by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Now that the snow is melted, the flowers are starting to bloom and the temps are above freezing, it is officially tick season.  If you walk your dog in the woods, along a grassy area, at a park or even if you let Buddy in your yard – chances are your dog can now pick up a few ticks.

It’s time to thoroughly check your dog for ticks each time it comes in the house or before you get back into you car.  Lyme Disease is always a concern for dogs contracting this from ticks, but there are other tick borne illnesses that your dog could get.  In most cases the tick must feed on your dog for 24 hours to infect the dog, so that is why it is good practice and training for your dog to make it a routine to check him.

Be diligent about checking your dogs ears, paws (and I in between the toes), front and back of the neck.  Ticks go anywhere, but those areas seem to be prime real estate for them. The also like moist places, so make sure you look in your dogs ears. And check yourself as well, they can crawl pretty quickly.  You can use a flea comb too to find them and if you are so inclined there are topical monthly treatments to prevent ticks from staying on your dog.  I am not a fan of most of these treatments and prefer holistic alternatives, and and a thorough daily screening of my dog.  This also helps for spotting any abnormalities on your dog that you may have not noticed by just putting monthly drops of a preventative on your dog.

Ticks are everywhere on LI, don’t fool yourself to thinking your well manicured and landscaped property won’t have any.  And check yourself as well, they can crawl pretty quickly.  Ticks are nasty little creatures, but they are a part of life when owning a dog on our infested Island. For more information on ticks click here.   And to see a video to preventing ticks and other saftey tips while out in the park with your dog, click here.

Happy tick hunting? Yes, make it a rountine for your dog and reward him or her afterwards – my old Dobie used to immediately lay down and roll on her side when we got back to the car because she knew it was tick check time.  What a good girl!

What is your best tick prevention or removal method?  Put them in the comments below!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Don’t you love the cooler, crisp weather that is happening after a brutally hot summer? I know I do, and my dog Max has some serious hyper fall fever for a 11 year old pupper! One of the things that we think changes with the cooler weather is less fleas and ticks around, however that is not always the case. Many people resort to topical treatments to keep fleas and ticks away from their pets, in which I do not use any of those products on my dog, never have, never plan on it. I am however, proactive in always checking my dog for ticks, especially here on LI – they never really go away unless the temperature goes below freezing or their is snow on the ground. So my dog knows the routine after a nice long walk in the woods or even just down the street – he gets checked for ticks afterwards. To be fair, he has short hair and he his coat is mostly white – so it is a bit easier to look for ticks on him vs. say a long haired or double coated dog. It’s a choice I make to not use topical treatments and use holistic sprays to keep pests away, but dog owners have to decide what is best for them and their dog on an individual basis.

My dog has had ticks on him from walks or romping in a field which I remove with a ticked off spoon or device like that, but he has never a problem with fleas. But in order to know where fleas and ticks may be a problem in your neighborhood, PetCareRX.com came up with this ingenious local flea and tick tracker which is designed to help customers track the flea and tick threat level depending on location. The tracker is simple to use and extremely beneficial for pet owners and their animal friends. To try it, just click on the button on the top left hand side of the site ‘Find your local Flea & Tick Threat Level’ on PetCareRX.com.

Pet owners can explore the different charts and maps that are generated based on the zip code. The various charts help break down flea and tick patterns depending on the temperature, time of year and location. For instance, the 3-day flea forecast chart uses the average temperature and humidity forecast for the next three days to compute a flea threat level of low, medium, or high. There is also a chart based on 2012 parasite prevalence maps which show the risk of tick borne diseases in the requested area as well.

The Flea Activity chart is based on historical weather patterns by state which can help viewers see when the low, moderate and high flea threat levels might occur. This chart is great because it can help pet owners choose a flea and tick prevention course of action based on their region’s flea activity. For example, this year has been warmer than usual in many parts of the country. It is important to pay attention to our pet’s habits (indoor or outdoor, country or city, etc) in order to decide what the best course of action to protect our furry friends.

So whether you are using a topical treatment or a holistic approach – it is a great tool to find about the flea and tick patterns in your neighborhood so you can best prevent your pet from getting these pests.