Lucky for me I’ve never had a tick myself.  My mom did once though…. we won’t talk about that, but it wasn’t pretty.  But she knows what we all know, ticks are skin parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts.  Yuck!  Can’t say I blame her for freaking out a little.  We all need to remain calm and make sure to handle them properly.  After all, the bite itself is not usually painful, but they can transmit diseases like Lyme and Rocky Mountain spotted Fever, and even cause Tick Paralysis.  Lucky for us though, removing the tick will improve the paralysis. J  

The good news is that some flea preventions include tick prevention too.  Liberty Veterinary Hospital recommends Bravecto.  Sound familiar? It's the same product I mentioned last month for fleas.  It's easy to use, kills fleas, ticks, and mites, & lasts 90 days. It's awesome!

In addition to prevention, be sure to check your pet for ticks ASAP after going to areas where ticks are more common, like unmowed grassy areas, woods, & rural countryside.  If you find any, carefully and quickly remove them, using the chart I’ve attached for you. If you have trouble, or if the attachment location becomes inflamed, give LVH a call. 

Just one more parasite to cover next week: worms.  Not the good kind in your garden, but the nasty ones that can get inside pets. Some can even infect humans!  Worms can be prevented too. So come back next week to see how your pet could get them, and why you should prevent it.  And as always, check out www.libertyvet.net for any pet information you are looking for.