An Expert Advice on Preventing Tick-Borne Diseases Among Your Pets

Tick season can be really bad news not just for your pets, but also for you and your loved ones at home. Not too many pet owners realize, though, that aside from causing stubborn itchiness, ticks can also spread a number of diseases. You may have heard of Lyme disease since it's one of the most common tick-borne diseases, but there are other far more serious ones you may have not heard of yet. Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and RMSF or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are just a few of the the many other diseases transmitted by ticks that can really be fatal to your pets. For this reason, it is very important that pet owners know about ticks and know what they can do to protect their pets and their family members from these little monsters.

Take Advantage of Numerous Products Available
As a pet parent, one of the things you can do to protect your pets from ticks is to take advantage of commercial tick preventatives available in the market today. The question, however, is what kind of preventatives you are going to choose. As much as possible, you wouldn't want to go for the first brand you find in the market. Instead you would want to talk to your veterinarian first and ask him what brands and what types of preventatives he can recommend for your pet. Whether your pet is a dog or a cat, you need to understand that different breeds may have different particular needs when it comes to tick preventatives. Some brands may be good for a particular breed of dog or cat, but may not work for another. Take time to research to end up getting the right treatment for your animal companions.

Take advantage of Screening Tests
Another thing you would want to take advantage of are screening tests. A lot of times, pet parents are not aware that their pets have been bitten by a tick at all or are not even aware of the fact that there's already a tick infestation among their pets. Before they know it, their pets have already become sick and weak as a result of a tick-borne disease. To make sure you are a step ahead of these little pests, ask your vet about screening tests like the SNAP test. Such test enables your vet to detect whether your pet has a tick-borne illness so they can start treatment right away.

Identify Ticks and Learn How to Remove Them
The last important thing you should do as a pet parent is to learn how to identify ticks and how to remove them. Obviously, you'll never be able to have a battle plan or strategy if you don't know what your enemy looks like. The good thing is there are a good number of websites today that you can visit so that you will have an idea how these little creepy bugs look like and how to properly remove them.

About the Author: Tony Green is a big pet lover. He loves to write anything that has to do with caring for animals, especially domesticated ones. As an owner of numerous dogs, cats, and other various types of pets, he believes the best way to prevent tick-borne diseases is to invest in a reliable tick preventative like Advantix.