Oh yeah... doggie info. I use K9 Advantix II every few months on dogs mainly for seed ticks that love me even more than them and help repel the biting flies for a few weeks in Spring; fleas not a problem. Just read some shocking reports about affects short and long term. Got me wondering if Jake's sudden two spells of ataxia were related. I only used it three times this year and won't need anything till Spring so hoping I'll remember to note any relation if he has any more "spells." They came on suddenly and only lasted less than an hour but quite disturbing for him and us. Peeps might want to look up Advantage, Advantix, and others and weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Don't worry much about Lyme disease here; mostly Rocky Mountain Fever which can be fatal.
{edit} Just looked this up. When one of our ticks starts crawling on me and probably a bite or two before latching on I break out immediately all over much of my body. Same with the little black flies whose bites hurt like hell and bring out a drop of blood. They can eat all the skin off of dog ear edges in a day. Luckily they are only heavy for a couple of weeks.
"A brown to black tick with a white splotch on its back is likely a female Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star tick; named after the white splotch) (picture 2). This species of tick has been reported to spread an illness called STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness). STARI causes a rash that is similar to the erythema migrans rash, but without the other features of Lyme disease. Although this rash is thought to be caused by an infection, a cause for the infection has not yet been identified. This type of tick can also carry and transmit another infection called human monocytic ehrlichiosis."