It’s spring and ticks will be here soon… you might even be getting notices from your local Vet that it’s time for Tick & Flea treatment. But before you act…
Think twice before you give your small dog spot on tick treatments
Ticks are bad news for any mammal who picks one up. Disease, infection, blood loss, serious allergic reactions and more can result. These nasty little creatures carry at least 15 common diseases, including Rocky Mountain fever, Lyme Disease and others, some so serious you can die! They also carry countless other infections, bacteria and diseases.
Ticks are hard to treat and control. They have the tenacity of cockroaches. Some types can live for two years without a meal. They can hang on a small branch or stem for up to six months, waiting for a victim to walk by. Then they latch on and start their “blood fest.”
Ticks bite the victim, or ‘host,’ then burrow their heads under the skin. A barbed feeding tube syphons off the host’s blood. As they gorge, ticks expand to up to 100 times their original size, filling themselves with blood. A tick that starts out the size of a poppy seed can blow up to the size of a freakish grape after feeding.
A tick, before latching on to its victim (left) and after its blood fest (right).
But they are especially dangerous to small dogs. As bad as ticks are… there’s something worse!
Commercial products to repel ticks can be deadly
Flea and tick prevention products can be just as dangerous for small dogs as the ticks themselves. The insecticides in these products are poisonous. Even the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns us about the dangers of spot-on flea and tick products, particularly for dogs under 20 pounds. When we buy products for ourselves and our household, we assume that they’ve been subjected to rigorous testing by “the government,” eager to look after us. The truth is quite different. Regulations around pet products are quite sketchy. For example, products for pets don’t have to be tested on actual pets. Many can be tested on rats instead. So flea and tick shampoo, dips or powders can cause tremors, drooling, seizures and worse for your small dog. Let’s face it, commercial flea and tick products are made with poisons. Poisons to repel and kill very hardy pests. It’s no wonder they’re dangerous for a dog, and even more dangerous for a small dog.
Over the next 10 days, I’ll be posting alternative ways to safeguard the health of your small dog, without endangering it with toxic anti-tick and flea treatments.
What’s worse than ticks on your dog? COMMERCIAL TICK TREATMENTS!
At least 1,600 dogs have died needlessly in the past 5 years thanks to spot-on flea and tick treatments! It’s a tragedy that shouldn’t happen.
Commercial products to repel ticks can be deadly. The insecticides in these products are poisonous. Let’s face it: they’re formulated to kill stubborn parasites.
The hardest hit: dogs under 20 pounds.
Learn how to protect your small dog from the dangers of ticks – without poisoning him! Order today.
