BajaNomad

Tick bite!

Bajame - 9-1-2007 at 12:43 PM

Last winter while staying at Nanranjos, my friend who broght her two dogs from Canada had a great stay. In the middle of the night I thought I was bit by a spider. Didn't even think about it being a tick! Months later my joints began to ache and I ran a lowgrade fever. It wasn't until I watched a TV show that I put everything together and realized that it was a tick bite. My test was positive so now my return to Baja is held up till I can get treatment. Sure glad to descover what it was!

Barry A. - 9-1-2007 at 12:45 PM

Lymn's desease????? sounds like------nasty stuff!!!!!

Barry

DENNIS - 9-1-2007 at 12:50 PM

Bajame..........
After recovery and next time down south, put some of that Frontline on the nape of your neck as a precaution.

Sorry. You're probably not in the mood for bad humor.

Bob and Susan - 9-1-2007 at 12:55 PM

hey dennis
how does that work???

dogs have fur everywhere and a drop of poison on the neck keep them safe...

what about the legs???

DENNIS - 9-1-2007 at 01:04 PM

I think it gets in their system.
Frontline is a great pet product and it says "For fleas and ticks." But, the squeezy application to the neck, according to my vet, doesn't do it for ticks. Frontline also makes a spray which I use on my dog, which is effective. I tried to buy it at Petco in Chula Vista and they had no idea what I was talking about. Petmeds.com has it.

Don Alley - 9-1-2007 at 02:04 PM

While back up here in the states I've talked to a vet about the legions of ticks that find a home in the thick fur of our mega-shelty. He says he periodically checks with the researchers at the University of Washington to find if there are any breakthoughs...otherwise, he says the available products are of little use against the ticks that our dog gets.

Yes, we've tried Frontline. We did find one collar that was pretty effective. I forget the brand, but even a month after we removed it and bathed the dog he smelled alarmingly of insecticide.

We haven't had any people tick bites yet.

DENNIS - 9-1-2007 at 02:20 PM

Don...
Have you tried the Frontline spray?

toneart - 9-1-2007 at 04:25 PM

Preventic is the brand name for dog collars. They are white plastic and last for 3 months. They are effective for ticks. The ticks still get on the dogs but then die quickly, so you still have to look for them. The product is not sold in pet stores. You have to get them through a vet. I asked the vet about its safety and she said, "it won't hurt your dog, but I wouldn't put it on a pregnant or nursing dog".

I also used Frontline(not at the same time as the collar) and that seemed to work well too. You squeeze a few drops between the shoulderblades, making sure you part the hair so you can get it on the skin. I don't know about the spray. The reason you put the drops on the back of the neck between the shoulderblades is so the dog can't lick it. Apparently it's toxic effects are more harmful if ingested.

Hope this helps.

Paulina - 9-1-2007 at 04:41 PM

Our dog Cora is allergic to Frontline. We've tried it twice with the same results. We bathe her with flea and tick shampoo often, but still have to give her a body check for ticks. This summer she picked up quite of few of them on our travels. They tended to be in the warmer parts of her body and between her toes and in her ears. We think she picked them up during all the bush stomping she did while hunting lizards.

P<*)))><

DENNIS - 9-1-2007 at 04:44 PM

Ticks have an uncanny ability to settle in on parts of a dog that can't be chewed or scratched.

Paulina.....Did Jeff get the polecat out of his house?

bajabound2005 - 9-1-2007 at 05:03 PM

Advantage makes a product called Advantix that is supposed to prevent both fleas AND ticks.

Bob and Susan - 9-1-2007 at 05:12 PM

"In the middle of the night I thought I was bit by a spider"

you were probably bitten by a spider
you would have noticed the "tick"

i'm SURE you would have noticed...
it's like a bump on the skin
and you have to "rip" it off or "burn" it or use alcohol...
(of course NOT internally):saint:

there are alot of ticks here but bathing your dog sure helps
susan bathes the weiners nightly;D

Bajame - 9-1-2007 at 05:20 PM

I had a big red spot under my boob, thats why I couldn'e see it and it didn't feel like a spider but I wasn't thinking it was a tick at the time.

Paulina - 9-1-2007 at 05:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Ticks have an uncanny ability to settle in on parts of a dog that can't be chewed or scratched.

Paulina.....Did Jeff get the polecat out of his house?


