8 Must Know Facts About Ticks & Your Dog
We all love when our dogs make other friends while out and about, but there are some friends that we all try to keep our pups away from. One of the most popular are TICKS!
With warmer days here and more adventures upon us, this also means that your dog is going to be exposed to more of these creatures, as they begin to appear to say hello. We all know, ticks can be a big nuisance and cause a lot of harm to man’s best friend, but how much do you really know about these dangerous parasites?
Here are 8 facts that we think you should know about these nasty critters!
Ticks have four life stages:
1) Egg, 2) Larva, 3) Nymph, and 4) Adult. All stages (except egg) need to feed on a host, or else it will die.
Ticks do not fly or jump.
Generally they crawl from grass and other shrubs.
Ticks are arachnids:
Meaning they are closely related to spiders and scorpions. Eww!
There are over 800 tick species! Eww!
Tick infestations are more common in dogs than cats.
Ticks are not born with diseases.
They acquire them during feeding and pass them along from animal to animal.
Tick saliva acts like cement.
This helps them to anchor in place, making it harder for you to remove them.
NEVER remove a tick with your bare hands or twist to remove it.
Use proper tools like tweezers or special tick-removal instruments to grab the tick and pull it out gently. It is important that when removing a tick you stay close to the skin and to not leave the head embedded in your dog’s skin.
We hope you have a successful Spring & Summer with little to no encounters with these critters, but if you do, we suggest contacting your local veterinarian for further assistance. They will be able to recommend certain medications and tick repellent that is safe and effective for your pooch. There’s no need for these little guys to get in the way from your next adventure!
