Tick bites on the upswing in the area
Alex Malashenko walks Labrador retrievers Dianca, left, and Rūslan in the woods near his home in Hudson. Off-island residents with pets face increased exposure to ticks.
When a member of the Malashenko family in Hudson takes family dogs Dianca and Rūslan for a walk, special attention is paid to where the animals are allowed to wander.
The Malashenko property backs onto a wooded area, and the crescent they live on is lined with bushes and trees. Twice a day, the dogs are taken for a long stroll. Twice a day, upon return, the dogs are meticulously patted down. Their humans are looking for black-legged ticks, even worse, black-legged ticks carrying Lyme disease.
There’s been a lot in the news lately about the dangers of humans coming in contact with Lyme-disease-carrying ticks. But dogs are also at risk.
There has been a steady increase in the number of dogs living in wooded areas in the Off-Island region being brought to the vet with ticks. Humans can cover their skin with clothing and wear bug repellent. Dogs love to bound off into the forest deep and sniff the good sniff. Perfect conditions for a tick to make the leap.
Finding the tick can be tricky. It can range in size from a grain of sand to a sesame seed.
“The increase has been gradual over the last few years,” veterinarian Dr. Lise Morel said. “It’s now endemic (in the region).”
Morel co-owns veterinarian hospitals in St-Lazare and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
“People must check their dogs and cats regularly,” she said. “Ticks are small, so meticulous grooming is highly recommended.”
It’s early in the 2015 tick season to get a complete statistical picture, but the numbers for 2013 and 2014 show the gradual bump in Lyme-positive tests at the StLazare veterinarian hospital.
In 2013, 23 out of 849 — or 2.71 per cent — of dogs tested were diagnosed Lyme-positive. In 2014, 20 out of 634 — or 3.15 per cent — of dogs tested were diagnosed Lymepositive.
Neither one of the Malashenko dogs has ever come in contact with a tick, but one of the family’s five cats — named Booblik — came home with a tick last summer. It was immediately removed by a family member. Luckily for Booblik and her feline compatriots Maya, Daisy, Cordelia and Figaro, cats aren’t affected by Lyme disease.
“It felt like a hard little mole,” regular family-dog walker Tamara Malashenko said. “Most people know their pets really well, so they would notice immediately.”
The tick must be removed carefully and completely. If tugged at indiscriminately, infected bits might be left behind.
The Malashenkos give their pets medication to fight heartworm and fleas.
There is also a medication to fight ticks, but because the Malashenkos check the dogs and cats so careful- ly, they don’t give them medication for ticks. It’s a question of cost. The heartworm/flea treatments for their dogs and cats cost the family close to $900 for the season, which runs from April until the first frost.
Morel recommends that the medications for heartworm and ticks be purchased separately.
“There are products out there that are supposed to treat everything, but they aren’t as efficient,” she said. “Some clinics also offer annual tick vaccines for dogs. We don’t vaccinate automatically at our clinics, but we do let clients know that there is a vaccine available.”
Morel did not want to talk price for either the tick medication or the vaccine, because each product/ brand is priced differently and the size of the animal may also affect the price.
Tick season in the Off-Island is both a good news and bad news scenario. The bad news is that dogs living in wooded areas are more likely to be exposed to ticks than are humans. The good news is dogs are less likely to become ill.
“Yes, we’ve had more dogs show up with ticks this year than at the same time last year, but I don’t want people to panic,” Morel said. “Only five per cent of dogs who come in with a Lyme-infected tick develop symptoms.”
If symptoms do occur, they can include painful joints, a reluctance to move, loss of appetite and fever. Most dogs who do develop symptoms respond well to treatment with antibiotics.