Petcare today bulletin - fleas and ticks in dogs

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Fleas and Ticks

Fleas and ticks cause skin irritation and allergies which leads to anaemia and other diseases in house pets. Thee are various treatments for handling fleas but for ticks the best technique is removing them manufally, preferably by the vet.

Fleas are small, black insects about 2mm in length. They live in the bedding and coats of dogs and cats and feed on their blood.

Close examination of your dog may reveal these small, black insects moving rapidly through your dogs' coat. If there are few fleas present, only flea dirt may be evident which will appear as small, black specks. This is actually flea faeces, which is passed through the insect after sucking blood from your dog.

Some dogs may tolerate fleas well, with only very slight scratching. Others can show a severe allergic reaction to both flea bites and flea saliva. This can result in intense scratching and chewing of neck, ears, thighs and base of the tail. Your dog may also spin around quickly to chew itself when the flea bites. In extreme cases, your dog's skin may start to scale and discolour. Hair loss and secondary bacterial infections may also occur.

Adult fleas lay their eggs on the dog within a few days of their first blood meal. These eggs are non-sticky and will drop off onto surrounding carpets and bedding. From here, the eggs will hatch to produce larvae that feed on flea faeces and organic matter found in the environment. The larvae dislike light and will tend to live deep in the carpets and in soil.

After a period of growth, the larvae will pupate. This is when the larvae take on the form of the adult. The adult flea will be stimulated to emerge from the pupa by warmth of body heat, vibrations such as a dog walking by or by exhaled breath (carbon dioxide). The newly emerged flea may bite humans before jumping off to find a moe suitable host.Once this host is found, the life cycle will start over again.

To control fleas, you must treat all your cats and dogs on the same day. There are many treatments for your dog on the market, some function by killing fleas immediately while other preparations act when the flea bites. Treating your pets alone is not however sufficient you must also treat your home environment. Regular hoovering and cleaning of bedding will also help to destroy the flea's different life stages.

Ticks are small, light grey, rounded insects which feed from the blood of animals. They vary in size and when engorged, can reach the size of a pea. They can be found anywhere on the dogs body but are most frequently found on the ears, face or abdomen where hair cover is relatively thin. Ticks will only feed at certain times of their life.

Peak activity is between the months of March to June and from August to November. Most of their life cycle is spent outside in areas of long grasslands and moorland but they can also survive in cracks and crevices in the walls and floors of kennels.

Adult ticks can be seen attached to the skin of your dog and will resemble a small, smooth wart or blood blister. If your dog has only a few ticks, they may have little effect on your dog. Occasionally your dog's skin may become irritated due to allergic reaction to the bite. If infestations are heavy, anaemia may develop. Ticks can however be carriers of Lymes disease, which can be transmitted to the dog when bitten.

When a tick is removed from your dog's body, it is important that its mouthparts do not remain embedded in your dogs skin or this may result in irritation, infection and abscess. To prevent this from happening, it is always best to get your vet to remove the tick. There are many insecticide viz., Ridd liquid and shampoos (Notix Scrub Liquid) available in the market that will kill ticks and if you use these regularly, they can help prevent infestation. (Notix forte powder)

To remove an attached tick, use a pair of fine-tipped tweezers or special tick removal instruments. These special devices allow one to remove the tick without squeezing the tick body. This is important, as you do not want to crush the tick and force harmful bacteria to leave the tick and enter the dog's bloodstream.

Grab the tick by the head or mouth parts right where they enter the skin. Do not grasp the tick by the body.
Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. Do not twist the tick as your are pulling.
Using methods such as applying petroleum jelly, a hot match, or alcohol will NOT cause the tick to 'back out'. In fact, these irritants may cause the tick to deposit more disease-carrying saliva in the wound.
After removing the tick, place it in a jar of spirit to kill it. Ticks are NOT killed by flushing them.
Clean bite wound with a disinfectant, if you want to apply a small amount of a antibiotic ointment.
Wash your hands thoroughly.

