Louping Ill and Working Dogs

What handlers should know about this rare tick borne disease

Louping ill is rare in dogs, but it deserves a place in every working-dog handler’s awareness of tick-borne disease. The virus is established in parts of the British Isles and can cause severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Dogs working through moorland, rough grazing, heather, bracken and woodland margins are among those most likely to encounter the tick that carries it.

What louping ill is

Louping ill is caused by louping ill virus, a flavivirus transmitted mainly by the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus. The same tick is also known as the castor bean tick or deer tick. The disease is best known in sheep and red grouse, but infection has also been reported in cattle, goats, horses, dogs and several wild species.

The virus affects the central nervous system. After an infected tick feeds, the virus may enter the bloodstream and later reach the brain or spinal cord. Many exposures may never produce recognised illness, but animals that develop neurological disease can deteriorate quickly.

The name is thought to come from the old Scots word loup, meaning to leap. It describes the exaggerated or uncoordinated movement seen in affected sheep rather than a harmless bout of stiffness.

Why working dogs face exposure

Ixodes ricinus favours humid ground cover. It is strongly associated with upland grazing, moorland, rough grass, bracken, heather and woodland, especially in wetter parts of western and northern Britain and Scotland. It is not confined to those areas, and suitable pockets can also occur farther south and east.

A pet walking along a clear path may have limited contact with vegetation. A spaniel, HPR, Labrador, collie or hound working properly does the opposite. It pushes through cover, crosses sheep ground, works woodland edges and spends time where questing ticks wait on vegetation for a passing host.

Tick activity has traditionally peaked in spring and autumn, although milder conditions can extend the season. A cold date on the calendar is therefore not a guarantee that the risk has disappeared.

How often dogs are affected

Confirmed canine louping ill remains unusual. That rarity matters: handlers should be aware of it without assuming that every tick bite or episode of poor coordination is louping ill.

Published veterinary reports nevertheless show that dogs can develop serious disease. A fatal case was confirmed in an adult Border collie and reported in 2018. A UK case series later described six dogs with suspected tick-borne flavivirus inflammation of the brain, spinal cord or both. More recently, louping ill virus was confirmed in a foxhound that developed progressive neurological signs.

The case series also highlights a diagnostic difficulty. Closely related tick-borne flaviviruses can produce similar signs and laboratory results, so a vet may not be able to identify the precise virus from the first test alone.

Signs that need urgent veterinary attention

Early illness can be vague, and a handler may first notice that a normally keen dog is quiet, weak, feverish or unwilling to work. Once the nervous system is affected, the changes are more obvious.

What you may notice	What it means for the handler
Fever or sudden dullness	Stop work and monitor closely. Contact your vet if the dog is unwell or the change is unexplained.
Tremors or muscle twitching	Treat this as urgent, particularly after recent tick or moorland exposure.
Stumbling or poor coordination	Ataxia is a neurological sign. The dog needs prompt veterinary assessment.
Weakness or hindlimb problems	Do not assume this is ordinary fatigue, stiffness or a minor strain.
Seizures or altered awareness	This is an emergency. Contact a veterinary practice immediately.
Collapse or paralysis	Seek emergency veterinary care and keep the dog quiet and safely supported.

A sudden neurological change is an emergency regardless of its cause. Louping ill can resemble poisoning, trauma, epilepsy, inflammatory brain disease and other infections. Do not wait to see whether a tick appears or whether the dog improves overnight.

What your vet may need to investigate

Tell the vet where the dog has been working, when the exposure occurred, whether ticks were found and how quickly the signs developed. A photograph of an attached or removed tick may help, although the absence of a visible tick does not exclude tick exposure.

Diagnosis can involve neurological examination, blood tests, imaging, examination of cerebrospinal fluid, antibody testing and PCR. The exact approach depends on the dog’s condition and the other diagnoses the vet must rule out.

There is no specific antiviral treatment for louping ill and no currently available vaccine for dogs. Veterinary care is supportive and may include measures to control seizures, maintain hydration and nutrition, reduce distress and nurse a dog that cannot stand or feed normally. Outcomes vary, and severe cases can be fatal.

Reducing tick exposure before and after work

Prevention centres on reducing tick attachment and finding ticks promptly. Ask your veterinary practice which tick-control product is appropriate for your dog’s workload, swimming, bathing and other treatments. No product is completely effective, so treatment should sit alongside physical checks.

• Check each dog after every day in rough grass, heather, bracken, moorland or woodland.
• Pay close attention to the ears, face, neck, armpits, groin, stomach, tail area and between the toes.
• Run your fingers against the coat and feel for small attached ticks as well as larger engorged ones.
• Use a purpose-made tick-removal tool and follow its instructions. Do not squeeze, puncture, burn or cover an attached tick with oil or alcohol.
• Record the date and general location if a dog carries several ticks or later becomes unwell.
• Check yourself as well as the dogs after working in tick habitat.

A practical post work tick check

A quick check at the vehicle is useful, but a second check under good light at home is more reliable. Work from the nose backwards so that no area is missed. Feel around the lips and eyelids, inside and behind the ears, under the collar, along the chest and armpits, down each leg, between every toe, through the groin and around the tail.

If you remove a tick, dispose of it so that it cannot attach to another animal or person. ESCCAP UK and Ireland recommends a proprietary removal device and warns against squeezing or puncturing the tick. Contact your vet if the mouthparts appear to remain, the bite becomes inflamed, several ticks are present, or the dog shows any sign of illness.

The important perspective

Louping ill should not stop dogs doing the work they were bred and trained to do. It should change the handler’s routine: appropriate tick protection, methodical checks and a low threshold for veterinary advice when neurological signs appear.

Most ticks will not carry louping ill virus, and most unwell dogs will have another explanation. The reason to know the name is that the disease is present in Britain, working dogs enter the right habitat for exposure, and early neurological changes should never be dismissed as tiredness after a hard day.