brown dog tick

My German Shepherd is 7 months old and I found  a tick in her ear when she started limping.I checked her leg and everything seems okay except for her pads being a little swollen could the tick have caused her to limp? and is it treatable what do I need to do with her?

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Almost every tick species now carry Lyme and other tick borne diseases; it is not just the deer tick any longer.  There is a possibility that your dog did contract one of the tick  disease, that cause lameness.  Your veterinarian can check for tick borne disease using a small blood sample from your dog, but since you just found the tick, the disease may not show up in the blood for another 3 weeks or longer.  Your vet can prescribe antibiotics just in case, however the lameness could be caused by something else, such as panosteitis.  Please check with your vet!