Please do not use your fingers to remove or dispose off the tick. We do not want you to come in contact with a potentially disease-carrying tick. Do NOT squash the tick with your fingers. The content of the tick can transmit disease.

Get your new puppy or dog checked out with a veterinarian and establish a schedule for his immunizations. Puppies need to be inoculated at the age of one and a half months with a six-in-one vaccine that protects against distemper, parvo, canine, parainfluenza and so on. At two and a half months, they are due for a booster dose. The rabies and Corona vaccines are separate and given at three months. All vaccines need an annual booster.

A pedigreed dog will need regular veterinary intervention. Symptoms of sickness to look out for, are excessive thirst, loss of appetite, frequent diarrhoea, bleeding from the mouth, nose or anus, strain to pass urine, weight loss, shivering, confusion, lameness or difficulty in moving. Make a note of the symptoms and furnish all the details of the vet so that he can make an accurate diagnosis.

Ticks are best controlled by manual removal and keeping the surroundings clean and uncluttered. They are usually seen on the head and neck, on and in the ears and between the toes. Wear rubber gloves while removing ticks to avoid contact with blood. Use a chemical dp or a solution of Amitraz (to be use carefully) on the dogs and its environment to kill fleas and ticks.

Ticks and fleas transmit worms and cause skin irritations and allergies. Severe infestation of fleas can cause anemia as fleas feed on blood. Dogs pick up tapeworms from fleas. Round worm infested puppies may be very thin, have a pot belly, diarrhoea and a cough. Medication should be given for the particular type of worm infested. Canine distemper symptoms of canine distemper include coughing (a puppy can dier of pneumonia in the first or second week of distemper) diarrhoea, listlessness and fever. Prognosis depend upon severity and early diagnosis and treatment. This disease is highly preventable with vaccine usually taken at one and a half months of age.

This is a highly contagious viral disease that is dangerous primarily to puppies. Bloody diarrhoea is the most mportant and easly recognised symptom; others include loss of appetite, vomiting, fever and listlessness. Parvovirus can kill an adult dog in two to four days; 8 to 12 week old puppies can die in a few hours; so early diagnosis is important. A preventive vaccine in 80 to 90% effective.

This airborne viral disease more commonly known as "Kennel Cough" is highly contagious, but much less severe than distemper. It is the most common respiratory illness in dogs. The incubation period is 5 to 10 days. Common symptoms include discharge from the nose and a persistent dry cough, which usually disappears by itself within 2 weeks. This disease only becomes serious if left untreated and a secondary bacterial infection sets in leading to pneumonia. This disease is not transmissible to humans, and can be killed with bleach. The best prevention is a standard vaccination alongwith parainfluenza vaccine which is often combined with canine and parvovirus vaccines.

Rabies is spread by the bite or through the salive of an infected animal. Symptoms are sensitivity to light, foaming at the mouth, personality changes, loss of appetite and aversion to water. Prevention is only by a highly effective vaccine which may be given as early as three months for puppies. Once infested rabies is fatal and the extreme danger is transmission to human.

This virus is also highly contagious, and spread through the feces. Its incubation period is only 1 to 1.5 days. Symptoms are similar to parvo, but it is a milder disease. It is not transmissible to humans, and can be killed with bleach.

This uncommonly seen disease is spread through urine, feces and saliva. The virus can survive in the environment for weeks and even months. The incubation period is to 9 days. Common symptoms are fever with depression, loss of appetite, discharge from the eyes and nose, abdominal pain and vomiting. this is highly fatal to puppies. This disease is not transmissible to humans and can be killed with bleach.

This disease is not a virus, rather it is a spirochete, a highly specialized form of bacteria. It is spread throught the urine onto the skin. After an incubation period of 5 to 15 days, the most common symptoms ae weakness, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite and jaundice. This disease rarely causes death, but can persist as a chronic disease. It is usually spread by urine contaminated water, and is a zoonotic disease. This disease is transmissible to humans.