The Canadian family is getting a whole lot furrier with 95 % of Canadian dog owners considering their dogs’ part of their family unit. I certainly love mine! (And we also just adopted a kitten from the SPCA). With summer finally here, our precious dogs face a threat that most owners don’t know enough about – ticks and lyme disease. Only a third (30%) of dog owners protect their dogs from this serious but easily preventable illness. Pout.

According to a recent survey of 1,011 Canadian dog owners, 93 per cent say they would do anything they could to keep their dog happy and healthy. (There’s a great giveaway for you and your pooch at the end to make up for the icky bug images above!!)

Canadians keep their pooches healthy by:

• 75 per cent buying premium dog food;
•  48 per cent spending on treats and extras for their furry friends;
• Three out of 10 surveyed (31 per cent) identify pet dentistry and professional grooming as important for their dogs.

However, when it comes to protecting dogs from Lyme disease, owners are falling short:

• 34 per cent don’t consider Lyme disease a serious threat;
• Only 6 per cent of dog owners recognize the symptoms of this harmful disease;
• Two-thirds (64 per cent) would buy monthly topical treatment to protect their pets from tick bites if the vet recommended it, yet 56 per cent say the vet never talked about the danger posed by ticks.

Understanding Ticks

Ticks are a serious problem that your dog could be facing. As Bayer knows, your dog is a member of the family and you treat them like one. Thus, they have developed a product to rid your dog of those nasty ticks and get them back to normal in no time.

What are ticks?

• Ticks are tiny bugs that attach themselves to dogs by burying their mouths into the skin and feeding on blood for hours or days before falling off.
• Ticks are very tiny and their bites are painless so they are often undetected.
• They come in contact with people or dogs in grassy or wooded areas as they cannot fly.
• A specific type of tick, the Black-legged Tick is known to carry many human and animal diseases and is commonly found in North America.
• Dogs are at a high risk for tick bites because they are often exposed to habitats where ticks live.

What is the solution to prevent ticks?

• Bayer K9 Advantix is a solution designed to protect dogs against external parasites.
• It kills parasites on contact by attacking their nerve cells and paralyzing them.
• The solution, kills a variety of species of ticks for up to four weeks each application.
• Also, it kills fleas on dogs in a time period of 24 hours, continuing to work for up to month afterwards.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme Disease is a serious disease that affects both dogs and people. The disease results in many unpleasant symptoms but, it is preventable.

What is it?

• An infection resulting from the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
• Ticks transmit the bacterial infection to humans and dogs.
• In Europe, Canada and the US it is the most common vector-borne disease.
• As of 2009, Lyme disease is a nationally reportable disease in Canada. Thus, all cases should be reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

How do you catch it?

• Ticks become infected with the disease when they feed on smaller animals carrying the bacteria.
• Ticks spread the disease when they come in contact with humans or dogs.
• The Western Blacklegged Tick and the Blacklegged Tick are common carriers of the disease.
• The prompt detection and removal of the ticks is key as it takes 24 hours of feeding for a tick to transmit the infection.
• The disease is not contagious.

 

Symptoms of Lyme Disease in Dogs

• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Lethargy
• Enlargement of the lymph nodes
• Skin changes
• Rare symptoms reported are heart disease, kidney problems and neurological signs.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease in Humans

• 1-2 weeks after being bitten, symptoms will begin to occur in 3 stages:

1. “Bulls-eye” rash (reported in 70-80% of cases)
2. Fever, headache, chills, fatigue, muscle and joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.
3. If untreated it can last months, even years, and cause severe symptoms such as: arthritis, heart irregularities, and nervous system disorders.

• Fatalities are rare.