Dogs enjoy playing outdoors, walking through the woods, strolling in the backyard, and doing other exploratory activities. Unfortunately, ticks thrive in these places and attach themselves to your pet dogs, causing tick infections. These dreaded ticks transmit a variety of diseases that are potentially harmful to your dog companions. Pet parents need to scan their dogs well to keep them clear of these parasites once they return home.
Ticks may transmit infection within 24 hours of attachment. On the flipside, the symptoms may show up in three weeks. Your pet dog may experience breathing difficulty, arthritis, anemia, neurological issues, etc. Take your dog to the vet if you have any suspicions about a tick attack. If you have purchased dog insurance, you don’t have to be anxious about the checkup and treatment costs.
The best pet insurance secures your dog’s health by covering many medical conditions. Pet insurance will be of great help to you as a dog parent, as you don’t have to pull out your savings for untimely pet health expenses. Instead, you can raise a claim with your insurer for covered healthcare services.
Knowing Ticks!
- Some pet parents believe only the more giant ticks contribute to health risks. However, this is untrue. Once an egg hatches, a tick may implant itself on your dog, bite your pet, and spread disease.
- Ticks are present in all seasons. Though they are more active in summer or warmer regions, you can expect tick attacks in winter too.
- Ticks naturally crawl up blades of grass and fix themselves to potential hosts when they brush past the high grass. They also drop from trees. Once they get onto your dog’s body, they move along to reach the ears or head region to implement their parasitic operations.
- Even if certain ticks don’t transmit diseases, they may feed on your pet dog’s blood and that may lead to critical anemia or severe infections.
How to prevent ticks in your yard?
- Keep your lawn devoid of tall grasses. It would be best if you don’t have them around the home too. Mow the lawn regularly, so ticks have little grass to crawl on.
- Don’t leave leaves lying around. We must often rake the fallen leaves into heaps so ticks don’t scatter everywhere.
- Discard the piled-up debris in your yard. Things like old furniture, wood stocks, trash, and other items offer a comfortable place for ticks to survive.
- If a wooden fence or high grasses border your yard, then ensure that three feet distance is maintained between the yard space and the fencing to reduce the tick contact.
- Plant a few tick-repellent plants, so bugs fear coming near your yard. You may use pet-safe pesticides for your plants in the yard.
If you notice and remove a tick within 24 hours of attachment, then you might have minimized the probability of your dog contracting an infection. Keep a watchful eye on your pet’s head, face, ears, armpits, feet, and paws, so you detect any ticks as soon as they get on your pet’s body.
Have your pet checked regularly by the vet so you can tackle tick issues immediately. In addition, dog insurance helps your pet acquire good medical care. The best pet insurance helps in paying for the diagnosing and treating your dog’s health complaints caused by ticks.