Tick Bite Prevention

Spring  has sprung, and what makes a reappearance when the weather warms up?   All the insects come out to play…and that includes the little parasitic  friends that enjoy the company of our hounds.

This  week is Tick Bite Prevention Week in the UK, and as the weather  continues to improve and the days grow longer, parasites become more  active as they search for a tasty meal.  Whether that is your hound or  you, they don’t discriminate.

Thankfully, we can take measures to protect our canine companions.  Us, well, we just have to take the risk!

While  everyone knows about the typical parasites like fleas and worms, a lot  of people are less aware of the risk of ticks as they often go  unnoticed.  These small blood sucking parasites, which may seem as if  they aren’t of any consequence can transmit several very serious, and  potentially deadly, diseases such as Lyme Disease, Babesiosis and more  recently Tick Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBE).

With  the potential for serious illness to befall our hounds, preventing  ticks from taking hold in the first place is the only sensible option.

Ticks  can be prevented by ensuring your hound is up to date with their  routine parasite treatments.  If you are not already doing this, talk to  your vet about the best product for your dog to protect against all  common parasites.

These preventative treatments are often given monthly, if not three monthly, either by tablet or spot on.

Though,  even if you have these on board there is still a chance your hound can  pick up ticks.  Not all parasite treatment is made equal and where you  think you may be protecting them, having chosen a budget treatment from  the supermarket or over the counter at the pet shop, you may still find  your hound picking up some friends.

Ticks  can often be found in long grass or leaf litter, particularly in areas  of deer or sheep activity, but they can be found in just about any  environment.  They will perch on at the top of blades of grass, their  little arms reaching out, ready to grab onto whatever creature walks  past!  It’s not creepy at all…

Even  if your hound is up to date with their parasite treatment, you should  still be vigilant in checking them over after going for  walks…particularly if you’ve gone out into long grass, nature reserves  or across fields known to house sheep or have passing deer.

Ticks  are often incredibly hard to see until they’ve engorged themselves on  blood, so the only way to find them is to regularly touch your hound and  familiarise yourself with all their little spots, lumps, and bumps.   Then, if you feel a new spot, you can take a closer look and see if it  is, in fact, a tick.
You’ll need to be thorough  though, ticks will latch on for a meal in all sorts of places such as  between their toes, in or around their ears, even under their lips!   Makes us shiver just thinking about it!

They can be hard to spot, but identifying them quickly is important to remove them and reduce any risk to your hound.

If  you do find a tick, don’t be rash and pull it off…and don’t follow  dodgey advice off the internet that tells you to squash it, burn it off,  smother it in salt, petrol or Vaseline…and definitely don’t try to cut  it off!  

When a tick latches  onto an animal, they bury their head into the skin.   If you try to  remove them inappropriately, there is a high chance you could leave part  of the tick inside them that can result in infections and even  abscesses.

There is a tool you  can use to remove a tick, called a Tick Hook, which is an invaluable  item to have in your pet first aid kit, or just handy in the house for  such an event.  They have clear instructions on how to use them and if  done properly, you can remove the tick and flush it down the toilet  never to be seen again!

But, if  in doubt, and you don’t feel comfortable removing them yourself, you can  always pop down to your local vet and they’ll twizzle it off for you in  just a couple of seconds!

Don’t  forget to check yourselves too!  We’ve had our fair share of ticks  before, so we know it happens!  You can remove them in exactly the same  way as you do on your dog…though perhaps don’t ask the vet to do it,  think they might draw the line at having humans drop their trousers to  have ticks removed from their legs!