If you're like most pet owners, you probably consider ticks as gross and an uncomfortable nuisance for your dog. Ticks are all that and more: These tenacious bloodsuckers can increase both you and your pooch's risk of contracting serious disease.

Exposure to tick-transported diseases can occur in almost any outdoor location where ticks are found, and not just during the spring and summer. Most ticks are highly active throughout the fall as well. Different types of ticks carry different disease-causing organisms and it's possible for your dog to be bitten by multiple ticks or by one tick capable of transmitting more than one disease.

While the best-known tick-related danger is Lyme disease, several others can be just as harmful and cause a wide range of similar signs or no obvious signs at all. This range of symptoms means these conditions cannot be accurately diagnosed without a trip to the veterinarian.

Fortunately, veterinarians will soon be able to screen dogs for Lyme and two other tick-borne diseases, canine ehrlichiosis and canine anaplasmosis using a new in-clinic blood test called SNAP 4Dx developed by IDEXX Laboratories.

The test simultaneously screens for heartworm disease.

Routine screening can help detect exposure to tick-borne diseases early to make treatment or further diagnoses, if necessary as quick and effective as possible. Pet owners should talk to their own veterinarians to see if testing for these diseases is appropriate for their area to be sure they are offering comprehensive protection to their beloved canine companions.

If you want to know more about tick-borne diseases in dogs, visit www.dogsandticks.com.