5 crucial tips to follow to help your dog prevent tick-borne diseases

Common dog diseases

Animals like dogs, cats, and other furry creatures attract ticks on the body. Ticks then stick onto their fur and cause irritation. Along with irritation, the tick transmits infectious diseases. This article highlights the discomfort due to ticks and tick-borne diseases. End of the article let us see the ways to prevent ticks.

What are ticks and what are tick-borne diseases?

Ticks are small parasites that can latch to a dog’s or cat’s skin. They adhere tight to animal skin to feed themselves. But, during this process, they carry micro-organisms and transmit them to dogs. This leads to infectious diseases in dogs. Additionally, there is also a risk of tick paralysis. A rare neurological condition affecting the locomotion of dogs.

Types of tick-borne diseases

• Borrelia (Lyme disease)
• Babesiosis
• Anaplasmosis
• Ehrlichiosis
• Rocky Mountain Spotted sickness

How to prevent ticks?

You need to take good care of your pet and ensure it is free from ticks. Give frequent washes to the dog and keep them in a hygienic environment. Feed them healthy.

• Tick prevention routines

There are simple daily routines to keep the ticks at stay. Give your dog a healthy wash in a bath tub. This removes most of the ticks. You can apply citrus juice on the dog before going for a walk. As ticks hate the citrus flavour. Keep your house neat and clean.

• Tick prevention products

Prevention is better than cure. There are several products that can prevent tick infestation. One best product is tick collars. You can buy it from a pet shop and allow the dog to wear them. The chemicals applied to it prevent both ticks as well as fleas. The collars don’t work for dogs who love swimming and ‘mouthy play’. During mouthy play, dogs might tend to inhale the chemicals spread on the collar. Otherwise, this is a good option. There are various topical creams to help prevent tick infestation. Check with a vet to confirm which option is best for your dog. There are also medications administered monthly.

• Tracking Seasonal changes

Studying the seasonal effect in your country is an important step. Vets suggest following year-round tick prevention techniques. There are peak tick seasons when ticks are found hiding in dense vegetation and grassy areas. Avoid taking dogs to such locations.

• Frequent frisking is a good option

You should check for ticks on a regular basis, especially following outdoor excursions. Eliminate them at the earliest before they start to spread diseases. The areas where ticks are likely to infest more are the ears, head, and neck. These areas should be given special attention.

• How to eliminate ticks from a dog’s body?

            In case your dog is infested with ticks then care must be taken to eliminate them as early as possible. First, a good wash,scrub off the ticks during a good bathing session. Use creams to eliminate ticks. Essential oils are said to eliminate ticks. Rose geranium oil and Tickweed remove ticks. After removal collect the ticks in a box with isopropyl alcohol and seal the lid tightly. This will kill the ticks. It is important to collect the ticks. At your next vet visit show them to your vet and know more about the type of tick and the possible infections it could bring to your furry friend.

Extra caution

While cleaning and removing ticks make sure to use a pair of gloves. Ticks might infest humans too.