Pet Care
Your dog and.....Ticks
The tick has various different types. Ixodes ricinus, the sheep tick, is a brownish insect that looks similar to a flat small spider when it is small and looking for an animal on which to attach itself. Ticks live on hedgehogs, sheep, deer and other animals in the wild, in woods or on heath land. When the larvae (the babies) hatch, they work their way up to the ends of grass or on to shrubs so that they can attach to any animal easily as it passes. Some small ticks are carried by wind to neighbouring fields or heath land. Once attached to a host, the tick buries through the fur to the skin, and inserts its head into the skin in order to be able to suck blood. As it sucks as much blood as it can, the tick changes its appearance to that of a brown/grey bean or pea as its body swells with the amount of blood being sucked up. Once full, the tick will drop off the animal and stay put until it needs more blood, or will lay their eggs on the animal, especially a natural host such as a sheep. Dogs put up with a tick or two on them, without much fuss, sometimes they are itchy, but not often, and therefore they can go unnoticed.
Ticks can carry Lyme Disease. This is an illness that affects the skin in animals and humans, and can affect the nervous system, joints or heart. It is for this reason that careful flea and tick control is important, and your vet can advise you on what to use in order to prevent and get rid of them. Flea and tick control often come in one treatment, although there can be specific treatments for ticks. Cats often have different treatments, so it is important not to get one treatment thinking it will do both your cat and dog, unless your vet has told you it can. For the removal of ticks, it is advised to soak the tick in surgical spirit; that helps loosen its grip making the tick easier to pull off the dog. Twisting the tick anti clockwise with a tick remover, available from vets and pet shops can also work. However, prevention is always better than cure, so tick treatment is vital!
