Ticks must be attached for 24 hours before the spirochete is transmitted through the saliva to the bite wound. It is unlikely that you will be infected through your pet unless you are careless about tick handling when you remove ticks for your pet. Remove the ticks by grasping the mouth parts with tweezers and pulling the tick straight away from the body. Be sure to check yourself for ticks if you have been in the same habitat as your pet. If infection occurs in your pet, the spirochetes migrate, invade and penetrate into connective tissues, skin, joints, and the nervous system.
Clinical signs result from the host's inflammatory response to the organism.
Your pet may show signs of fever, arthritis, shifting leg lameness, articular swelling, large lymph nodes, anorexia, and general malaise between 2 and 5 months after exposure to the tick, but the signs are not as obvious as in human Lyme disease. Your pet may need treatment for 30 days or more and may experience a relapse. Appropriate prevention depends on exposure to probable Lyme disease habitats. There are vaccines for both dogs and humans, but their protection is not absolute. Consider a vaccination for your pet if you and your pet do a lot of hunting, camping, or other activities in wooded areas where Lyme disease is known to exist.