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How to Spot Tick Bite Symptoms in Dogs
By learning to recognize tick bite symptoms in the early stages, you will protect your pet from many debilitating diseases. You may even save his life.
Ticks use their sharp mouths to attach themselves to dog's skin, usually around the head, neck or stomach. Once attached, a tick makes a meal of the dog's blood.
Ticks are known carriers of many deceases, including Lyme and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Many ticks feeding off a single dog can cause severe anemia or even paralysis.
Don't worry. These are very extreme outcomes. Besides, before it gets that far, a dog will usually exhibit a number of tick symptoms.
Here are some very common…
Tick Bite Symptoms
If your dog displays any of the following warning signs…
- Fever
- Lameness
- Loss of appetite
- Sudden pain in your dog's legs or body
- Arthritis or swelling in your dog's joints
- Lethargy
- Depression
…have your veterinarian examine him. Even if it turns out that these are not tick bite symptoms, something is still wrong with your dog. The sooner you bring him to a vet, the better.
But you don't need to wait for any tick bite symptoms to appear. Your number one goal is…
Tick Bite Prevention
There are a lot of products on the market that will prevent your dog from being infected by ticks. The most popular are…
- Tick collars
- Sprays
- Topical applications
Tick collars are very convenient because they can protect your dog from 1 to 6 months, depending on the product.
For the last 2 springs, I've been using Preventic Tick Collar For Dogs on Bo and am satisfied with the results.
This collar provides 3 months of protection. Its only drawback is that it does not provide protection against fleas.
By themselves, tick collars are not as good as topical applicators. My recommendation is to use a tick collar as a backup to a monthly topical applicator (visit tick bite to learn more about tick bite prevention).
If you live in an area where there are a lot of ticks, my recommendation is to use a topical application product.
The product I am very well familiar with is Frontline Plus.
It's the leading over the counter tick and flea control product and it's really amazing. It kills 100% of ticks within 48 hours after application!
Sprays will not prevent future tick bites, but if you need to get rid of ticks (and fleas) really fast, nothing works better.
FRONTLINE Spray is affective against all stages of ticks and fleas.
Of course, even if your dog does not display any tick bite symptoms, you still need to check him on a regular basis for any sign of ticks. Visit removing ticks page to learn how to correctly remove a tick from your dog's body.
Tick bite symptoms are a sign that something is wrong with your dog. If you learn to recognize them early, the odds of keeping your dog healthy are so much higher.
I hope you will find this information useful and it helps you to recognize some common health problems your pet may be experiencing. However, if you suspect your pet is ill, immediately contact your veterinarian. He or she will be able to help you decide the best course of action when it comes to caring for your pet.
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