Ticks!!

Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
We went for a lovely walk in the bush this morning but when we got home I found five ticks on Ella! :sick::sick::sick:

The ones I found were still crawling through her fur :sick: and I couldn't find any attached. I called the vet and took her in as we haven't been using a tick treatment and we couldn't be 100% sure they weren't paralysis ticks. The vet and vet nurse gave her a really good check and we, after much discussion, agreed to treat her today with a Bravecto spot on. I wasn't keen on the idea but, if we have missed one, and they are paralysis ticks, the risks are huge.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. :sick:
 
M

M.F.

The problem with the spot-on or the tablet is that the tick must bite and suck on blood in order to be poisoned. The thinking is that the tick can only infect your dog if it’s been attached for longer than 48 hours, but none of those products will state 100% guarantee.

I far prefer a repellent that prevents the tick from attaching altogether. My recommendation is to spray a repellent before going out, especially on the legs.

I can understand your fear of paralysis ticks (I’ve not heard of them, but they sound scary). How many dogs have been affected, and is there treatment? Do humans get affected?
 
Xena Dog Princess

Xena Dog Princess

Location
Wellington, NZ
Shit, that's scary. I've just had a google, yikes. Super common along the east coast, increased population in recent years, like long grass. Probably worth getting back on the preventative treatments over the danger months.
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
We don't typically get paralysis ticks in Melbourne but they are on the move and there are plenty of reports from vets in Melbourne. That's why we dropped off a tick at the vet - so that they could identify and report.

Apparently (according to Google), about 10,000 dogs get sick (needing a stay at the vets) and about 500 dogs die from paralysis ticks bites each year.

It takes 3-5 days for enough toxins to enter the dog and for the dog to start displaying symptoms. That's why treatments such as Bravecto work - the tick has gone before the problems can start.

I actually haven't worried about ticks or fleas before and can admit that I don't usually check. In nearly four years, this is the first time we've had a problem.

I'm a little freaked out now though and will be checking more in the future.
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Xena Dog Princess said:
I hope the $180 included the Bravecto! That stuff is expensive :/ Those ticks are no joke, and they go for humans too.
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Yep, it included the Bravecto. He wants to see us again on Friday to check both the tick and the treatment.

I've also asked for a quote to get her teeth cleaned and we discussed doing hip/elbow x-rays at the same time.

Our vet does have the ability to do PennHIP testing but he suggested that we may want to go with a standard x-ray as nine times out of ten they can give us a really good idea of how good her hips are. He said that they get a feel for the range of movement of the joints (when under the anesthetic) and if what he feels matches what he sees in the x-ray, he doesn't see a need to do anymore. If there's any discrepancy or uncertainty, he'll give me a call to see if we want to do the PennHIP test to be sure.

Wow. Didn't mean to get carried away there. Sorry!
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
M.F. said:
The problem with the spot-on or the tablet is that the tick must bite and suck on blood in order to be poisoned.
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M.F. said:
I far prefer a repellent that prevents the tick from attaching altogether.
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Advantix is a spot-on and is a repellant as well as killing attached ticks. I don't believe that's true of the Bravecto spot-on, but not all spot-ons are created equally.

When I used Bravecto (tablet) it was extremely effective (100% on my sample of dogs) at killing attached ticks, but because it had no repellant properties, the dogs would still have live ticks on them that hadn't attached - and they would bring these into the house. Grim. That's why I use a spot-on with repellant properties, and it is very effective indeed at repelling ticks.
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
snowbunny said:
Advantix is a spot-on and is a repellant as well as killing attached ticks. I don't believe that's true of the Bravecto spot-on, but not all spot-ons are created equally.

When I used Bravecto (tablet) it was extremely effective (100% on my sample of dogs) at killing attached ticks, but because it had no repellant properties, the dogs would still have live ticks on them that hadn't attached - and they would bring these into the house. Grim. That's why I use a spot-on with repellant properties, and it is very effective indeed at repelling ticks.
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That's really helpful information, thanks Fiona. I'll make sure to discuss it with my Vet on Friday. The Bravecto should do us for the next six months but it might be a good option moving forward. I really grilled him on the FDA report re Bravecto and Nexgard and was really happy with what we discussed and felt that today we made the right choice for Ella, given the circumstances and information at hand. That's the best we can do I guess.
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
I have never ever seen so many ticks as here in Scotland. I removed 6 unattached ticks crawling on Charlie this morning, not easy to spot on his black fur. I removed an attached but small still red but dead one from just above Hattie's eyelid yesterday. They have been treated. David removed two from himself. It's horrible. :puke: xx
 
pup-pup

pup-pup

Charlie said:
I have never ever seen so many ticks as here in Scotland. I removed 6 unattached ticks crawling on Charlie this morning, not easy to spot on his black fur. I removed an attached but small still red but dead one from just above Hattie's eyelid yesterday. They have been treated. David removed two from himself. It's horrible. :puke: xx
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Do you have to worry about Lyme disease?
 
kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
pup-pup said:
Do you have to worry about Lyme disease?
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Yes, we have this nasty illness here in the UK . We took a tick off Reuben the other day, with a little tool thing , it was inevitable as our walks are very often in deer country , so he has had bravecto . Nelly hasnt been treated as she never ever goes off the paths and she has some neuro problems , so any treatment is best avoided if at all possible x
 
kateincornwall

kateincornwall

Location
Cornwall , UK
Charlie said:
I have never ever seen so many ticks as here in Scotland. I removed 6 unattached ticks crawling on Charlie this morning, not easy to spot on his black fur. I removed an attached but small still red but dead one from just above Hattie's eyelid yesterday. They have been treated. David removed two from himself. It's horrible. :puke: xx
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How horrible , Helen , must admit I check myself over when I have been in the deer forests , I hate the damned things x
 
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