Care and raising

How to protect your dog from ticks

There seems to be more and more ticks year after year. Fortunately, the ways to protect our furry friends, whether dogs or cats, against these parasites are growing. Everyone can choose what product fits best for them and their four-legged companions.

Ticks simply can’t be avoided in summer. The last few winters were not that harsh, and so a greater number of ticks are surviving and can be encountered in even the slightest bit of greenery. Fortunately, we already have enough ways to protect our pets from them and the diseases they transmit. Let’s take a look at both the preventive ones and those that defend against diseases from an already clinging tick.

There are quite a few types of parasiticides, here are some of the most common:

Collars

It’s the most common type of protection against ticks and fleas. There are plenty of makers of anti-tick collars today, and if we want quality protection for dogs, we shouldn’t try to save on the price. Calculated monthly, it still offers the cheapest protection. Individual types differ over how long they’re good for, but generally it’s several months. Your dog can still go into the water with the collar on and there are options for allergy sufferers. Frequent shampooing, however, can decrease the effectiveness of the collar. The effectiveness of the best collars is around 90%.

Spot-on

The advantage of pipettes is their quick and easy application. The product drips between the shoulder blades (at a place where the dog can’t reach and so lick the product). It only works for about a month, so the application must be repeated several times per season, and your dog shouldn’t swim for at least one day after application.

Sprays and powders

These repellents work the same as with people. The applications must be repeated daily, weekly or before each outing – it depends on the product.

Tablets

These appeared on the market for the first time last year. They are chewable flavored tablets that work for 12 weeks. It’s probably the most expensive form of parasiticide. The active ingredient of the tablet does not metabolize or accumulate in the dog’s body, but is deadly for ticks and fleas.

Natural products

A large variety of natural products from sprays and drops to collars are available. Their efficiency is based on natural substances, without the use of chemicals, but most veterinarians don’t recommend them. Their principle is based on the content of extracts from plants that naturally repel parasites.

Since no parasiticide is completely effective and the ticks are more and more, then in addition to prevention, the situation where the tick is already clinging should be taken into account:

Vaccination

We can vaccinate our dogs against Lyme borreliosis. It works to prevent the transmission of the disease from ticks to animals. The best time for vaccinating is after the season, namely in winter. There is currently no vaccination for animals that works against tick-borne encephalitis, but usually dogs only very rarely suffer from it.

Protection against tickborne infection

Ticks carry the Borrelia bacteria in their intestines, therefore it is necessary to remove them carefully. Nowadays, there are different kinds of products for killing and subsequently removing the parasite so that the contents of their digestive system don’t get into the bite and cause an infection. For example, Ixoderm incapacitates and kills the tick, disinfects the bite so that the tick falls off on its own. Atix spray freezes the tick, making it possible to remove it without the risk of transmitting the disease.

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