Ticked off: Keep your dog free of ticks

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A stroll in the park or playing in the yard every day with your dog helps deepen your relationship.

Pets, especially dogs, enjoy the company of their owners be it playing or walking -- and they even love the time they spend sleeping at their owners' feet.

However, although outdoor activities are fun and have beneficial health effects on both the pet and pet owner, owners must be aware that their beloved pet may be exposed to a blood- sucking enemy, the tick, during their outdoor activities.

"Dogs can be infested with ticks when they are playing outdoor simply because ticks live in the soil. But ticks can be transmitted from other dogs in the neighborhood, too," said a veterinarian with the Jakarta Veterinary Hospital, Yeye Sri Danti.

Ticks, she added, can live in the soil and would attach themselves to a more favorable living environment, which is usually your dog's feet or other body parts.

Scratching is an early indication of tick infestation and lesions on the skin and fur loss would likely follow.

The tick would live in the pet's body, feed on its blood and the female tick would lay hundreds of eggs. When the eggs hatch, the life cycle process would continue.

"When a dog scratches its itchy body parts, some of the ticks would drop into the garden soil or the house, where they would live for several months and infest the area," Yeye said.

It's a health hazard for the dog, which is likely to contract tick-borne diseases, such as blood parasites and paralysis.

Dogs with blood parasites would show other symptoms, like loss of appetite, high body temperature and lethargy. Deaths from the condition are rare but the animal may suffer from severe anemia and generally impaired health.

The Weston Creek Veterinary Hospital, on its website www.wcvh.com.au, identifies the clinical signs of paralysis tick infestation as including lethargy and vomiting.

The tick's saliva contains a toxin that affect the nerves of the animal. If left untreated, it would develop into staggering in the hind legs, which may eventually progress to the front legs, neck muscles and muscle associated with breathing and swallowing, posing a life-threatening condition to the animal.

Yeye said that tick-related problems can be prevented by checking the pet's feet, between the toes and other body parts like the ears and hind parts after being outdoors to see the presence of ticks.

It is also important to remove the pet's collar and feel the presence of tick infestation around its neck.

"If you see one or two ticks, just pluck them off (using tweezers) and kill them in a small container containing kerosene or alcohol or other insecticide," Yeye said.

"Don't just pinch the tick, especially engorged female ticks, because the mother dies but the eggs may live and hatch."

Pet owners can also use special insecticide solution for their dogs in the form of drops or spray as prescribed by a veterinarian.

It is also helpful to use insecticide available at pet shops, or take the animal to a vet for a tick bath, which costs about Rp 70,000.

Yeye warned against the improper use of commercial insecticides or ones for human fleas as they are very toxic to animals and can harm the pet.

Pet owners need to spray their house, including the cracks or crevices near the pet's living area, with insecticide to make sure that a potential tick habitat in the home is completely eliminated. For best results, the spraying should be repeated every month.

Sometimes, however, professional help is needed.

"If the problem gets out of control, owners have to take the pet to a vet. The latter would prescribe the insecticide and the proper dosage and supervise the whole treatment."

If all these are properly done, you and your pet can continue have fun outdoors without being bugged by a tick problem.