TICKS

[Joanie]

Hi Everyone :)

 

So with the warm weather now making an appearance Lani and I will be outside a lot more.  But the warm weather also brings the ticks and I unfortunately found one crawling on Lani yesterday and freaked out.  I'm trying to keep her away from the woods and just have her walk on the grass and the sidewalks, but she loves to follow her sister and her sister loves the woods.  Anyhow, Lani is on Frontline and she is in the midst of getting her Lyme Vaccine.  So she should be ok if she got bit by a tick, but I don't want to take chances. 

 

My question is, with doodles hair being SO THICK and SO ABUNDENT how can I effectively look for ticks on her besides trying to hold Lani on my lap while she squirms and I try to look through her hair to no avail (it's like looking for a needle in a haystack)?  Are the Preventive collars better than Frontline for tick pervention?

 

Thanks :)

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

I read somewhere that as soon as you bring them in from outside, brush them really well.  It will help remove any ticks on their outer coat...

 

Making me itch just typing this...

[Moe]

My puppy had her lyme vaccine and got Lyme disease anyway. My vet said Advantix II is the strongest tick medication. We are on it and still have ticks every week. Vet suggested applying the Advantix every 3 weeks for the spring. It is supposed to be really bad because of the mild winter. Charlie is a brown dog with a thick coat. I've never found a tick on her after a walk, it is always the next day when they are as big as a kernel of corn. So disgusting. I asked my vet about using some type of collar or powder along with the Advantix, he said it would not be healthy. So we are living with the ticks - I am planning on cutting her coat short. The other thing is that the ticks leave these really large bumps that last for weeks. Every time I check her it is hard to tell if it is a tick or the bump. We have flashlights and a magnifying glass. I did start using a Tick Key to remove the ticks. It is absolutely amazing. They always come off in tact with the head attached. My vet also suggested burning the ticks after they are removed. I was flushing them or putting them in the trash. He said they can survive and just go on to live a happy life elsewhere. It is completely disgusting to burn them but if I am being totally truthful I do get just a tiny bit of satisfaction torching them.

[F, Calla & Luca]

How can they survive flushing I wonder.

[Denis and Rhonda]

Ticks don't need much oxygen to survive, hence the fact that they bury their head under the skin to feed.  In fact, they can go without breathing for very long periods.  Also a small air bubble is like an atmosphere to them.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yes, but in my case they end up in a septic tank. A fitting and I hope a deadly end. Otherwise they would end up in a sewage plant which also sounds deadly.