Mites In Dogs
Written by: Anastasia Spevakina
Mites always hide in the most inaccessible areas of dog’s body. And as a good owner, you have to know where to find them, how to pull out and what diseases these little parasites can transfer to your dog.
Symptoms of the mite’s bite
Usually the tick bite does not cause any symptoms and consequences, if the tick was promptly removed. It’s not necessary to take dogs to a vet every time they get a tick bite, because you can pull it out on your own. However, if you see any of the symptoms below, immediately contact a specialist.
- Increase of the temperature from normal 37.5 – 39 C to 40 – 42 C. Normal temperature of small breed dogs is 39 – 39,5 C.
- Every dog owner knows that the loss of appetite and general lethargy may indicate a disease. Of course, after the tick bite dogs will feel the same, but only the vet can analyze the disease, if loss of appetite is the only symptom.
- Dogs start to itch and roll on the floor.
- Blood in the urine, yellowing of the eyes whites and visible mucous. In case of these alarming symptoms consult a specialist to make proper treatment and prepare a list of medication for the dog. Unfortunately, without any treatment dogs can die because of ticks. Don’t let it happen to your pet.
Prevention of ticks in dogs
Ticks are dangerous because they can cause infections and carry such diseases as piroplasmosis and Lyme disease. To protect your dog from ticks, you can give him special medication during the whole warm season.
You can find a lot of different tools : collars, sprays, shampoo, drops, etc.
The simplest is a dog’s collar, but it’s effective against fleas and can be easily lost. Shampoo against ticks is not that effective as well, as it only eliminates emerged fleas. And the most effective tool to protect dogs from mites is drops. The most effective drops are produced by such pharmaceutical companies as Meria, Bayer (Advantix), Hartz, and Pfizer (Stronghold). The validity of drops against ticks is 30 days, and you have to observe its dosage.
How to pull the mite out?
In fact, it’s not difficult to pull the mite out, but you have to be quite dexterous. Take sunflower oil, gasoline, petrolatum or machine oil (it is more viscous) and put it on a tick. A tick will loosen his grip or leave the dog. After 10 seconds gently remove the tick with tweezers. Just don’t pull too much, otherwise proboscis of a parasite will stay in the dog’s body. After removing grease the bite area with alcohol or iodine.
As you can see, it’s not so difficult, you just have to be attentive. Mites are not a reason to leave dogs at home during warm periods and not to let them play and run outside. Take care of your dog and try to avoid areas, where he can be bitten by mites. Areas with a lot of sand are completely safe. Sand doesn’t attract ticks, and it’s softer for dog paws,while running.
Also Read : 10 Myths About Dogs
