Final answer:
The common host for brown dog seed ticks is dogs, which are a suitable environment for the ticks at various life stages. They differ from deer ticks, which commonly use white-footed mice as a reservoir for Lyme disease, though both can carry diseases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The common host for brown dog seed ticks is dogs. Brown dog ticks often target domestic canines as their preferred hosts though they may also occasionally parasitize other mammals. These ticks require a host to complete their life cycle, which includes larvae, nymph, and adult stages. Dogs serve as a suitable environment for ticks at various life stages, including the seed tick stage.
Unlike the deer tick, which often uses the white-footed mouse as a reservoir for disease before potentially transmitting to humans, brown dog ticks are not typically associated with transmitting Lyme disease but can carry other diseases that affect canines.