That is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time! He phoned Dern about it this morning. I can just imagine what he's going through right now. I'm just amazed that it hasn't sprayed YET...:lol:

rts551 - 9-1-2007 at 06:14 PM

Bajame

If the tick wasn't still there then it was something else. Like a spider

Bajame - 9-1-2007 at 06:14 PM

I tested positive for lymes disease so it must of been a tick!

Bob and Susan - 9-1-2007 at 06:21 PM

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks.

Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans.

If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks.

Laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease.

Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.

Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management.

Don Alley - 9-1-2007 at 06:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by toneart
Preventic is the brand name for dog collars. They are white plastic and last for 3 months. They are effective for ticks. The ticks still get on the dogs but then die quickly, so you still have to look for them. The product is not sold in pet stores. You have to get them through a vet. I asked the vet about its safety and she said, "it won't hurt your dog, but I wouldn't put it on a pregnant or nursing dog".

I also used Frontline(not at the same time as the collar) and that seemed to work well too. You squeeze a few drops between the shoulderblades, making sure you part the hair so you can get it on the skin. I don't know about the spray. The reason you put the drops on the back of the neck between the shoulderblades is so the dog can't lick it. Apparently it's toxic effects are more harmful if ingested.

Hope this helps.


Yes, we've gotten the Preventic collars from a vet, and have tried the Frontline drops as well, but we haven't tried the spray. I don't know why these things don't work, but our dog was finally diagnosed as hypo thyroid, which led to an overweight condition, and one vett said that the weight could reduce any effectiveness of the collars or drops.

There are TONS of ticks in Loreto, and it's not unusual to take 10-20 (mostly small) off the dog every day at times.

DENNIS - 9-1-2007 at 06:36 PM

One difference with the spray is that you pretty well spray it all over, within reason. Better coverage it seems. It may be different chemically as well to prevent toxicity if licked.
Anyway, it works for my dog. If I don't use it, she picks them up.
Frontline is expensive but, it seems to work.

bajabound2005 - 9-1-2007 at 06:40 PM

OH! I should say it doesn't stop the tick invasion; but once the tick bites the dog the anitdote is adminstered.

Bajagypsy - 9-2-2007 at 10:41 PM

Lots of ticks in our part of the country. And as such its an normal occurance to remove them from the dogs or ourselves in the summer.
Anyway, the chances of getting lime desease from a tick is extremely small...so long as its removed properly.
Once they burrow there head into you and start going to work sucking blood, they inject a sticky substance which basicall cemets there head into you making removal very hard.
The mistake most people make is that they just rip them off, leaving there head behind.....this is where the lime desease comes in as the head decaying in your skin isnt real good....make sure the head comes out and you'll be fine.

Bajame - 9-2-2007 at 11:56 PM

I heard if you put petroulem jelly on thier butt they can't breathe and will pull them selfs out. This was on a TV show.

Cypress - 9-3-2007 at 11:07 AM

Have pulled a tick or two off myself. Use tweezers, grasp the tick at the base of it's head and pull it out.:bounce: A little plug of hide might come off with it, but you can put alcohol on the site. :bounce: The main thing to avoid is sqeezing the ticks body and forcing it's stomach contents into your blood stream.:no:

DENNIS - 9-3-2007 at 11:50 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Have pulled a tick or two off myself. Use tweezers, grasp the tick at the base of it's head and pull it out.

That's the method I use. Slow, steady pressure or you can seperate the body from the head which stays imbedded and can cause infection. My vet's choice for home extraction is alcohol, applied generously with a Q-Tip. That will kill it and it will fall out by itself.

Osprey - 9-3-2007 at 01:38 PM

That's close to my remedy. I pour alcohol and sand on em. They get drunk, kill each other with the little rocks.

DENNIS - 9-3-2007 at 03:32 PM

Brings to mind the high school remedy for crotch critters that used a Gillete razor, fire and an ice-pick. The method is well known so I won't go into it here.

toneart - 9-3-2007 at 03:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Brings to mind the high school remedy for crotch critters that used a Gillete razor, fire and an ice-pick. The method is well known so I won't go into it here.


Dennis,
Tell us how it worked for you.:lol:

DENNIS - 9-3-2007 at 03:41 PM

I was in a hurry so I used a fork.

toneart - 9-3-2007 at 04:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I was in a hurry so I used a fork.


Nitpickers should never be in a hurry. They need to get it right. A fool and his tool could be soon parted.