Some the vets and staff at Mountain Animal Hospital recently attended a continuing education lecture to learn more about the emergence of ticks in Southern Ontario. We were able to learn how to better identify ticks that you may find on your pets, so make sure you save any you take off your dogs at home. If a tick is identified as a deer tick your dog may be at risk of contracting Lyme disease. Unfortunately, it seems that ticks are here to stay and it is expected that their numbers will increase in the years to come. The best thing we can do is be proactive in prevention to reduce the risk of Lyme disease in our dogs and ourselves. Although peak seasons for ticks in this area is the spring and fall, they can also bite throughout the summer months. As soon as the outdoor temperature rises above 4 degrees in the spring the ticks will emerge and start to feed. Therefore, it is important to start tick prevention early. You can reduce the chance contracting lyme disease by checking for ticks on your dog and yourself after walks. Furthermore, there are many effective topical or oral prevention products available at the clinic. We also offer a Lyme disease vaccine if needed. Please call us so we can assess your pets risk and design a prevention protocol.
