Recent from the Bugle
Every fall we hear the same thing: "It's cooling off, so I stopped the tick stuff." Please don't. The Companion Animal Parasite Council's 2026 forecast, built on more than 10 million test results a year, keeps the south-central United States at sustained high risk for ehrlichiosis, and it lists lone star ticks and brown dog ticks, both common in Oklahoma, among the species expanding their range. The line worth remembering from that report: ticks don't feed 365 days a year, but they do feed 12 months a year.
What Tulsa ticks carry
- Ehrlichiosis (lone star and brown dog ticks): fever, lethargy, bruising, and it can hide for months.
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever (American dog tick): Oklahoma is one of the leading states for it, in dogs and people.
- Anaplasmosis and Lyme: less common here, but the forecast shows both creeping our way.
"A tick can attach in December after a warm afternoon just as easily as in June. The dogs I diagnose with ehrlichia are almost always the ones whose prevention got 'paused' for winter."
The 60-second check
After any time in tall grass, leaf litter or on a trail like Turkey Mountain, run your fingers against the grain of the coat and check the spots ticks love: inside and behind the ears, under the collar, the armpits and groin, between the toes, and under the tail. A tick feels like a small scab that wasn't there yesterday.
Removing one
Fine-tipped tweezers or a tick key, grab as close to the skin as possible, pull straight out with steady pressure. No twisting, no burning, no petroleum jelly. Clean the spot and watch it for a week. If your dog gets tired, sore or feverish in the following weeks, that's a vet visit and a tick panel.
Prevention that works here
A vet-recommended monthly oral or topical product, twelve months a year. Most of the store-shelf collars don't hold up to an Oklahoma summer, and a yearly 4Dx-style blood test catches exposure early. Keep grass cut, clear leaf piles, and check yourself too.
Dr. Liz is the founder of Sunshine Mobile Vet, which brings wellness care to driveways across Tulsa. Have a question for her? Email admin@dogbugle.com.
Ask the Vet is general education, not a substitute for an exam. If your dog seems unwell, call your veterinarian.
