Fleas and ticks are more than just a pesky annoyance to you and your pet. Fleas can infest not only your pet but also your house, multiplying at an alarming rate. If left untreated, flea bites can cause incessant itching and scratching for your pet, which can result in damage and scabbing of the skin, hair loss, and of course, discomfort. Fleas can carry nasty parasites like tapeworms. Ticks can carry dangerous diseases that can be passed to your dog with just one bite. The most talked-about disease is Lyme disease. It is the black-legged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) that is the carrier of Lyme disease.
How can I prevent fleas and ticks on my dog?
In Ontario, have a few different species of ticks to be concerned about. This is why we so highly promote and encourage tick prevention. Flea and Tick prevention comes in many convenient forms. An oral chew given once a month (that also prevents heartworm as well) or an oral chew that is given once every 12 weeks (fleas and ticks only), or a topical solution is given once a month (complete with heartworm protection).
What are the treatment options for dogs who have ticks?
If you find a tick on your dog and it has attached itself, please call us and let us have one of our Technicians safely and completely remove it for you. We highly recommend doing a quick blood test approximately 6 weeks later to be sure that nothing was passed during this bite. Unfortunately, doing a blood test immediately following a bite would not give accurate results.