All You Ever Wanted to Know About Ticks

Ticks and Everything to go With Them

Ticks. Yep, those creepy, crawly, disease ridden little nasties. That's what we're gonna be talking about today. At some point you've had one or your dog has had one or you know someone who's had one. So what do you REALLY need to worry about when it comes to ticks? We know they carry diseases but what diseases do they carry? And most importantly, how do I keep them away from me and my pet?!

Ticks

We, know, no one wants to think about ticks. Well, I'm here to tell you that you NEED to because these little babies are some nasty little buggers. You've heard the saying "ignorance is bliss" right? Well, when has that ever been a good thing? Think about it. I'll wait. .... Yeah, couldn't come up with anything, huh? Alright, back to ticks. You need to know about them because not all ticks are created equal. There's thousands of species worldwide and not all of them carry the same diseases. Ticks are arachnids. Bet ya didn't know that. And they don't fly or jump. They just camp out, waiting. When a host, like you or your pet or some other unsuspecting animal, walks by, they crawl from their little perch on the grass, bushes, or tree and make their way until they find some thin skin with close surface blood vessels to attach to.

Diseases

Ticks aren't born with the diseases they carry. They pick them up from their hosts and transmit them to other hosts. Wonderful, huh? While there are thousands of tick species worldwide, there's only a handful here in the US we need to worry about that spread disease. The Black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, is the one you need to know about because it carries Lyme disease. This tick is usually found in the Northeast and throughout the Midwest. The other ones you should know about are the American and Brown Dog ticks and the Rocky Mountain woodtick. All three of these carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The dog ticks are found across the country and the Rocky Mountain woodtick is found in the Rocky Mountains. Oh, and they don't start transmitting diseases immediately. According to the CDC, if you remove a tick within 24 hours, the chances of contracting Lyme disease is fairly low. It can take up to 36-48 hours for the bacteria to infect you. Since we're talking about diseases, let's talk about how they can carry multiple diseases at once. Ticks don't normally feed on people. They feed on everything else, then they just happen to come across a human that makes a tasty meal. Every disease they've picked up from all those other critters can now be transmitted to a human host, or your pet. 

Signs and Symptoms of Illness

The signs and symptoms from a tick born illness or disease can take days to weeks to show up and not everyone has the same reactions. If you're bitten by a tick and have a small (less than 5 cm) rash that doesn't get bigger and disappears in a few days, that's probably just an allergic reaction to the bite and not an actual disease reaction. Also, not everyone with Lyme disease will develop that tell-tale red bulls-eye rash. If you start getting flu-like symptoms: fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, sore muscles, and a rash, visit your doctor right away. If your pet starts acting like they may have any of these symptoms, get them to the vet. There's no vaccine for humans against Lyme disease, but there is one for your dog. Protect yourself against ticks. If you're going to be hiking or camping out where the ticks are, wear jeans and long sleeves. Tuck your jeans into your boots. There are so many kinds of sprays with DEET and permethrin out there. Use them. Spray your clothes. Use the little wrist and belt attachment insect repellents. They even make some that are safe for your dog. 

Is Your Pet Overheated?

Is Your Pet Overheated?

Dehydration and overheating can be extremely dangerous for pets. And if you don't know what to look for when your pet is overheating, it can lead to heatstroke, which can be deadly. All too often we see this from pets, usually dogs, left in hot cars while someone runs into a store "for just a quick minute". I don't know if any of you have seen the video on Facebook of the vet in the hot car showing you how fast the temperature can climb in "just a quick minute", but those "quick minutes" usually aren't quick minutes and no animal, or human, should be left in a car for any amount of time. It's just too risky. 

Signs and Symptoms of Overheating

Heavy panting or rapid breathing

Excessive thirst

Glazed eyes

Vomiting or bloody diarrhea

Bright or dark red tongue or gums       

Staggering 

Elevated body temperature

Weakness or collapsing

Increased pulse or heartbeat

Seizures

Excessive drooling

Unconsciousness

How to Keep Your Pet Safe

1. Never leave your pet in your car. EVER.

2. Don't walk your pet on hot pavement or during the hot part of the day. Not only can the pavement burn their paws, but the heat rising from the hot surface can make your pet quickly overheat. It's best to go in the morning before the pavement heats up or in the evening and stick to the shaded areas and grass. 

3. Don't exercise your pet during the hot parts of the day. If you take your dog to the dog park, go during the cooler hours, like when you would walk them. And don't overdo it. Our pets tend to get a little excitable when it comes to playing and don't realize how hot they are getting when they are running and chasing a ball. We have to keep their best interest in mind.

4. Make sure there is always fresh water available to your pets. Outdoors and indoors there should be a bowl of fresh water for your pet. And if your pet gets too hot, you can always hose them down or turn the sprinkler on for them. 

Fire Safety and Pets

 National Pet Fire Safety Day

In 2009, July 15th was declared National Pet Fire Safety Day by the American Kennel Club and ADT Security Services to educate pet owners on how to keep their pets safe should a fire arise, to prevent fires, and to plan for unexpected emergencies. For pets, prevention is key in fire safety. For people, we tend to do fire safety drills with our family and have safe meeting places. For our pets, we can't just tell them "Fido, I need you to meet me by the big tree in the neighbors yard". Your pet is going to be scared and they're going to run and hide. 

Safety Tips

1. Extinguish open flames. Pet are curious and will want to investigate what the dancing flames are. They are not cautious creatures and will jump into an open fire. 

2. Use flame-less candles in the home. If they get knocked over by curious pets, they won't start a fire and pets won't get burned. 

