Hosts

By far the most common host is the domestic dog - especially those housed in kennels - and the Brown dog tick is virtually restricted to this host in the United States.

There are occasional collection records of people and domestic cats as hosts, but these records are generally for instances where there has been close contact with infested dogs.

In other parts of the world, this tick seems to have a somewhat wider range of hosts. Under normal circumstances in North America, all feeding stages of the tick feed on dogs.

The adults commonly attach to the ears and between the toes, and the larvae and nymphs are often found in hair along the back. While these developmental stages are often found on the indicated host body regions, they are not restricted to these regions and may be found on practically any part of the dog's body.