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6 Tips for Tick Season!

Posted Fri, Jul 13, 2007, 8:00 pm PDT

1) Use only those tick treatments recommended by your veterinarian. Some products are dangerous when mixed with other treatment products or medications; others should not be used on particular breeds.

2) Follow instructions. Read the entire label before using it. If you're uncertain about anything, contact your veterinarian. Always wash your hands after application. And keep tick products out of children's reach and away from food.

3) Know the signs of Lyme disease. These include itching, pain, appetite loss, lethargy, fever, and limping caused by joint pain. If you suspect your dog may be infected, seek veterinary attention immediately. Early detection and treatment with antibiotics can save your pet's life.

4) Avoid grassy, wooded, brush, and beach areas with your pet. If you live in a high-risk area, consult your vet to see if a tick-killing pesticide or the Lyme disease vaccine would be right for your dog.

5) Mow your grass regularly. This can lower your dog's risk. You may also want to treat your backyard. Discuss options with your veterinarian.

6) Check your dog daily for ticks! For what to do if your dog has a tick, read more here. For further advice, read what veterinarian Dr. Sherry Weaver has to say on the subject.

Showing 9 of 9 Comments

  • 1. Ta Ta - 4:48PM on 07/27/07

    Um, that sounds good on paper, but WHERE do you take your dog that is not "grassy, wooded, brush, or beach areas" to play? My Border Collie is getting fat from lack of exercise and he used to go to the barn with me where I board my horse and run around until he was getting ticks. I can not possibly walk him enough to supply him with adiquet exercise for his breed. Where is a generally safe tick free area where he can run?

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  • 2. rross_1968 - 5:11PM on 07/27/07

    Ta Ta- I live in the Sierra foothills which is anything but tick free. I've had great success using Preventic collars on my Labrador. They do a great job keeping my dog trick free and should be available through your local vet.

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  • 3. steph - 6:30PM on 07/27/07

    Unless you treat your pet against fleas and ticks and hes an active outdoor dog, then its really hard to keep the ticks off of them. I work with animals and i find that a lot of people don't want to shell out the cash for treating your pet. A product that i have heard to work from some co workers of mine say biospot in the best generic brand to get. But if you'd rather not treat your dog then i would just check him very often, check inside the ears, and the armpits and a lot around the head/shoulders area. Good luck!

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  • 4. esmeralda - 1:09PM on 08/05/07

    We live in the Sierra foothills also, and have Australian shepherds. We have kept the ticks off of them with the use of Advantix. We really didn't want to use a chemical control, but finally had no choice, as we were picking several ticks off the dogs every day. It takes a couple of days for the Advantix to start working, but we have had no trouble since we started monthly treatments during hot weather.

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  • 5. Cor - 1:37PM on 08/13/07

    I use Biospot and have had good results with it. The other product I recently tried was Natures Guardian Natural flea & tick squeez=on. (has peppermint,cinnamon,lemon grass, clove, and thyme oil and 78% vanillin, isopropyl myrstate. I have to check this out but I did read something about using "real vanilla"- natural vanilla when I was checking on mixes for mosquito repellent for myself made with essential oils (eucalyptus - citronella) and (baby oil, olive oil, I used coconut oil). Anyway both have work great with my Eng. Mastiff and my pugs. The Natures Guardian has an overpowering sent for a couple days but that's better than lyme disease. And on sale it was only about $2.50 per application. At the beginning of the season b4 I decided what to use I had mixed some - Avon skin so soft with water- in a spray mister- I would spray over the dogs backs, there legs and tummy before we went for our run through the fields and woods- I spray it on myself too. It made a definate difference . Just a misting not a saturating spray. I don't like to use -chemical-etc. but'''''''''''''' I do spread the application out to 5-6 weeks and still ok-

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  • 6. canton43 - 2:33PM on 08/26/07

    I use Biospot along with Brewers Yeast, in tablet form, and have had GREAT success! I order it from the Dr foster catalog, and the dogs love the taste! Brewers Yeast does something to the dog's skin that makes the ticks and fleas not want to be there! I've been using this combo for 6 years and have not had any problems.

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  • 7. dawnieshaedon - 10:05PM on 09/01/07

    I found out fast if my dog had fleas by rubbing a wedge of lemon on his neck. The fleas just came to the surface and it does kill them. So steep some fresh lemon in a pint of hot water overnight and rub it all over their body. Leave on for a day or so and rinse with dog shampoo. Also 20 mule team borax when shaken over your carpets, left for a week, and vaccumed will help keep your dogs flea free.

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  • 8. shecountry3 - 5:35PM on 11/17/07

    I would do more research on the bio spot, there are people sueing the company, some pets even died after using bio-spot. They reported thier pets ran around like they were on fire, then later found thier cat dead in the yard, several stories like that I read. It might be cheap, but I would not risk it on my dogs...I use revolution and sentinal, it covers heart worms, fleas, ticks, hook worms....I never see a flea or tick on my dogs....and we are out a lot, I even take them to the country where my property is.

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  • 9. R3d Dragon11 - 5:54PM on 05/01/08

    We have a problem with ticks gettting on the fur of our dog/cats and not embedding in the skin because of medication (good) but falling off when they come in the house (bad)

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