This article will explain the condition and how you can prevent Lyme disease in your dog.
Summer is here, and with the extra time outdoors comes the concern of pests like ticks. If you know someone that has contracted Lyme disease from a tick, then you know how the disease can ruin a body. This article will explain the condition and how you can prevent Lyme disease in your dog.
Why are Ticks Dangerous?
Imagine you are walking your dog through a beautiful field. Meanwhile, a tick is waiting on the top of a tall blade of grass. So, the tick latches onto your dog’s backside as your pet swishes past. Once there, the tick wriggles into the dog’s skin, and in one or two days, the tick starts transmitting Lyme Disease to your furry friend.
This is a scary situation but avoidable during the summer months. It’s essential to prevent Lyme Disease in your dog because it can cause fever, lameness, and feelings of malaise. At its worst, this disease can lead to kidney failure and long-term problems in your pet’s organs and joints.
Lyme Disease Prevention
Furthermore, the best way to prevent Lyme Disease in your dog is to avoid walking through areas where your pet might come into contact with a tick. Although ticks can’t fly or jump, they can climb on an animal as they walk and brush up against the tick’s location. Fortunately, we’ve gathered a list of various ways to combat Lyme Disease and its symptoms:
Examine Your Dog (and yourself after walks)
Inspect your pet’s mouth, toes, ears, and eyes, close to their anus, and under the tail for any ticks. Remove the tick right away if you do discover one. Also, ask your veterinarian to complete a “tick check” at every exam as prevention.
Always Use a Tweezer to Eliminate the Tick
Grasp the base of the tick close to your pet’s skin without pinching the skin. Slowly pull the tick out of your pet’s skin without squeezing it too tightly. Once you have eliminated the tick, analyze all of its body parts that are not on your dog’s skin.
Maintain Your Grass Mowed Short
Moreover, ticks are most common in areas where the animals they feed on live – rabbits, birds, deer, mice, and other rodents. It’s always best to avoid allowing your dog to run in a field that has not been mowed.
Keep Your Pet Comfortable if They Have Lyme Disease
Lastly, one of the most prevalent symptoms of Lyme Disease is pain and joint stiffness. Your vet might prescribe medication to ease symptoms, but there are holistic options. A good example is glucosamine sulfate – this can resolve your dog’s joint pain.
We Would Love the Opportunity to Care for Your Furry Friends!
Alexander Animal Hospital is a full-service animal hospital located in Severna Park, Maryland, serving the Severna Park, Pasadena, and Arnold Areas. Our goal is educating clients on the needs of their pets and understanding the importance of individualized veterinary care in order to strengthen the human-animal bond between owners and their pets.
We understand you have a choice when deciding on the care for your pets, and we strive to provide you with unparalleled services including wellness exams, vaccines, lost pet microchip ID, dental care, surgical services, digital radiography, and in-hospital laboratory services and diagnostics. Other highlights of Alexander Animal Hospital are the separate cat and dog waiting and exam rooms, as well as after-hours on-call emergency services.
Please take a look around our website and then give us a call at 410-777-8678 to set up an appointment.
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