April 22nd, 2020 by Amy Varley

Ticks and Fleas – two words as dog owners we don’t like the sound of! Many of us will be lucky enough to not have to encounter either of these throughout our pet’s lives, however, it’s still important to know how to deal with them whether you get them or not!

Ticks

What Are They?

Ticks are small parasites that live by feeding on the blood of a ‘host,’ in this case our dogs. They can pick up diseases from one host and then pass it onto another, so there is a serious risk of disease concerned with ticks. Lyme disease can be carried by ticks in the UK, which affects muscle and nerve cells – very worrying for our beloved pooches! Ticks are usually oval-shaped, small and flat when unfed – once they become engorged with blood, they can grow to be the size of a coffee bean and are more round in shape. To distinguish a tick between a growth or wart on your dog, ticks have a narrower attachment to the body, and just above the skin, you will be able to see the tick’s little legs.

How to Find Them

Ticks are usually found in the summer months but can be around all year round so it’s useful to get into a routine of checking your dog regularly throughout the year. Predominantly found in woodlands and areas with long grass, ticks latch onto your dog as they are running through the undergrowth and the like.

To check if your dog has any ticks, run your hands over their body close to the skin feeling for any small unusual lumps. You should make sure you check around their face, neck, armpits and in their ears.

How to Remove them

To remove a tick from your dog, you will need a tick removal tool. If you have never used one before you could always ask your vet to give you a demonstration – and they will more than likely sell them too! These tools are relatively inexpensive and simple to use. Simply slide the pronged end of the removal tool under the tick (against the skin) and twist anti-clockwise. The tick should just come away with the remover. It’s important to remove a tick like this by twisting and not simply pulling as you need to ensure the head of the tick is removed and isn’t left in your dog’s skin! If you don’t have a proper tool, a ‘kirby grip’ hairpin can be used (very carefully) in the same way as the proper tool. If you are unsure, it is always better to ask your vet for help as it can be very painful for your pup if any of the tick remains embedded in the skin, and cause infection.

Prevention

Your vet may recommend a tick repellent – some of the spot-on flea treatments also deter ticks. Or some people swear by flea and tick collars! These collars contain an active ingredient that is slowly released into your dog’s skin which repels ticks before they have a chance to even bite your dog! Other ways to prevent your dog from attracting ticks is to be wary of where you walk them. Try to avoid grassy areas or woodland during late spring or in autumn as this is when the risk is greatest.

Fleas

What Are They?

Fleas are also parasites that can carry diseases! Unlike ticks, however, they aren’t as easy to get rid of – and if you suspect your dog has fleas, be prepared for there to be a lot of them! A female flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day – I’m feeling itchy just thinking about it! Fleas suck blood from our pets and make them feel itchy and uncomfortable. They can live without a host for months – so get themselves comfy in our homes, in our carpets, on the sofa, in curtains, anywhere they fancy! This is why it can be so difficult to remove them.

How to find them

If your dog is very itchy all of a sudden, has dry skin, redness, bald patches (from scratching so much) or you can see tiny insects when you part the skin around your dog’s neck (roughly where the collar sits) then it’s likely your dog has fleas. Grooming your dog with a fine-toothed comb should pick up fleas and/or their eggs onto the comb, you will either see the flea jump away if there is any, or you can add a couple of drops of water to the eggs – if they turn red then it’s highly likely it’s a flea infestation!

How to Remove Them

To get rid of fleas completely can take weeks or even months! This is because they have multiple stages in their lifecycle – so even if you’ve managed to remove all the live fleas, you may have missed some eggs! To remove fleas from your pet, your vet should be able to recommend a treatment, or these are readily available to buy online or at your local pet shop. It’s important to treat your dog as soon as possible to decrease the risk of them catching any diseases.

As it’s likely your pet has been in the home, this will need to be treated too. For the worst cases, you may have to call a professional pest control officer if you can’t manage to get rid of them yourself. Wash all of your dog’s bedding on the hottest wash cycle you can – along with any other removable soft furnishings. Anywhere your dog has been in the home could be affected so a thorough hoover of the whole house, including beds, sofas, skirting boards and floors is a good place to start. This will likely have to be done more than once however, as any eggs you’ve missed will keep laying!

Prevention

Now you’re clued up in the problems that fleas can cause, you’ll more than likely be making sure your beloved pooch is up to date on their flea treatments! Your vet can advise which treatments are best for your dog or these can easily be bought online or at your local pet shop. These are often spot-on treatments that are administered to the back of your dog’s neck and repel fleas from landing on dog’s skin. Flea collars are also readily available to buy and work in the same way – releasing their active ingredient to your dog’s skin and repelling and killing any fleas that try to feed on your poor pooch!