Tick bites can cause disease and infection on anyone, including your Morkie. But tick treatment for dogs, especially small dogs, can be worse!
Ticks can cause irritation and inflammation and even paralysis in some cases – but spot on tick medication can actually kill a small dog. The EPA has warned consumers since 2010 – don’t use these spot on tick treatments on dogs under 20 pounds.
Tick treatments for dogs can be deadly. Literally.
Spot-on treatments like K9 Advantix and Frontline Plus work very well. The active chemicals in them are called neurotoxins — meaning they are toxic to the brain and central nervous system.
Likely to cause cancer for humans
The EPA has identified at least 1,600 pet deaths over the past 5 years linked to spot-on flea and tick treatments.
The EPA also reports that spot-ons account “for more than half of ‘major’ pesticide pet reactions — incidents involving serious medical reactions such as brain damage, heart attacks, violent seizures and death.”
Back in 2010, the EPA warned the public about an alarming increase in pets’ adverse reactions to spot-on products.
The worst reactions were found in dogs under 20 pounds.
- most adverse reactions happened in dogs younger than three years
- often happened the first time the owner used a spot-on product
Although the EPA doesn’t know why, they believe some breeds are especially vulnerable to spot-on tick treatments. Those breeds are the:
- Shih Tzu
- Chihuahua
- Miniature Poodle
- Pomeranian
- Dachshund
- Maltese
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Bichon Frise
Further, mixed breeds seem more susceptible to adverse reactions from these products.
Alternatives to Spot-On treatments
In my previous post – Natural Tick Fighting Solutions – I wrote about natural ways to fight ticks. You can also find some great resources here:
…or check my new book on Amazon.com
Today’s Resources:
EPA website: https://www.epa.gov/pets/epa-evaluation-pet-spot-products-analysis-and-plans-reducing-harmful-effects