Tick season

If you own a warm blooded animal of any ilk, who is outside and especially near tall grasses, you should be on the look-out for ticks. The outdoors can be a wonderful place for pets, but many owners live in fear of their furry loved ones bringing home unwanted guests -- ticks. While ticks are seasonal one should be on the look out for them year round in many areas..

Ticks love dogs or any other warm blooded body for that matter, including humans!

They live in more woodsy areas, but many parks and hiking trails have them as well. Animals can also get ticks from other animals.

Ticks are tiny relatives of spiders. They can cling to tall grass and easily climb on to and bite their victims, becoming engorged with blood.

Ticks can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These diseases vary by area, with Lyme disease being prevalent more in East Coast and mountain areas. Generally, disease transmission is minimal until a tick has been feeding for 24 to 48 hours -finding the tick and removing them during this time is important.

Always check your pets for ticks after they come indoors. You can run your hands over their fur, head, ears and neck and under their stomachs. With special attention to the head,

If you find an attached tick (they can be tiny) use tweezers to grasp it as close to the head as possible. Concentrate on drawing it (slowly) straight out - twisting can dislocate the body from the head leaving the head almost impossible to remove. (Then you need a vet.) If this is really difficult to do you might try one old trick we used. Light a match, blow it out and lightly touch the tick while the matchhead is still hot, The tick will generally let go. Finally clean the bite with antiseptic, or alcohol. Kill the tick in the alcohol as well. Don't discard a live tick.

Tick preventatives are (Frontline) and products containing permethrins (i.e., K9 Advantix, etc.) are topical medications that you would apply between your pet's shoulders once a month to repel ticks.

There are also amitraz tick collars, which kill ticks upon contact -- before they can transmit disease. Do not use amitraz collars or permethrins on cats, as they are toxic for them; Fipronil is toxic for rabbits. Lastly, your dog can be given a Lyme vaccine, if you live in a populated tick area.

If your pet has a tick bite and you are concerned about disease, call your veterinarian immediately to discuss the need for tests and treatments. If you or your child has a tick bite contact your Doctor immediately, tick diseases can be serious for humans too.

Information on tick medicines gleaned from information from a Vet in Washington.