Spring and Summer are wonderful times of the year to get outside and enjoy this beautiful Minnesota weather! It is also a wonderful time to recognize that the ticks are out and about- and those ticks can carry diseases that we need to take steps to prevent. The deer tick is of particular concern in this area, as it is extremely tiny and hard to find and it can carry both Lyme and Anaplasma, both of which are types of bacteria that can lead to illness in our pets. While it may be easy to check our own (minimally hairy!) skin for ticks, our pets can be much more of a challenge. So today is a great day to take a moment and think about how we can protect our four legged family members. At Pine Cone Pet Hospital we carry three products designed to offer our pets protection:
Parastar Plus and Bravecto for dogs and EasySpot for cats. Parastar Plus and EasySpot are both topical products applied once a month; they act by killing the ticks as they walk through the pets hair coat, picking up the medication on their bodies. Both products are waterproof and extremely effective.
Bravecto, our newest and most anticipated product, is for dogs. It is a pork-flavored chewable tablet that is conveniently given only once every three months. This product works rapidly and has a 100% rate of tick kill within 12 hours after the tick bites and ingests the medication, which is before the ticks can transmit disease.
Call us today to talk about how we can protect your pets- our goal is to be your source of accurate and up to date information about these creepy crawlies and stop them in their tracks! We look forward to hearing from you!
Dr. Heather Vogl
