Basic Tick Control and Maintenance Tips for First-Time Dog Owners

Spring is here, and so are the ticks and fleas! Unfortunately, even dogs with a clean bill of health are susceptible to these annoying and illness-causing parasites. If you’re a first-time dog owner, it helps to know about the potential harms associated with ticks and how pups pick these bugs up.

How Ticks Operate

Ticks are a parasitic arachnid (yes, they have eight legs!) that attach themselves onto any part of a pet’s body—most commonly behind the ears or under their tail—and suck its blood. In mild cases, tick infestation results in skin wounds and itching; more severe cases may lead to worse complications such as anemia, bacterial infections, and other life-threatening diseases.

Ticks hang out in bushes, shrubs, and tall grasses, which makes your dog vulnerable during outdoor activities like daily walks or just playing outside. And once ticks get into your dog’s environment, they can multiply by laying eggs.

Getting Ahead of Ticks

Knowing that ticks are usually picked up by dogs when they spend time playing outdoors, it’s important to do a quick check after extended time outdoors. If you spot the easily recognizable black or reddish brown tick, carefully pluck it off with a pair of tweezers and dispose in the toilet (see below). Don’t use your bare hands to pick them off, as some kinds can pass on tick-borne diseases.

Basic tick control means ensuring your dog’s cleanliness. This isn’t limited to regular bathing and grooming; it also applies to keeping their belongings clean. Regularly clean your pet’s bedding, custom dog blankets, and carpets to rid the environment of any ticks and their eggs.

Dealing With an Infestation

Given their tiny size and how they are so adept at hiding in your dog’s fur, it’s easy to miss one or two ticks sometimes. Signs that a tick (or two) might have slipped through the radar include:

• Increased scratching
• Increased biting and licking
• Red, irritated or bare patches of skin

For dogs who are especially furry, combing their hair regularly might help you get a better look at their skin and spot any tick bites early on.

If you’re already dealing with a tick infestation, then you’ll need to invest in the right anti-tick products for more effective treatment. It’s easy for a first-time dog owner to experience choice fatigue what with so many options available in the market, and to be worried about choosing a product that’s both effective and safe for a dog.

My personal choice are the oral tablets or meat-flavored chews that you can feed your dog. They last for an entire month and will completely kill fleas and halt the egg-laying process.

Another type of product is spot-on, which entails direct application onto the dog’s body. While this product’s main purpose is to kill ticks that are already embedded onto your pet’s skin, it can also function like a protective layer that repels or eliminates any potential parasites before they can even make contact. So they do have that edge over chews, but can be more expensive.

Don’t Ignore Warning Signs

If a tick infestation has made your not dog not just itchy but sick, get him to a vet right away. Untreated, tick-borne illnesses can be extremely damaging if not fatal. Look out for:

• Lethargy
• Loss of appetite
• Infected bites
• Difficulty with movements
• Stiffness or paralysis
• Unexplained bruising or bleeding

Conclusion

Given their active lifestyle and love for the outdoors, dogs will always be at risk of having a run-in with ticks. But knowing the warning signs and dealing quickly and decisively with these pests is well worth it to ensure your pet’s health and happiness.

For more pet and animal advice from the Zephyr Hill Blog (including lots of name ideas!), click here.