Dog owners....help please!

[bsnyder]

My poor Bichon gets ticks on him every time he goes outside!!! We have a little park across the street where we walk him, and I guess it must be now be "tick" season? Because every day the past two weeks we've found more and more ticks on him!

Am I doing the right thing by removing the ticks with a pair of tweezers and then flushing them down the toilet? We give him a tube of medication, a topical ointment, once a month, and I thought that was for fleas AND ticks. But now I'm thinking maybe it's only for fleas. If so, are we suppose to do something else to control ticks.

Forgive my ignorance, but I've never dealt with this before, and I don't know if the ticks can cause a disease or anything like that. We live in Florida, so I don't think we have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or Lyme's Disease around here.

 

[SDAngel101]

We have allways taken ticks off of our dog with the tweezers and then flushed them down the toilet. We only find them on him after he has romped around in the canyon behind our house. Im not exactly sure on how to help you with the medications, we used to give our dog a pill called Sentinel to help with fleas, but i dunno if we still do? But he never gets fleas, just those darn Ticks

 

[Serena]

I would definitely get something for ticks. The poor doggy. I imagine looking for ticks on a Bichon is pretty difficult.

I think as long as you can get the ticks before they latch on, using tweezers is perfectly alright.

I hate to mention this, but does your Bichon have a short hair cut. If not, it might be easier to find them if your baby did.

That's all I know. Goodluck.

 

[bsnyder]

Serena, yes, it's kinda hard with all the fur he has. We keep him trimmed, but not real short....just the standard Bichon cut. The groomer usually finds a tick on him when he goes to be groomed, but all of the sudden there just seems to be so many of them.

Luckily, he's very patient while I'm "de-ticking" him.

I just don't want the ticks to cause him to get sick....I've done a little "research" on the internet and apparently there is a type of tick that can cause paralysis in dogs. I'll be calling the vet on Monday to ask some more questions about prevention.

 

[DocRafiki]

Or you could ask a vet.

It would help to know what topical you're using. You should be using Frontline Top Spot every month with touch-ups on the feet with Frontline spray.

No, we don't have RMSF. Yes, we do have Lyme Dz. We also have Ehrlichia and a number of other rarer tick-borne diseases.

 

[DocRafiki]

Beat me to the "call your vet" punch. There are plenty open on Saturdays & Sundays. I know there's Banfield in Tampa.

 

[bsnyder]

Yippee! There's my on-line vet coming to my rescue!!

Jen, the stuff we're using is Revolution, and when I looked it up on the internet, it looks like it's only for fleas. For some reason, I thought when the vet gave it to me he said it was for fleas and ticks, but apparently not.

Is Frontline for fleas too? Or do I need to use two different things? And can I buy it at Petsmart, or do I have to get it from the vet?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions. I just don't want anything bad to happen to my baby!

 

[Serena]

The Dis is good for everything. lol

 

[DocRafiki]

Oh Bet, you know I love answering these questions!

All those products are so confusing, with so many different parasites that each one covers, it's easy even for vets to get them confused... I look on the boxes all the time, especially for Revolution since I don't use it much.

Frontline prevents fleas and ticks. It's actualy more effective for fleas than Revolution. BUT, Rev was covering Heartworms. FTL doesn't, so you have to get something for that (Heartgard). You have to get both from a vet. You can get both from Banfield, the clinic inside PetSmart. But, you'll have to let them see your pup first. So, it would be better to see your own vet. Since they've seen you before, you will probably just be able to walk in and pick it up without a dr's visit (unless heartworm test is not up-to-date). Some vets will sell FTL without seeing the pet, but not the Banfield that I have worked for.

Don't forget the Heargard. It's much more prevalent than any of the tick-borne diseases, and more deadly. (The tick paralysis usually clears up soon after removing the tick... no big worry).

 

[bsnyder]

Thanks, Jen!

So if I keep using the Revolution for fleas and heartworm, I'll also need to add the Frontline for ticks, right? Or I need to use the Frontline for the fleas and ticks and then use Heartguard for the heartworm? Is that right?

My 16 yo DS is actually staring a job at the vet clinic where we take Gibson, so maybe he can get the Dr. to give him the Frontline on Monday....if not, I'll just take Gibson in....he actually likes going to the vet and greeting all the other animals there.

Also, am I correct in thinking I need to remove the ticks as soon as I find them, with tweezers? Something I read online said NOT to do this, but to get something to put on the tick that would make it shrivel up and die?

Thanks again! So nice to have my own on-line vet!!!

 

[DocRafiki]

Yep, either will be ok (FTL + HTG will be cheaper than Rev + FTL). That is great that he's starting to work for your vet... what an advantage in so many ways! At 16, I'm assuming he'll be working in a kennel since it's illegal to have minors around anesthesia or x-ray? I would have loved to have done that at 16!

 

[fklhou]

IF the tick has attached its head to the dog, put some vasoline on the tick first to get it to release. The vasoline will smother the little critter. There is a chance that pulling a tick off with tweezers will leave the head imbedded in the dog and may cause an infection.

 

[bsnyder]

Jen, I think he's going to be cleaning out the cages and stuff like that. Not a very glamorous job, but at least he'll be making some money! He couldn't get a job this summer because of summer basketball, but that's over now, until the season starts in 3 months. He's been borrowing money from me all summer, and needs to work off that debt, LOL!

 

[Pin Wizard]

I'm really pleased with the way Banfield has taken care of my dog. Whenever they've found a tick, they've taken it off with tweezers and then drenched it in rubbing alcohol to get rid of it. And they give Max a vaccination against lyme.

 

[Disney Doll]

We have a Springer Spaniel(can you say long hair that forms into balls and rolls out from under the couch at the most inopportune times? ), so we do a tick check at least daily. They especially like to get in the dogs "armpits"(where the legs meet the body), and under the collar/ear area, and under the chin. We live in CT(home of the town of "Lyme" in the name Lyme Disease), so we are vigilant about ticks. I use the Zodiac brand flea and tick collar, and every year my vet gives our dog a Lyme disease vaccine which has an 85% effectiveness rating. So far, so good...he's 8 years old.