TICKS
By Ann Bulke- Coolangatta Pet Motel, Anntanas Golden Retrievers
Having lived in a paralysis tick area for many years, owning and operating boarding kennels and sadly losing my top Golden Retriever to a paralysis tick, I felt the need to write an article about these deadly killers to dispel some of the myths and try to educate dog owners about the real truth.
There are many kinds of ticks with varying names such as "bush tick", "cattle tick" and "paralysis tick" (also known as dog tick, scrub tick and shell-back tick). The paralysis tick is deadly and posses the greatest threat to dog owners. The easiest way to identify the latter is with the following description: the body can be as small as a pin head or as large as a pea. The colour is light grey. The snout is pointed. The legs are gathered around the snout towards the front of the body. The first and last pair of legs are brown and the second and third pair are pale in colour. Other ticks are usually brown, dark grey and have the same coloured legs all around the body.
Paralysis ticks can be found all along the eastern seaboard of Australia - from as far north as Cape Tribulation to as far south as Victoria. Contrary to popular belief they are not only found in bush or scrub areas, they can be found just as easily in suburbia or a local footpath. The reason for this is that they are dropped off by carriers (birds, mice, rats, possums, feral cats etc.) Once they find themselves ‘alone’ they must find another host to attach to in order to suck blood to survive (and in the case of the paralysis tick also inject toxic poison). Fido with his head down sniffing comes along and the tick attaches - this is why a very large proportion of ticks are found around the head and neck area.
Signs of a paralysis tick are heavy breathing, coughing, change of bark, loss of appetite or worst of all, wobbling in the back legs – if this is the case get to the Vet as quickly as you can. If in doubt at all, take the tick and the dog to the Vet for checking. When the back legs are affected, you have very little time to seek help, or the dog will surely die.
Most veterinarians do not recommend using any form of insecticide or chemical (particularly methylated spirits) to kill the tick before removing it. The reason for this is that the tick is only likely to expel more of its toxin once the liquid has been applied. It is best to simply use tweezers or any pointed object to dig into the dog’s skin as far as you can, and lever the tick out rather than pulling it.. A paralysis tick causes a numbing affect around the area where it has attached, and therefore the dog will not feel the tick being removed. Be careful not to squeeze or squash the tick while removing it, as this will also cause more of its toxin to be released. It is a myth that it you don’t get the head out the tick will regrow; in fact it is quite safe to leave the head in if it does not come out with the rest of the tick.
If the tick is other than a paralysis tick, there is usually no reaction from the dog. However if it is a paralysis tick, immediately bath your dog in some kind of tick rinse or shampoo to try and kill any others attached. When the dog first arrives at the veterinary surgery, and if in an advanced state, the dog will have to be given an anti-serum - this can be quite an expensive treatment as the serum is produced from dogs that have been made hyperimmune to the paralysis tick from repeated exposure. Hospitalisation is strongly recommended during treatment.
Tick collars, rinses, sprays, daily searching etc, will all aid in the control of ticks but the only sure way to prevent paralysis poisoning is with the use of the internal chemical 'Proban'. These are tablets given every second day - but it is critical that the correct dosage is given according to the dog's weight and a regular pattern is followed. Collars, sprays, and daily searching cannot cover the wet areas - mouth, ears, nose, anus, eyes and throat. Our Goldie died after the vet found a second tick embedded in her foot pad - practically unseen by the naked eye. Our Vet tells us that he once lost a dog and found the tick afterwards inside the eyelid. Another was lodged inside the dog's anus and another down the back of the dog's throat.
Proban however cannot be given to pregnant or lactating animals and when our Goldies have pups, we put tick collars on them and rinse them in Barricade S regularly, as well as daily searching (particularly in those wet areas). Please note that animals taking Proban cannot be bathed in shampoos containing pyretherin.
People come into our kennels with their sprays and tick collars and think they are safe - not so! Some are using Proban but are underdosing as Proban can be used to prevent fleas at a much reduced dose.
If you live in a tick area, don't wait until you lose a precious dog before you do something about it.
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