When you spot that one tick on your dog, take it easy. Granted, it’s a problem but not a fatal one to get you all worked up. First, ticks move slowly. Spotting one is easy. If they’re on your dog and feeding they will be doing so for hours till they get bloated and fall off. Even then, their legs and new massive weight don’t allow them to run, so they’ll easily catch your eye. Of course, you don’t wait for the ticks to have their fill of your dog. As soon as you spot them, you have to get rid of them. They have dangerous effects on the canine.
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How Ticks Affect Dog’s Health
They drink up the dog’s blood, so the first thing you’ll be worrying about is blood loss, which can progress to anemia. And since hey puncture and harm your dog’s skin, next on the line is skin irritation or infection. Neither of these is good for the dog’s overall health.
It gets worse. Ticks may not be able to directly kill your dog, but they can transmit diseases to it that are outrightly fatal. Take, for example, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever-both are serious complications that can lead to the demise of the dog. A huge concern is on Lyme disease, which is heavily transmitted by the ticks. It can also affect you, the dog owner. It causes issues from depression and fever to swollen, painful joints and renal failure. Some of the effects may be long-lasting, like the canine ehrlichiosis may cause blindness. You should take your pet to the vet for evaluation of these diseases to avert any health crisis.
Your Dog’s Comfort
From the scratching, the skin irritation the fever, to the joint pain, ticks can make your dog’s life agonizing. It can carry on its life as usual and its daily activities will be significantly hampered. The situation will also make the dog lose its appetite, which will bring on its complications of weight loss and under-nutrition, exposing it to more health threats.
Prevent Transference of Ticks
Ticks can hop from one host to the next whilst actively feeding. That’s another reason to treat the tick menace on your dog, to prevent the ticks from migrating to your other pets. While you’re at it you might as well protect your dog, if it’s uninfected, from contracting the parasites. When going out, interacting with other dogs from the neighborhood, going for a run in the woods, it should be well protected. This is where tick repellant shampoos, dips, and tablets come in.
How Do I Know if My Dog Has Ticks?
Simply take a look. Ticks stand out on your dog’s skin so much that it’s nearly impossible to miss them. They are all visible to the naked eye. Check your dog regularly for these bugs, especially during the warmer months. And once you spot them take care in removing them. Contact with the tick’s blood can transmit infection to the dog or to you. And once you’ve discovered the tick menace on your dog it is recommended to visit the vet.
When you compare the cost of treating tick-borne infections, it may turn out that it’s more cost effective to prevent ticks from ever getting on your dog. There are products designed for this purpose of repelling ad killing ticks. They are a worthwhile investment to make.
6 Tick Treatments for Dogs
No one looks forward to removing ticks from their dogs, especially during tick season. First, they are nasty to look at. Then they are filled with your pet’s blood and they are remarkably difficult to dislodge. So, what are the best treatments for the tick problem?
1. Spot-On Medication
These are an effective way of controlling the ticks, and even fleas, for up to a month. Sure they are great and all, but you still need to be careful about which ones you use. Go through the labels thoroughly before purchase, and should you have any doubts, double check with your vet.
2. Oral Medications
These ones are readily available for the canines. They have a good plan-of-attack as they work to both kill the fleas and disrupt their life cycle. More than that, they are easy to administer. In addition, you won’t have to get concerned about your kids getting into contact with their favorite pet immediately after medication administration, unlike the spot-on treatments.
3. Powders
Tick powders both kill and repel ticks from your dog. They work fast, but you have to be careful in applying them. The very fine powder can irritate the mouth or lungs once inhaled. To be safe, use small amounts at a time as you slowly and gently rub it on the skin. Keep the powder away from the face, especially the eyes, during application. Moreover, be certain that the powder is designated for use on dogs, and verify that it’s right for your dog’s age. There are those powders that can be used on areas that your dog sleeps in and other parts of the household too.
4. Sprays
These are a common topical application. They kill the ticks quickly and go further to provide residual protection. Like the powders, be careful around the face region.
5. Tick Dips
You can go ahead and throw the dog into the pool of medicine and completely eliminate any and all ticks on its body. The tick dip basically contains a strong concentrated chemical that is diluted in water. You can then literally dip the dog in it, or you can pour it over its back. Alternatively, you can apply it to the dog’s fur using a sponge. Though highly effective, this treatment method is not recommended for those very young animals of under 4 months, and even the pregnant or nursing ones. Speak to your vet before administering the tick dip to those groups of pets.
6. Prevention
Of course, prevention is better than cure. It’s wiser and insanely cheaper to prevent your dog from getting ticks than to control a tick infestation. There are products available for this in the market. Examples of the recommended tick prevention products include:
- · Frontline Plus;
- · Advantage II and;
- · K9 Advantix II
Keep things tidy and always check your dog for ticks.
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