Are you one of those people to whom mosquitoes are attracted? Can you go out in a crowd and be the only person bitten?
My wife, Brenda, and I can be outside and she’s not affected at all, and mosquitoes will be all over me.
It was that way with ticks yesterday as I saw two patients, PJ and Scrappy. Both dogs live in the same house, go to the same places in the yard and yet PJ gets ticks and Scrappy doesn’t.
We put a Preventic Tick Collar on him and expect him to be well-protected for the next three months. There are many products available for both flea and tick control that will kill ticks, but Preventic’s claim to fame is that, within 48 hours after application it will prevent ticks from attaching and feeding.
That’s huge, because diseases are passed during the attachment and feeding process. Bad diseases, such as Lyme, Erlichiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).
Not only are these diseases dangerous for your pet, some diseases borne by ticks can cause illness in people, too. When removing ticks from your pet be sure to remove the proboscis, or feeding tube. Pet owners sometimes refer to this as “getting the head out,” although the head of the tick never actually enters the body. Use gloves to protect yourself from the tick’s digestive juices that carry disease.
A tool, the O’Tom Tick Twister, is excellent for complete removal of ticks, and it comes with complete instructions. In fact, you can watch the instructions on YouTube.com. Please, however, ignore the idiotic comments of amateurs and old wives posted below the video! Do not put matches, alcohol or hot metal anywhere near your pet.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
