Dog's love the great outdoors, but sometimes playing outside can put them at serious risk. It's an unpleasant fact that dogs sometimes get ticks, which can be a serious health threat to you and your pet.
Even if you keep your pet clean and use flea and tick topicals like powders or sprays, animals can still get an occasional tick. Check your pet often for fleas or ticks, especially around the ears, belly, legs and face.
Search for the tell-tale tiny lump which indicates a possible tick. The moment you notice that your dog has acquired one of these parasites, take precautions to safely remove the tick from the area.
If the tick is barely attached, you can kill it by applying a pyrethrum spray directly to it. If the tick doesn't fall off within a day, you'll need to remove it with tweezers. When a tick is firmly attached, use finely pointed tweezers, grab the tick by the head at the area of attachment, and slowly pull the tweezers straight out.
Do not twist the tick or the tweezers while removing. And, giving the tweezers a quick jerk or grabbing the tick by the legs or body might leave the head attached, making it even more difficult to remove. If by chance the head of the tick remains connected, you can attempt again to remove it, or let the body reject it naturally, as it will within a day or two.
Keeping your pet treated with flea and tick preparations will help cut down on the risk of tick bites and the harmful, sometimes deadly effects of Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Bathe the pet often with formulas for the prevention of ticks.
Keep pet beds laundered and sprayed with flea and tick sprays or powders and be sure to always check your pet after it has been in the woods, tall grasses or outside for an extended period of time. |