You can't hide from pesky Ticks!
Your dog or cat can't hide from the fact that ticks are a year round risk to your pet. After the especially warm start to the winter months, ticks are still very active. In Australia, there are two types of ticks that are the most problematic, the brown dog tick and paralysis tick.
Ticks are excellent survivors, laying large numbers of eggs, they can survive months without feeding. There are four stages in the life cycle starting with egg, larva, nymph and adult.
The main areas to concentrate on when checking your pet for ticks are around the eyes, inside ears, under the collar, on/around/under the lips, back of head and neck, and around the anus, between the toes.
The Brown Dog Tick
A well known pest for dogs found throughout Australia, commonly there will be multiple brown ticks infesting your dogs environment. They can cause irritation and anemia in your pet, and can survive for extended periods of time off their host.
The Paralysis Tick
A very dangerous parasite, affecting particularly the East Coast of Australia. It takes only one (1) Paralysis Tick to put your dog or cat at risk of paralysis and death.
Tick toxin is not secreted in detectable amounts until 3 days of attachment, this is why it is so important to regularly check your pet for ticks, it allows 3 days to find the tick before it injects a large dose of toxin. The tick will need to be removed immediately, you can do this with a tick remover, as to avoid leaving the head of the tick in your pets skin causing further irritation.
Ticks inhabit grass (long and short) and scrubs. Your pet will need a tick repellent or other protection to help him avoid ticks attaching to him. The Paralysis tick releases a toxin when it feeds on your dogs blood, some symptoms of infection are wobbly hind legs, lethargy, difficulty breathing, change in a dogs bark/ cats meow, dilated pupils, vomiting or behavioral changes. You need to seek immediate veterinarian treatment if your pet shows any of these signs.
Bush Tick
The Bush Tick affects mostly the Eastern and Western sides of Australia, it creates irritation of the skin in your dog, and where there is a heavy infestation, extensive blood loss.
We recommend NexGard Spectra "The most complete protection for Dogs" and Frontline PLUS for cats, for effective treatment against parasites.
For information on how you can protect your pet from ticks visit your local Just For Pets store.
