How to Prevent Lyme Disease in Pets

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the "Borrelia burgdorferi" bacteria, which is transmitted through ticks. It causes fever and arthritis, and can eventually lead to joint damage, heart problems and kidney disease. It normally affects dogs and people, and is rarely seen in cats.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dog Flea/tick Collar
• Dog Flea/tick Control Medication
• Flea And Tick Dog Shampoo
• Flea/tick Killer
• Flea/tick Spray
• Insect Repellents
• Cat Flea/tick Collars
• Flea Combs
• Flea combs

1. Consult your veterinarian about vaccinating your pet against Lyme disease. This will be a two-shot series with annual boosters.

2. Apply Frontline medication monthly if you live in or are visiting an area where ticks are a problem. Consider purchasing a tick collar for prevention; the newer ones work very well.

3. Learn which ecological niches are inhabited by ticks, and avoid them when exercising your dog.

4. Bathe your dog with an appropriate tick shampoo when you return from a hike in a tick-infested, brushy area.

5. Brush your dog regularly to rid her of excess hair and prevent ticks, which are drawn to warm fur.

6. Check your pet regularly for ticks, especially on the neck and around the armpits and the ears.

7. Learn the various tick species so you'll know which ones carry Lyme disease and which don't. A deer tick is brown and leathery but becomes glossy black when engorged. The western black-legged tick is found on the Pacific Coast. Both can carry the Lyme disease bacteria.

8. Remove ticks immediately. Ticks will become engorged with your pet's blood for about a week, but the bacteria is transmitted after 24 to 72 hours.

9. Take the tick to your veterinarian for identification if you suspect it may be one that carries Lyme disease.

Tips & Warnings

• Some flea-control products will kill ticks; consult your veterinarian for details.
• Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose but is treatable without complications if diagnosed and treated early. Consult your veterinarian about symptoms if you live in an area where Lyme disease is prevalent.

[Lyssa]

on 12/18/2006 I had one near my anus, I had to go to the ER to have moved.

on 6/30/2006 Take a small container that has a tight lid. Fill about half full with isopropyl alcohol (plain old rubbing alcohol). Drop the tick in and seal the lid tightly. It will also preserve them to take to veterinarian to check them out. A container similar to the small ones veterinarians use for you to collect urine for testing. That is what I have used for years. If you have 2 of them, keep one for taking to suspected tick to veterinarian. This will kill the tick and you can keep dropping in more as you pick them off your pet. Empty, reuse, the container will hold many of them. Just do not overload it. It works. You can do the same with spiders or fleas.

on 6/30/2006 I couldn't find a lighter to kill a tick, so I took a piece of Scotch tape and taped the tick to the counter. It was dead in a couple of minutes and perfectly preserved, if needed.

on 11/22/2005 Throwing live ticks into the garbage or toilet will not solve the problem cause they'll climb back out. Put powdered soap in a disposable container, mix with water and drop ticks into it as you pull them out!