Tricks to fight ticks

Q AI have a nine-month-old rescue crossbreed. When should I start tick prevention and what is the risk of Lyme disease to my dog?

Ticks are active in spring, through to late autumn. However with climate change, and in high-risk areas, they are potentially active all year round.

There are two main species of ticks currently in the UK: ixodes and rhipicephalus. Ixodes transmit the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, with around 2.4 per cent of ticks affected, according to a recent nationwide survey.

Your vet is the best source for advice on the prevalence of ticks where you live, and to prescribe the right product to protect your dog.

Spot-ons, collars and tablets are all possibilities, but spot-ons are less effective if a dog is bathed often or frequently goes swimming.

It is important to follow the manufacturer’s directions too.

Although no product is 100 per cent effective, the risk of Lyme disease is minimised if a tick is killed soon after attaching, as transmission of the disease occurs after 24 hours.

If you see a tick – and it is recommended you check for them daily – it should only be removed with a special tick hook, which are available from vets or online.

In any area where there are high numbers of ticks, it would be wise to start preventative treatment now. The risk to dogs is greatest when walking in pasture shared by deer, or in tall grass and bracken.

Local authorities will warn people of the risk of Lyme disease in certain known areas and advise covering up as a sensible precaution.

I have two three-year-old male neutered littermate rabbits. One seems to be moulting more and ingesting fur. Could this cause an obstruction and what should I look out for?

AIngested fur mixed with food and gastric juices can form a hairball. One survey suggested 25 per cent of clinically normal rabbits had hairballs (known as trichobezoars) in their stomach. Cats also have hairballs, and vomit them without problems.

Rabbits, however, aren’t able to vomit. As a result, problems can occur when the hairball dries out due to dehydration or sluggish gastrointestinal mobility – a symptom in many rabbit diseases.

Signs of obstruction can be a poor appetite or refusal to eat, weight loss, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, teeth grinding, reluctance to move and scant or no faecal pellets. This is an important sign and it is sensible to get a good idea of what is normal in terms of faecal pellet size, quantity and consistency in your rabbits.

Common underlying causes of hairballs are incorrect feeding, especially not enough grass or hay, and any disease that reduces intestinal mobility.

If your rabbits are being correctly fed with mainly good-quality hay, a few pellets and some fresh greens, then the risk of hairballs causing problems should be small.

I recommend you see your vet just to make sure the moulting is normal and there is no evidence of skin disease. Regular grooming can reduce the amount of hair ingested.

For more information and general advice, see rabbitwelfare.co.uk

David Grant MBE has been a vet for more than 50 years. Email questions to him at pamperedpets@people.co.uk