Page 31 - North Haven Magazine Issue 14 Summer 2020

It’s Tick Season!
It’s Tick Season!

By Dr. Arnie Cary and Roberta Friedman
mild winter means we will probably have a bountiful tick season this sum-
A mer. If you have a dog who has access to the woods and fields in your area,
you may have noticed an increase in the number of ticks he or she attracts.
Ticks have the potential to infect your dog with a number of serious diseases.
Dr. Arnie Cary, board member of The Animal Haven in North Haven, has
some suggestions about how to control these pests and what disease symp-
toms to look for in your pet.

Photo Credit: American Kennel Club
www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/ticks-on-dogs/

Ticks that are “questing” for a meal climb onto dogs (and us) when we walk
through brush and tall grass in the yard or the woods. They burrow into the
skin, feed on blood and get engorged, and then, having been well-fed, detach
and go onto their next life stage. The four life stages can take up to two years
to complete. Just when you think the coast is clear in the late summer and
early fall, because the easily-seen adults are no longer feeding, it’s time to be-
ware of the harder-to-see larvae and nymphs, which start feeding then.

Ticks at all these stages also feed on deer, mice, raccoons, and other wild an-
imals, and that’s where they tap into reservoirs of diseases, including Lyme,
anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis. They pass these diseases to our dogs (and us).
In dogs, Lyme disease will cause a fever, appetite loss, lameness, and some-
times heart and kidney trouble; Anaplasmosis mimics Lyme with lameness
and fever; and Ehrlichiosis causes weight loss, fever, and sometimes enlarged
lymph nodes and bleeding or bruising.

You can control ticks on your dog with topical “spot-on” products, some of
the newer anti-tick collars, or ingestible medications that control fleas and
ticks through the bloodstream. All these products are effective and conve-
nient to use (be sure to read the package to see how often they should be
administered), with few side effects. The topicals can pose some risk to chil-
dren if they pet the dog and then put their hands in their mouths, and prod-
ucts with permethrin are toxic to cats. The ingestible medications generally
shouldn’t be given to a dog with a history of seizures. There are some “nat-
ural” products, but they usually need to be administered more frequently,
and in many cases are a little less effective. Dr. Cary suggests trying different
products until you find one that works for you and your dog. And he says,
“be aware that there can be problems with buying over-the-counter or “on-
line” medications, which can at best be ineffective, and at worst, dangerous.
When in doubt, if you have any questions, talk to your veterinarian.”

Media Contact: Linda Marino, The Animal Haven Board President,
[email protected] (203) 239-2641

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