Risk of dogs carrying disease is growing - Telegraph.co.uk

The research, published in the journal Medical and Veterinary Entomology, studied 3,500 dogs treated by 173 veterinary surgeries.

They found that, at any one time, 14.9 per cent of dogs were infested with ticks.

Gun dogs such as retrievers, setters and spaniels, plus terriers and pastoral breeds traditionally used to guard livestock were found to be most susceptible. Longer-haired breeds

were more susceptible than short-haired varieties.

The foreign species of tick was found in south-east England and west Wales, raising fears it is a permanent resident. A non-native species of tick could help spread diseases from Europe in the UK, the researchers warned.

The study also mapped the location

of cases of the most common tick, Ixodes ricinus. South-west England, East Anglia and north-east Scotland were the worst affected.