3. Use metal and plastic bowls for water bowls outside. Glass bowls filled with water outside on a wooden deck can heat up and actually start a fire. 

4. Keep pets out of the kitchen while cooking. Cats like to climb and sizzling pots and pans can attract kitties. Hot grease and curious cats can cause a kitchen fire fast.

5. Remove stove knobs when you're not home. Stoves can't get accidentally turned on if there's no knobs.

6. Keep young pets in kennels while you're away from home. 

7. Keep leashes and collars by the doors and have a plan in case something does happen so everyone knows who is responsible for which pet. 

8. Put window clings on your windows with how many and what kinds of pets are inside. Put them on the windows of the rooms the pets are kept in while you're away. If you have dog in a kennel in the master bedroom and the cat is in the kid's room, each window needs a cling with the pet labeled for that room and another cling for the doors saying the total number of pets inside. 

Walking Your Cat

Take Your Cat on a Walk

Most people don't know you can actually train your cat to walk on a leash. Yep, you read that right. You can walk your cat. On a leash. Most cats like to be outdoors as being indoors constantly isn't natural for them. They aren't able to climb and hunt indoors like they would naturally do in the wild. And you can't just let your kitty run around outside because of the dangers of other animals, traffic, and poisons they can get into. There are several steps to take when trying to teach your cat to learn to walk on a leash. The first is knowing your cat. If you have an adult cat, it's going to be a little more difficult to train than a kitten would. If you know your cat would not EVER willingly let you put a harness on it or it freaks out when you try to take it outside, then don't even attempt to teach them to walk on a leash. It will just stress them, and you, out. No one needs unneeded stress. 

Training Your Cat 

1. Buy a harness, not a collar. Cats are like little magicians and get out of tiny spaces, including collars. You also don't want your cat to get spooked and dart up a tree and get choked by a collar or have the collar break. A harness is a much better option. It won't choke your kitty and it's harder for them to get out of.

2. Be patient and go SLOW. Cats are not dogs. They do what they want, when they want. If you're expecting Fluffy to sit and allow you to put a harness on her because Fido does, you have another thing coming! Fluffy will scratch, claw, run, hide, and hiss her disapproval with the situation. You can use treats and praise like you would your dog. Try training when your cat is hungry, and use treats as positive reinforcement. 

3. Get your cat used the harness and leash before going outdoors. If she puts a paw into it, give her a treat and praise her. As soon as you get the harness on, give her a treat and praise her. If she takes a step or two with the harness on, treat and praise. Continue this process until she's walking around with the harness on all over the house. If she just freezes and falls over or runs and hides, take the harness off and give a treat as a peace offering. Then start putting the harness near her food bowl so she can get used to it. Then try putting the harness on again after she has gotten used to the idea of it.  

4. Once she's used to walking around the house in her harness and leash, start by taking her outside just a little ways from the door. Again, patience and go slow. If you live in a busy area, lots of kids in the neighborhood or traffic, she may resist. Start with a few feet and try to go a couple more feet every time. You may need to coax her and let her know it's okay. Once she gets used to it and all the noises, she'll want to venture further. 

5. Don't let your kitty climb any trees and don't tie your cat to anything for even a second. If your cat gets spooked, it's too dangerous and she can get tangled up in the leash. 

6. Expect this to take a while. Depending on your cat, it can take a couple weeks to a few months. Expect some setbacks. It's not going to happen overnight. Just be patient with your kitty and in no time the two of you will be on lots of walks together!

Poisonous Plants to your Pets

Poisonous Plants to Your Pets 

When you think of poisonous plants, you may think of things inside your home that your cat or dog may get into, like holly or lilies. What about what you may have growing in your backyard? Like an apple tree? Sure your horse may love them, but were you aware your dog shouldn't have them? And even then, there's certain parts of the apple your horse shouldn't have. We found an awesome article that has a list of toxic and non-toxic plants for your pets. It even breaks it down so you can click on what kind of pet you'd like to check out. Wanna know what kinds of plants is toxic to your horse? Click on horse under the toxic column. Wanna know what kinds of plants are non-toxic to your dog or cat? Click on dog or cat under the non-toxic column. We found this list on the ASPCA's website and there are 1027 items listed so if you don't want to look through them all, we suggest clicking on the animal and the type of plant your looking for. It even shows you the photo of the plant so you know EXACTLY what you're looking at. 

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

Keep your babies safe!

Help Your Pet Beat the Heat

Help Your Pet Beat the Heat

We've been talking a lot about beating the heat and the dangers that come with the heat for your pets. As long as there are people who are still thinking it's okay to leave their pets in the hot car while they got into the store for "just a minute", we're going to keep preaching about the dangers and how to "beat the heat". 

1. Keep fresh water available at all times for your pet. 

2. Your pet needs 1 ounce of water per 1 pound of their body weight. If you have an 80 pound dog, he needs 80 ounces of water available to him. If your cat weighs 12 pounds, she needs 12 ounces of water.

3. Dogs sweat and keep themselves cool by panting. 

4. Cats sweat through their paws.

5. Make sure shade is available when outside.

6. Bring your pets inside to the air conditioning.

7. Rub them with damp towels. Dogs would probably appreciate a run through a hose or dog pool. We can't say the same thing for cats, though. 

8. Make them some frozen treats. 

9. Get them a cooling pad to lay on. 

10. Brush them daily to get rid of all that shedding undercoat. 

11. Don't laugh - freeze your dogs toys. Put them in some water and chicken broth and freeze them. It will also stimulate their mind while giving them a nice frozen treat to help them cool off.