Thursday, May 22, 2008

Some Final Words On Ticks

I have indicated that I removed the ticks by hand but you may read that a tweezer is used to remove the tick and that to ensure the head of the tick is removed and if bleeding occur, apply some antiseptic cream. So far, I do not have any problems removing the ticks by hand.

If you are not comfortable to do it by hand or tweezer, then I suggest that you just apply the Frontline or equivalent and let it kill the ticks and that they would dropped off the body when dead.

I just read a dog book and it mentioned that there is only one tick found here in Singapore, called the Brown Dog Tick, as shown in my photos. The ticks are from my 2 dogs.

There is an American tick that cause the ROcky Mountain Spotted Fever and it is potentially fatal to humans.

There is also an Australian tick that could cause paralysis in dogs and humans.

It was also mentioned that the tick may occassionaly bite human but it is not able to suck our blood...?

So there you are.......

I hope you have found my experience relevant and of help to you.

Take care,

David

On-going Maintenance or Treatment of Ticks

You still need to continue to do body searches on your dog to look for any ticks during and after the application of Frontline or equivalent.

Typically, if your dog is an indoor dog, it is unlikely to get tick or flea infestation. However, when you take your dog out for walks in the woods or meet other dogs during the walks, there is a possiblity a tick or two may jump over to your dog.

I have heard from friends that their dogs after spending a night or two at the vet clinic, their dogs caught some ticks. Similar, when they sent them to pet hotel when they need to travel overseas and they do not want to leave their dogs alone in the house or apartement.

I believe my dogs have been free of tick or fleas for the past few years until I took my dogs to unfamiliar areas in my housing estate recently. Since then, I have avoided that part of my estate and stick to my regular route.



The pet shop that sold me Forntline, also recommended a flea and tick spray to apply aorund the areas that my dogs are kept. In this case, the car porch and the garden so I sprayed a bit of the liquid in the event the ticks and fleas dropped off my dogs and went into hiding.....ha...ha...ha...


So as part of your on-going grooming regime, you should watch our for recurrence of any ticks invasion or uninvited ticks or fleas after a walk or encounters with other dogs during your walks.

You need not be paranoid but I am sure you play with your dog daily so just run your hand over their body or fur and do what I have explained earlier on as body search.

The idea is to detect their presence and take action immediately to prevent a huge tick infestation by breaking up its breeding cycle.

Good luck and take good care of your dog....

David

How To Treat The Tick Problem


A few years ago, I was recommended to use Frontline by a friend and I found that it worked well for my dogs. I have not been using it until I discovered a few ticks on my 2 dogs a few weeks ago.

There are other equivalent to Frontline but based on the discussions in the forums, Frontline seems to be one of the proven option.

You need to know the weight of your dog as you should be buying the right strength of Frontline for your dog; eg 0-10 kg, 10-20 kg,... Read and follow the instructions closely for it to be effective.

In short, you apply the liquid in the capsule or container on the back of the neck of the dog where it cannot lick it. The liquid will be absorded and spread through the skin around the body. So the fleas and ticks will be killed or posioned and dropped off. This will kill the breeding cycle of the fleas and ticks. It should last for a month and you may wish to apply another capsule again or later.



I have some photos taken recently when I applied Frontline to my 2 dogs. We found a tick in the crate the following day, as shown in the photo. This definitely proved that the Frontline is working effectively.






I remove it and placed it on the paper towel to take a photo before I killed it, just to be sure.














If you are staying in a country with 4 seasons, there is a chart where advises you on the treatment you may want to consider for spring, summer,autumn and winter; as indicated below.





Monday, May 19, 2008

How To Remove Ticks On Your Dog

Hi,

I am assuming that you just found one or two ticks on your dog and not a big infestation on its body.

Well, you can pull the ticks off by using your hand but I prefer to use a tissue and my live-in housekeeper prefers to put a small plastic bag over her hand, using it like a glove, and then pull the tick off the dog. If you do it right, you should be able to put the tick in a container or kitchen paper towel, as shown in the photo.

I kill it by folding it up and then hit it with my slipper and you will see the blood splatter on the paper towel. I have heard of people pouring alcohol over the ticks in the container.

BTW, if you are not sure if it is a flea or tick, please do not do anything but consult a friend or your vet.


Here is a true story that I extracted from a dog book.....

An Englishwoman visited a vet's clininc with her German Shepherd dog bleeding heavily from its underbelly. Terribly upset, she told the vet that she pulled a tick off the dog and it just could not stop bleeding after that, and that it hurt the dog badly when she pulled it off. The vet took a look and found it hard to believe what he saw. He told the horrified owner that she has just pulled one of her dog's nipples right off... !!! Ouch... ouch... ouch....!!!

Yes, the dog book claim that it is a true incident so no kidding... The poor dog got stitched up and recovered but can you imagine your nipple being pulled off....???

Regards

David

How Do You Know Your Dog Got Ticks?

Hi,

My 2 dogs, Jack the Beagle and Ruby the Corgi, have not have any fleas or ticks for a few years and I have not really done anything different from my usual grooming regime of bathing them fortnightly, brushing their fur daily, visit the vet annually for the vaccinations and getting their nails trimmed at the pet shop next to the vet clinic.

So how do you know that your dog has fleas or ticks?

If your dog is seen to be scratching itself a lot or more than before lately, you should comb its fur and see if there is any fleas or ticks.

Or when you are playing with your dog and touching it with your hand, use your hand to brush against it fur on the body and see if you feel any lump. If you detect a lump, then open up the fur and have a look. It could be a tick or something else but it is worth your while to do what I call a body search.
My personal experience is that I found the presence of tick on my dogs by doing a body search on them. It is most effective for me and I also catch the tick early before it gets out of control.

Of course, if your dog is already scratching like crazy then it is obvious that there is a presence of a possible tick or flea infestation. I strongly suggest that you quickly take it to the vet for immediate treatment and advice. You are likely asked to clean up your house or apratment too, especially if it is carpeted.

Good luck and take care!

David

My Welcome Message to You

Hi,

I am in the midst of gathering some of the photos taken and then will write the post together with these photos for sharing my own experiences in detecting and removing the ticks from my dogs.

These should be done over the next few days and tomorrow, 19 May 2008, is a public holiday here in Singapore. Vesak Day.... a celebration on Buddha gaining his enlightenment.

So stay tune and drop by again.

Have a nice day!

David