Brown Dog Tick: What Are They and Where Do Brown Dog Ticks Live?

The brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), also called the kennel tick, is a common external parasite found all over the world. This tick, among other tick species, is cause for concern because it transmits diseases to dogs, other animals, and even people.

These ticks can pass along an infection that may be fatal.

Learning about the brown dog tick can help pet parents protect themselves and their four-legged family members from tick-borne diseases.

What Is the Brown Dog Tick?

While the brown dog tick can use other mammals, including cats and humans, as a host, it seems to most often feed on dogs.

Ticks select their host based on smell by using a small organ—found only in ticks—that is located on the front pair of legs. This is called Haller’s organ.

In average temperatures, brown dog ticks prefer dogs. But if it gets very hot, they shift their preference to humans.

The brown dog tick is unique in that its life cycle can be completed either outdoors or indoors.

This means that once the ticks become established in an environment, they can replicate readily and cause an infestation.

Brown dog ticks are a common source of tick infestations in places where dogs gather, such as dog kennels, dog parks, outdoor breeding programs, and grooming facilities.

Life Cycle of a Brown Dog Tick

The brown dog tick is a three-host tick. It must take a blood meal from a host during each of its three life stages.

Tick eggs hatch into larval ticks, which seek out a host for their first blood meal. Larval ticks feed for several days, becoming engorged, and then drop off the host. A few weeks later, they develop into nymphs.

After the nymphs feed, they develop into adult ticks. Male and female adult ticks feed on a third host, with the females feeding longer than the males. After mating, female ticks lay their eggs and then die.

The entire life cycle can take as little as two months, but it often lasts much longer.

Where Is the Brown Dog Tick Found?

The brown dog tick has been found all over the world. It’s found throughout the United States but is most prevalent in southern Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California.

To establish a large colony, brown dog ticks require dogs as hosts.

The ticks favor outdoor grassy and wooded areas but can also infest indoor environments.

When adult females fall off a dog, they commonly seek out cracks and crevices inside a home, garage, dog run, or kennel.

There they lay thousands of eggs to perpetuate the life cycle and create an infestation.

What Diseases Can the Brown Dog Tick Spread?

The brown dog tick can spread many infectious diseases to dogs, cats, and people while feeding, including:

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever—The brown dog tick can transmit RMSF to dogs, but the infection is more commonly transmitted by the American dog tick and Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor tick species), especially in the United States. All three life stages of the tick are infectious to dogs, and rarely to cats and humans.

• Canine ehrlichiosis and babesiosis—Ehrlichiosis and babesiosis are common tick-borne diseases in dogs that can be transmitted by both nymphs and adult ticks. These diseases are occasionally transmitted from the brown dog tick to people.

  • Symptoms of ehrlichiosis and babesiosis are similar to RMSF but may also include neurologic signs such as stumbling and walking abnormally and anemia.  

• Anaplasmosis—Anaplasma platys infects a dog’s platelets, which are cells involved with blood clotting. Anaplasmosis is commonly diagnosed concurrently in dogs with ehrlichiosis, RMSF, or Lyme disease.

• Canine bartonellosis—Bartonellosis is uncommon in dogs but can be transmitted by the brown dog tick. The infection is more commonly spread by the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Bartonella also causes cat scratch fever in people.

• Hepatozoonosis—Hepatozoonosis (Hepatozoon canis) is a protozoal disease spread by the brown dog tick. H. canisis the least severe of many diseases of the Hepatozoon family and causes mild symptoms.

Brown dog ticks don’t transmit Lyme disease to people or pets.

Are Brown Dog Tick Diseases Treatable?

Diseases transmitted by the brown dog tick are treated in a variety of ways.

Mild diseases can be treated at home, but these diseases are often not caught early and progress over time.

More severely affected dogs often need to be hospitalized for stabilization before they can be treated at home.

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever. RMSF treatment involves the use of specific antibiotics for an extended period in order to kill the bacteria. Commonly used antibiotics include doxycycline, tetracycline, and minocycline.

  • Chloramphenicol can also be used in young puppies and pregnant dogs, while enrofloxacin is commonly used in older dogs.

  • Specific symptoms of RMSF are treated as they arise, such as blood transfusions to treat anemia.

• Ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichiosis is most effectively treated with the antibiotic doxycycline. This medication is given for at least a month or until the dog’s blood test comes back negative.

  • Dogs with severe anemia or those with bleeding problems may require a blood transfusion.

• Bartonellosis. Bartonella treatment is only recommended if a dog shows symptoms. Since this disease commonly leads to congestive heart failure in dogs, treatment may include oxygen, oral medications, and drainage of accumulated fluid.

  • Antibiotics such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, or rifampin are given for a long duration (up to six weeks) to reduce the number of bacteria in the dog's blood; however, reinfections are common.

• Babesiosis. The only FDA-approved treatment for babesiosis in dogs is imidocarb dipropionate, an injectable antiprotozoal drug that is given by a veterinarian. In some cases, antibiotics such as azithromycin and/or clindamycin are also used. Other treatments may be given, based on a dog’s symptoms.

• Anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis in dogs is treated with the antibiotic doxycycline for up to a month. Although the disease is often not severe, it can be persistent, requiring long-term medication.

• Hepatozoonosis. While there is no cure for hepatozoonosis, the disease can be managed by treating its symptoms.

  • The most common treatment plan includes three medications: clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfa (TMS), which are antibiotics, and pyrimethamine, an anti-parasitic drug.

  • Lifelong management involves adding decoquinate, an anti-parasitic drug, to a dog’s food for at least two years to reduce the chances of symptoms returning.

If your dog is diagnosed with a disease from a brown dog tick or if the tick has been identified in your home or yard, try to eradicate the ticks to avoid reinfection.

Get rid of brush piles and yard waste and treat all furniture and bedding, although the ticks can be difficult to eliminate since they may be hidden in cracks and crevices.

You may need to work with a professional exterminator to eradicate all ticks.

How To Prevent Brown Dog Tick Bites

Brown dog ticks and the diseases they carry are easily prevented with year-round flea and tick prevention.

The most effective preventives are given by mouth and are in the isoxazoline class:

• NexGard®

• Bravecto®

• Simparica™

• Simparica TRIO®

• Credelio™

A Seresto® flea and tick collar can also be used with some preventives to repel ticks as an additional layer of protection for your dog.

Revolution® PLUS along with a preventive containing a pyrethroid (such as permethrin), amitraz, or fipronil is also effective.

Most preventives don’t repel ticks.

This means that ticks can still attach to your dog and bite them to take a blood meal.

At that point, however, the medication will kill the ticks before they can transmit any diseases to your dog. This also ensures that the ticks can’t replicate to infest your home or yard.

Always speak to your veterinarian before starting a new flea and tick regimen for your pup.

After hiking or spending time in wooded or grassy areas, inspect your dog for ticks.

Ensure you check between the toes and paw pads, in the armpits and groin, and in the ear folds, especially for dogs with floppy ears.

Preventing brown dog ticks also involves keeping a tidy yard free from piles of yard waste and brush.