Ticks!!

The ticks have arrived!  We have found three on Gracie so far. 

We do not use a flea preventative medicine on Gracie year round.  In our area (knock on wood), fleas are not a big deal.  Ticks are the problem.  We have a lot of wildlife that attract ticks – turkeys, deer, roaming dogs, coyotes. 

We use Frontline Top Spot, a milder version of Frontline Plus.  Gracie tolerates it well, and it does a good job at repelling ticks.  We especially like that you can apply it between 30 and 90 days.  We let the tick population decide how frequently we use it.   

Ticks carry a lot of nasty diseases that can harm both your pets and you.  It is important that you take preventative steps.  Talk to your vet about treatment options.  You can also look online and learn about medications or natural remedies that have worked well for other people.

One word of caution:  do not overlap treatments.  Centuries ago, I applied a topical flea product to my Dalmatian.  Ticks continued to be a problem so I next washed her with a flea/tick dip.  She began ill and refused to it.  Because I used two flea treatments within a 30-day period, I poisoned my dog!  Fortunately, she recovered.  I have heard stories where other people were not so lucky.

Good luck!

Rescue Mommy

Companion Animal Parasite Council

I saw a segment on a morning talk show about the Companion Animal Parasite Council. They were discussing the early onset of tick season. Here’s a link to the organization’s website: http://www.capcvet.org/.

The Council is organized as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It is sponsored by a lot of drug companies that make tick/flea preventatives such as Frontline, so you will not find mention of natural remedies on the site.

You will find information about diseases caused by parasites, such as tick paralysis. I had an encounter with that several years ago when I rescued a stray. The poor pup was literally covered from head to toe in ticks. He could not stand on his hind legs.

After a long bath (that still makes my skin crawl to think about), I managed to remove all of the ticks. The next morning, he dashed out of the crate and ran around the yard. Until that moment, I had no idea ticks could cause such a serious condition.

Another feature of the site is a parasite prevalence map. You can see how high incidents of various infections are in your area. It is useful to view the map if you are visiting another area of the country as well. You would hate for your little buddy to come back with an unwelcome souvenir.

The site offers a lot of technical information about parasites. While it is not the most fascinating reading, it is helpful to know about these little critters that can cause such damage to both your buddy’s health and your own. Just be prepared to take a long shower afterward. Anytime I read about ticks, I feel as if they are crawling all over me!

Rescue Mommy