People parents like to walk their dogs, so it is fun to eat. This is also the wish of the shovelers, but when walking the dog in summer, it is a high incidence of tick infection. Let’s learn about ticks below to help your dog reduce the probability of infection, and how to deal with the dog who has been infected with ticks.
From early summer to golden autumn, this period is a period when various parasites such as ticks are active. Ticks can not only cause various skin problems, but also cause tick-borne infectious diseases. As a regular visitor who plays in various grasses and small gardens on a daily basis, dogs may be targeted by ticks if they are not careful.
To keep your dog away from ticks, we need to first understand what ticks are and how they are infected.
What are the symptoms of dogs after being bitten by ticks
What are the dangers of ticks?
ticks are temporary parasites on the surface of many vertebrates and are the vectors and storage hosts of some zoonotic diseases. Ticks can cause symptoms such as skin allergies, skin ulcers and skin inflammation. Not being treated after infection with ticks may lead to host infection with tick-borne infection, which can be severely fatal. April-October is the peak season for ticks. We should prevent ticks in advance. We should deal with and use medication in time after discovering that we or pets are infected with ticks.
How dogs are infected with ticks:
Ticks mostly live on various vegetation leaves outdoors. Once the pet passes by, the ticks will take the opportunity to climb onto the pet to suck blood and release saliva into the skin. Therefore, among domestic pets, dogs are more likely to be infected with ticks than cats.
So when we suspect that there are ticks on our dog, how can we further judge?
How to tell if my dog has ticks:
1. Know the appearance of ticks
· Most ticks have oval bodies and have a small head.
· Common ticks are mainly reddish brown, dark brown, black and gray.
· Ticks usually have no more than 6 mm in length, and some species of ticks are even far smaller than 6 mm. After the female tick sucks blood, the body can expand to more than 1 cm.
· Ticks have 6 legs before adulthood, and 8 legs after adulthood.
2. Symptoms that may occur after dogs are infected with ticks:
· Ticks may cause hair loss, and in more severe cases, it may cause allergic dermatitis. A small red rash will appear on the skin.
· Pets will shake their heads and scratch their itch when they feel itchy.
· Anemia can be caused when tick infection is severe.
· Some ticks produce toxins that weaken the muscles, causing "tick paralysis", and pets will become muscle paralyzed and have difficulty moving.
· Fever may be caused by a tick bite, and the symptoms of fever include weakness, loss of appetite, trembling and abnormal gasping.
3. How to find ticks on dogs.
ticks cannot jump or fly, and can only crawl on the host. When it bites the skin, it will stick tightly to the surface of the skin until it sucks blood. Before entering the door, use your fingers to comb the dog's fur and press gently to feel the lumps on the skin. The size of a tick can be as big as a needle or as big as a grape. Focus on checking the ears, face, neck and claws, "armies", and anus.
If you feel the bulge of your skin, you can see the skin by pushing it apart and looking for black, brown or brown bugs.
It should be noted that when a tick sucks blood, we cannot see its head, but only its body, so sometimes we cannot be sure whether we are seeing a tick or a black mole. And sometimes we obviously suspect that there are ticks on the dog but cannot be found. At this time, we all need to go to the pet hospital for further examination.
What to do after ticks are found:
1. Emergency treatment measures after ticks are found:
· Use tweezers to approach the tick from the side and close to the skin.
If someone helps, one person can be responsible for removing the ticks, and the other person holds the dog to keep the dog calm, preventing the dog from moving around when removing the ticks, causing part of the ticks to break in the body. Then use tweezers to approach the tick from the side against the skin.
· Pull the straight line upwards
Don't pull it hard, don't twist it. Be careful not to squeeze the tick's bloated abdomen, as this will allow toxins in the tick's body to enter the dog's body.
· Treat the wound
After cleaning the ticks, clean the bite and its surrounding skin with preservatives, or pat the antibiotic ointment near the wound. Remember to wash your hands after processing.
Friendship tips: Ticks are poisonous. Please wear gloves or cover your hands with tissues before handling them. If the tick cannot be removed or pulled out, there is a residual tick head in the dog's skin, or the dog looks very painful and irritable or the wound turns red, stop pulling the tick and contact your pet doctor.
2. Drugs for removing ticks:
Parasites are divided into two categories: in vivo parasites and ectoparasitics. The corresponding antiworming drugs also include oral antiworming drugs and insect removal drops used in vitro.
The external insect removal agents commonly used for use include Fulaien, tick lice, and beetle.
Here I will introduce the usage of Fulaien:
· After confirming that the hair has dried, break the tip of the dropper.
· Pulling away the hair between the dog's shoulder blades (neck) and dripping it in this position will prevent the pet from licking it. Hold the bottle vertically and drop the Furieen drops directly on the skin, be careful not to drip on the hair. The agent will evaporate on the hair and a small amount will enter the sebaceous glands and be stored, which will limit the effectiveness of the product.
· Press the dropper to confirm that all the entire tube is dripping.
· Pay attention to the signs of reaction after taking medication, especially when using this product for the first time. If you have no appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, a lot of saliva, or listlessness, immediately bathe the dog with warm soapy water and take it to the pet hospital.
Note: Fulaien is suitable for all dog and cat breeds over 8 weeks of age. The correct Fulaien drop specifications must be selected according to your weight.
3. Choose insect removal drops:
When choosing external drops, please pay attention to the following points:
· If you have children or pregnant women at home, tell the doctor.
· Do not purchase deworming agents without authorization. Some deworming agents contain silensis. They can be used by dogs but are harmful to the cat's body.
· If your dog is currently taking other medications, is too old or too young, is sick, is pregnant or breastfeeding, or is allergic to deworming medicines, a pet doctor may prefer to recommend that you use a special comb to comb and pick up the ticks and soak the ticks in a bowl of hot soapy water.
The above are treatment operations after dogs are found to be infected with ticks, but for the threat of ticks, it is more important to take preventive measures to prevent problems before they occur.
Tick prevention and control:
· Dogs can use insect removal drops as a precaution before going out to reduce the probability of infection.
· Persist in vacuuming every day at home, including carpets, upholstered tools, basements and basements. Steam clean regularly, especially in areas where the owner and dog sleep.
· Reduce or prohibit dogs from playing in lush vegetation areas.
· Wash your dog and owner's bedding at least two to three weeks.
· You can wear a special deworming collar for your dog.
There are many shovelers who hear that walking a dog will cause ticks, so they dare not walk the dog. In fact, don’t worry too much. As long as the prevention is done well, the dog can also avoid ticks. If the dog is already infected with ticks, it will be treated as soon as possible, and the ticks are not as difficult to eliminate as imagined.