Ticks affect both dogs and cats, especially during hikes, park visits, or in wooded and grassy areas.
Outdoor pets are more at risk, although indoor pets can also be affected.
Signs to watch out for are small dark bumps on skin, often behind the ears, neck, or under legs, excessive scratching or licking, scabs or irritated skin, along with lethargy or loss of appetite.
"We typically have great preventatives," said Dr. Becca Taylor, a veterinarian with Desert Hills Animal Hospital. "I really like Bravecto. It's every three months. We've got some good orals, we've got some topicals as well that I really like. For cats, we lean more on topicals, but Credelio for cats."
Prolonged exposure to ticks can cause your pet serious harm, and easily transmit diseases, leading to severe reactions.
Veterinarians want to stress that ticks can pop up on your pets during any season, but they thrive mainly in warmer temperatures, like we're seeing now.
They advise keeping your pet safeguarded year around, to avoid any problems.
"Depending on the product, I would probably try to be on it, at least a week before we're going out," Dr. Taylor adds. "The only other option we didn't talk about already, is the Seresto collar, which is the collar for dogs, that stays on and helps prevent fleas and ticks and the great thing about a lot of these products, is that they do fleas, ticks, and some of our mites that cause skin inflammation year-round also."
Avoiding ticks altogether is at times hard to do. They can suddenly pop up on your pets unexpectedly. One local man shares his experience on treatments and care.
"They're really difficult to see, and you usually don't see them until they get swollen up with blood, like the end of your little finger," said Bob Oliphant, local dog owner. "Last year was the first one he had gotten, but I'm sure they're all vulnerable to it, so we prefer a chewable, rather than put the liquid on the back of their neck. It's just not as messy."
Ticks can pop up on your pets during any season, so making sure you check with your vet on medication and preventative care is advised to keep them safe and happy.
