Dog owners are picking ticks already this season as vets urge precaution

Pet owners in the London area are already seeing signs of ticks on their animals with veterinarians cautioning to not delay preventative treatment against the potentially dangerous insect.

Glencoe dog owner Liette Fadden said she's been picking off between five to ten ticks after each walk in recent days.

"We've always had them, but I'd say in the past couple years it's been worse," Fadden said.

Blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, spread a bacteria that can cause Lyme Disease in animals and people. They've been on the rise in Canada since 2009, and are well established in Ontario.

Londoner Bipin Dhinsa has two German Shepherds and a Chihuahua, and said he's also found ticks on his dogs this spring. So far, none of have been the blacklegged variety.

"I went out on a hike in Meadowlily and I had like 10 of them on me just from a 10 minute hike," Dhinsa said. "For our pets, the American Dog tick is the species we will find most often, as dogs are their main host species."

Dhinsa is also an entomologist, an insect expert, who notes that ticks can be found everywhere in the region. But for anyone walking a dog, or out in nature, he said the risk is elevated, both for the person and the pet.

"The most common areas, though, to find ticks are near the edges of footpaths where the grass or other plants are longer," Dhinsa said.

Animal experts say prevention comes in two forms - checking the dog over for ticks and preventative medication.

Finding and removing the ticks with a pair of tweezers within 24 hours is critical, explained Laurie Ristmae, executive director at the East Village Animal Hospital.

"Grab it right down by your pet's skin and pluck it out," Ristmae said.

"Don't turn it, don't use any kind of 'old school' things like putting Vaseline on them…don't apply anything," she instructed. "Pluck them straight out, put them in a sealed Ziplock bag."

Unfortunately, Ristmae said outright avoiding ticks is pretty much impossible, and at her clinic, the number of dogs testing positive for Lyme has increased.

Unlike humans whose symptoms include fever, chills and rashes that appear circular or can resemble a bull's-eye, diagnosing Lyme Disease in an animals is a lot harder. It takes a blood test, but symptoms can include stiffness and sore joints.

"I hate to sound dramatic, but it really is quite probable that if you have a dog and you're walking them, they're going to come into contact with ticks," Ristmae said. "So, you need to speak to your veterinarian about getting on some type of tick protection."

Ristmae explained that medications are available from your veterinarian that will kill ticks while they feed, but before they can pass on the bacteria which cause disease.

"It is expensive," Ristmae admitted, referring to veterinary care. "I get that, everybody gets that. But there are a lot of wonderful products with a lot of data and research behind them that can help you prevent a disease or a diagnosis for your dog that will be a lot more expensive to treat than it is to prevent."