Spring is the time to brush up on tick borne illness and prevention
As winter officially begins to give way to warmer weather, and green explodes once again across the landscape — so do ticks.
Spring is the perfect time to bone up on our knowledge of tick borne illness, as well as tick prevention tactics. This is particularly true for anyone heading into the field as turkey season and dog training seasons kick off across the country.
Dr. Jennell Appel is a veterinarian based in southern Georgia. She runs a mobile vet care unit at national field trials all over the country and sees the full spectrum of tick borne diseases on a regular basis. She recommends year-round tick prevention for bird dog owners, regardless of geographic location.
“I used to tell people in certain areas not to worry too much about ticks and tick prevention, but not anymore,” Appel said. “Because even if ticks aren’t as prevalent in a certain area, what we don’t think about are dogs coming into that area with disease. We constantly have dogs moving all over the country. So even if a disease isn’t in your area, it can be brought in very easily.”
The list of tick-borne illnesses that can affect dogs is as long as the names are difficult to pronounce, but there’s a handful that deserve most of our attention. Lyme disease is the leader in both familiarity and frequency, but Anaplasma, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are also very common in the US — increasingly so in recent years.
There are a number of affective treatments on the market, but Appel warns against any topical tick prevention for sporting dog owners.
“I do not recommend any topicals for field dogs, whatsoever,” she said. “Our dogs are in the water way too much, and I don’t care what the box tells you, when your dog is in water consistently, you’re losing the efficacy of that product.”
Simparica Trio and NexGuard are the two treatments Dr. Appel recommends today. Both have been through extensive clinical trials and have stood the test of time. Dr. Appel said steer clear of any shiny new products that aren’t yet proven.
“People want to jump on the bandwagon, but I never recommend anything until it’s been out there for a while,” she said. “There’s been a lot of products come out and a year later we’re having all sorts of side effects. Simparica Trio and NexGuard have been really safe and I’ve had zero issues with them.”
Even with the regular use of tick prevention products, once in a while one will slip through and bite a dog. For removal, Dr. Appel recommends anything with a long, skinny tip. A surgical hemostat works best, but needle nose pliers will do in a pitch. There are also several solid tick removal products on the market like the “Tick Twister.” Dr. Appel also said no matter what instrument you use, it’s important to have your own safety in mind when removing ticks.
“It’s important to remind people that we know scientifically there can be transmission between a tick and a human when we’re removing a tick,” she said. “I’m guilty of forgetting that as well, but we need to be very careful.”