegar has, at best, a mild and short-lived repellent effect and does nothing to a tick that has already attached — and on broken or irritated skin it stings. Given that tick fever is endemic here and potentially fatal, this is not a place to substitute a home remedy for a proper preventive. Ask us what suits your dog's weight and coat and we will dispense it in the same visit.
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