Ticks in Dogs – Why Prevention is so Important

I cannot emphasize often enough the importance of Frontlining your dog. No, I am not paid by Merial Limited (the makers of Frontline Plus) for writing this post; it’s just that Frontline Plus is the easiest and most effective way I know of for keeping my dogs tick free. All it takes is one spot application and my dogs are protected from fleas and ticks for up to a month.

But is Tick Prevention Treatment Important?

Most definitely yes. Ticks can be found year round in any place where other infested animals frequent. This can include your favourite park, dog run or perhaps even your friend’s home, if he has a pet. So unless you are planning on confining your dog at home for the rest of his live, i.e. never taking him out anywhere, your dog is always at risk of an infestation.

Is It Important to Keep Your Dog Tick Free?

Again my answer is yes. Being yucky aside, ticks carry with them lots of diseases that can be harmful to your dog. Examples of such diseases include:

• Lyme Disease
• Ehrlichiosis
• Babesiosis
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

By ignoring the risk of a tick infestation in your dog, you are simply putting him health at risk. And should medical complications arise in the future, you can bet your last dollar the vet bill will be much larger than the cost of regularly Frontlining your dog.

Still not convinced? Then know that if your dog is staying indoors with you, such infestation can easily spread from your dog to home. This happened to me once, in my earlier days as a dog owner. I would sit next to my dog for about an hour or so each day, remove every tick I can spot and see her infested again the very next day. I could not understand how or why. Soon the infestation got worst and I even had ticks crawling on the walls of my apartment. And because the source of infestation could not be found, I had to engage the services of a pest control company specialising in flea and tick control to help solve the problem. The professionals came, fumigated my whole house after which the problem was eradicated. A friend of mine had the same problem too, only that she was luckier. The source of infestation was traced to a sheepskin carpet in her living room. On removing the sheepskin, she got rid of the problem. These episodes convinced me that it is pound foolish, penny wise to ignore the tick problem in dogs.

Are There Alternative to Spot Applications?

Some of us may be adverse to using Frontline type of products on dogs because of the chemicals they contain. While I have been assured by my vet that it is safe, those not comfortable can consider other treatment forms. For example, there are tick collars, shampoo and even oral medication available as preventive treatment for tick infestation in dogs. I am not of a fan of these because the collars and shampoo I used in the past (more than 20 years ago) are not effective. That said, many pet owners these days have had success with Neem oil, Neem shampoo as well as adding garlic supplements to the dogs’ diet. These are natural remedies and should thus appeal to those concern about the chemical compounds found in other tick control products for dogs.

Purpose of Our Sharing

Why are we sharing this, especially since it has nothing to do with the dog training classes we provide? We are doing it only because at Dog Training Singapore, we believe in responsible dog ownership and care for the well being of dogs here in Singapore. And if you believe this article will benefit your dog owner friends, please help us share using the social buttons on this page.

Lastly, if you have a similar experience with tick infestation, why not share by commenting below. I am sure our readers will want to hear from you.