It’s (already) tick season, and ticks can be a very dangerous nuisance for your pets, and also for your family. First, any time your pet goes outside, it’s possible he’ll be exposed to ticks and tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and tularemia, just to name a few.
This is bad for your pet, but you should know that some of these diseases can also affect people, if an infected tick detaches from your dog and then attaches themselves to you or your child.
To help prevent this from happening, I always recommend the following:
- Check your dog (and/or cat) for ticks upon entering the house. You can easily do this by running a flea comb thoroughly through the coat and observing for ticks (and fleas) as you are combing.
- Consider having your yard sprayed for fleas and ticks. (All natural products are available, so check with your landscaper.)
- Your pets can be protected with a once-a-month flea/tick/mosquito preventative topical, like Vectra-3D. Or you can use essential oil blends as an insect repellent.
If you do find a tick attached to your pet, remember that some diseases can be transmitted in a s little as 10 minutes. I recommend that you have your pet tested for the tick transmitted diseases in your area of the country within 7-14 days of the tick bite. If you find a tick on yourself or your child, contact your family doctor as soon as possible.