Summer is here, and there’s no doubt many pets and pet owners will take advantage of the nice weather and spend more time outdoors. More time outdoors means a higher risk of exposure to fleas, ticks, and other pesky pests.
Why is it important to protect your pets from fleas and ticks in the summer? Preventative health when it comes to fleas and ticks is of the utmost importance. Fleas and ticks carry diseases that can transmit from animals to humans including Lyme disease and others. Not only this, but flea infestation if left untreated could lead to the death of a pet.
Both fleas and ticks feed on animal blood: pet, human, or other. Flea bites on dogs are very itchy as dogs are allergic to flea saliva. Some animals are more sensitive to these bites, resulting in complications such as severe skin infection, inflammation, and hair loss. Ticks themselves carry bacteria that cause Lyme disease and can go unnoticed because they burrow and hide in fur and attach themselves to your pet’s skin; which, if you happen to have a longer-haired breed of dog, are not easy to spot.
Another one of the dangers of these bugs is that they can very easily jump and spread from animal to animal and multiply quickly.
Once contracted, these pests are very hard to get rid of due to the speed at which they multiply. Prevention is your best defence in avoiding the mess they come with altogether.
On a positive note, there are many topical or oral ingestion medications available for flea and tick prevention, that are relatively inexpensive. The most common being the combination parasite protection chews from brands like NexGard SPECTRA, Revolution, Zoetis Simparica, or many others offered at your local veterinary clinic. At Clayburn Pet Hospital we offer Credelio and Credelio Plus for oral prevention.
These chews are most effective when fed once every month during the months you most expect to be outdoors with your pets. Protect your pets from these pesky parasites today, it could save you a huge hassle in the future!
