How to protect your pets from ticks and the diseases they carry

CTV News

18 hours ago

FILE: Dr. Karen Woodard checks for fleas and ticks on Gail Friedman's allergy-prone dog, Mr. Friedman, in Elmhurst, Ill. on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)
When Marshall Doucette brought his dog, a four-year-old Shih Tzu named Tessa, to his cottage in Grand Lake, N.B., he expected he might find one or two ticks nestled in her fur.
At least, that's what he would usually find. But this year was different. He found 10. And then, later that day, he found six more.
Doucette said Tessa picked all those bugs up during 'a little three-hour stint down around Grand Lake.'
'So, kind of a lot more than we're used to seeing, for sure,' he said.
Ticks can carry bacteria and viruses that cause diseases such as Lyme disease. Tessa seems to be doing fine, but her owner's advice is to keep an eye on your dog.
'If you're out in the woods, give them a good comb, make sure they've got none non crawling on them and check them for four or five days after to make sure none are stuck into them for sure,' said Doucette.
Dr. Mary-Ellen Themens, registrar of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association, said ticks are most active this time of year and during the fall.
'Cats, dog, both species can have ticks on them. Do they all have Lyme disease? Not necessarily,' said Themens.
The veterinarian points out how in New Brunswick, the problem is worse in the southern part of the province. But, due to milder winters, more ticks are showing up in the northern regions too.
Prevention is key
To prevent your animals from getting ticks in the first place, Themens advises to be careful in the woods, tall grass, around marshes and in damp and shaded areas where ticks love to be.
When you bring the animal inside, check for ticks, she said.
If you find a tick, remove it
If your animal does have a tick, don't squeeze it or put alcohol or Vaseline on it. If you do, the tick could spit up the bacteria back into the animal, explained Themens.
'It is important to remove the head of the insect, which is embedded in the skin to feed. The best way to detach the tick is to use a tick twister, or similar device,' she said.
And if you're using tweezers, be careful. The U.S. Centre for Disease Control recommends using one with fine tips to avoid tearing the tick and spreading bacteria. Grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible and pull the bug away from the skin with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk it, reads the guidance.
Ticks on dogs and cats
A sign advising hikers of Ticks is shown on a trail in the woods in the Eastern Townships west of Montreal, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Products to help prevent ticks
To prevent ticks in the first place, there are different products available for your pets.
The veterinarian said many of them are in the isoxazoline family of medications.
'These are products that you either use once a month, (or) once every three months,' she said. 'The ticks die. So, they don't have the chance necessarily to transmit the disease.'
There's another product called permethrin, which is 'safe in dogs, but it's deadly for cats,' she added.
'This is where, if you have a product that contains permethrin, you can't let the cat near the dog until it dries,' she continued, adding that pet owners should read the packaging 'very closely.'
Themens said most people choose to use isooxazolines because they work against fleas, ticks and mites. She added that there are Lyme disease vaccines for dogs, but not all veterinarians necessarily use them. She also highlighted how there are different diseases caused by ticks.
'The biggest thing is to avoid ticks period,' she said.
Potential symptoms
Themens said the classic statement pet owners tell veterinarians when their animal is sick is they don't feel well and aren't themselves.
There are in-clinic tests that can be done that only take around 15 minutes. They can reveal whether an animal has antibodies against Lyme disease. If they have antibodies, it means they've been in contact with it.
'Is it an active infection or not? That'll be up to your veterinarian to decide,' she said. 'If it's positive, then the discussion is, 'is the animal sick?''
If so, there are antibiotics that can be used that are very effective, said Themens.