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Allambie Vet Clinic Articles
If you exclude age related illnesses the biggest killer of pets on the Northern Beaches would be tick poisoning or tick paralysis. Dozens if not hundreds of pets would die each year. And the tick season is just about to start again.
With prevention being the best medicine we need to know how to avoid ticks and how to protect our pets if they are in tick areas.
Your local vet will be able to tell you which areas are infested in your vicinity. For instance in Manly you can be perfectly safe walking your dog around to Shelley Beach; but venture up into the bush and gardens above Shelley Beach and you are well and truly in tick territory.
Ticks are mostly spread by bandicoots which are not affected by the tick’s toxin. The Eastern Hill of Manly is teeming with ticks because the bandicoots of North Head venture into the gardens.
Last year I wrote about the pets that had picked up ticks in areas that had been relatively tick free in earlier years. This spreading of the tick population seems to coincide with sightings of bandicoots in areas where they had not been seen for decades.
So for those of you who thought the bushlands around Manly Dam or some areas of Cromer were relatively safe for walking your dog; the balance has shifted in favour of the ticks, so be careful.
If you can’t avoid tick areas then there are a number of quite effective products that can help prevent ticks attaching to your dog or cat. Talk to your vet about whether these products are necessary for your pet and which ones are best for your particular circumstances.
Checking your pet daily is always recommended, but let’s face it, if you own an Alaskan Malamute the task of finding a tick is almost impossible. On the other hand for the owners of cats and lap dogs it is an effective tick prevention strategy. Be careful to look around the mouth, nose, eyes and ears, then carefully feel through the coat all over the body.
Around ninety percent of ticks will attach around the head and neck so pay careful attention to these areas, but don’t be fooled, they can be anywhere.
The next best way to prevent serious tick paralysis is to detect symptoms early.
The very first signs in dogs are usually poor appetite, some retching and weakness. A little trick for those of you who think your dog may be off colour is to have them jump over something that they normally clear easily. If they are weak and don’t make it contact your vet.
Cats tend to have a changed voice and become very wobbly very quickly.
If you find a tick on your pet simply remove it by grasping it between its body and your pet’s skin with finger nails, tweezers or a tick puller and flick it out. Do not put anything on the tick and do not worry about “leaving the head behind”.
Tick season is upon us. Last year September was the worst month for tick case so start tick prevention now.
