Keep those pesky bugs away

The weather is warming up and we have even had a few drops of rain! As much as we all love this and cannot wait for the grasses and flowers to grow, along with them come the ticks.

Ticks hang on to the long grasses and wait for your pets to brush past and they transfer themselves onto your pet by grabbing hold of their fur.

Ticks can carry some not very pleasant diseases such as Ehrlichia canis, more commonly known as Tick-Bite Fever. If left untreated, your dog can become extremely sick. There is also a species of tick, the Bontpoot/legged tick (Hyalomma truncatum), which is a very active tick and is often found on livestock, including wildlife, rodents and horses, however they occasional transfer themselves to dogs and cats as well. These ticks have quite long mouthparts, and the females excrete a nasty toxin into the skin of the animal. This toxin can cause extreme pain to the area, and it can even lead to skin necrosis. The healing process takes weeks and may even require surgical intervention, or the animal may be admitted to hospital for intensive care.

The best way to avoid these nasty critters? It is actually very easy! Keep your pet on a very stringent tick control regimen. It is important to buy a good quality product, from your veterinary clinic or pet shop. The ones sold in the supermarkets are often much weaker and do not work very effectively as they are not licensed to use and sell the same products as veterinary clinics.

One more extremely important thing is to never over or underdose your pet. Each product has a weight range on it, and it is crucial to stick to these parameters. Underdosing might not cause your pet harm, but it will mean they are not very well protected against ticks. Furthermore, underdosing of parasite treatments can cause ticks to develop resistance against the drugs. Overdosing them, on the other hand, can lead to stomach upsets and neurological symptoms to mention a few. Another extremely vital point to remember is you must use a species-specific product. Some ingredients in tick treatments for dogs are fatal to cats and on the flip side, some cat products are ineffective in dogs. Always speak to a vet, nurse or pharmacist to determine the best product for your animal's age, species and weight.