Flea and Tick Tips

Ticks

Ticks are most commonly found in grassy or wooded areas, so one way to control them is to cut back any tall grass around your house. Throughout tick season you should check your dog often, especially under his legs and around his ears. If you do find a tick, remove it as soon as possible to prevent the spread of disease. Lyme disease is one of the biggest fears associated with ticks, and cases have been reported throughout the United States. When removing ticks be careful that none of their blood gets directly on your skin because Lyme and other diseases could be spread this way. There is a vaccine for Lyme disease, so you may want to ask your vet if he or she recommends this for your dog.

The best way to remove a tick from your dog is to grab it with tweezers where the mouth enters the skin and with a firm pull try to get the whole tick at once. After removing the tick you may want to clean the area with an antibiotic. Do not try to remove a tick by burning it off, this is ineffective and may hurt your dog. Applying a flea dip or alcohol before pulling the tick off can sometimes help by killing the tick first.

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