Health & Wellness

How to Protect Your Pet from Fleas and Ticks #NoBiteIsRight

This post is sponsored by No Bite is RightTM and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer NetworkTM. I am being compensated to help create awareness about summer safety and protecting pets against fleas and ticks, but I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers. I am responsible for my own content and not the sponsors mentioned above.


This is Kallie. She’s been part of our family for 11 years, and like any family member, we do our best to care for her and keep her healthy. Kallie’s getting older now which means she’s starting to experience age-related health issues, many of which we can’t do anything about. But one issue is definitely under our control, and that’s protecting her from pain, itching, and diseases spread by flea and tick bites.

Worried Kallie

Winters are always mild here on the West Coast, but this past winter was particularly warm across most of Canada because of El Niño conditions. Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who enjoy the warmer weather. Mild winters also mean a longer flea and tick season, and now that spring is here, we can expect to see even more fleas and ticks on the prowl for a free lunch.

If you’re like most pet owners, you worry about disease transmission through flea and tick bites, and you want protection that reduces the chance of your pet being bitten. Remember, flea bites can cause more than just itching. Constant itching and flea allergy dermatitis can cause bald spots and open sores, and flea bites can also be a source of tapeworms or anemia. The last thing anyone wants is a full-blown flea infestation in their house!

The tick population in Canada is growing at an alarming rate and moving north about 45 km every year. As of 2016, ticks are found across much of the country including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Ticks can transmit a number of diseases through their bites including Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Bartonellosis, Hepatozoonosis, and Lyme disease which can cause pain, fatigue, kidney failure, and even death.

So what can you do to protect your pet?

Happy Kallie

Flea and Tick Prevention

The most important thing you can do is talk to your vet about which flea and tick treatment is best for your pet.

There are two main types of medication for flea and tick prevention. Systemic products are taken orally to introduce the medication into your pet’s bloodstream. This means that a flea or tick has to actually bite your pet before the medication will work, and the pest has to keep feeding until it’s ingested enough of the medication to be killed. Every time your pet is bitten is an opportunity for various diseases to be transmitted, including Lyme disease.

In contrast, non-systemic or “contact kill” treatments, work on contact instead of through ingestion. When a flea or tick lands on your pet protected by a non-systemic treatment, it becomes uncoordinated which significantly impacts its ability to bite, attach, or feed during the time it takes for the medication to kill it. This means the chance of disease transmission is reduced. I know which option I prefer for my dog!

Learn more about your treatment options at No Bite is Right and ask your vet how you can reduce the chance of your pet being bitten at all.

No Bite is Right

Image courtesy of the No Bite is Right Campaign.

Meet Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund!

Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund, author of the self-titled New York Time Bestselling book, has been touring across Canada to help raise awareness and educate pet owners on flea and tick prevention.

Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund

Image courtesy of Crusoe The Celebrity Dachshund

Today’s the last day to enter for a chance to win an appearance by Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund at your vet’s clinic. All you have to do is tweet #NoBiteIsRight, your vet’s city, the name of your vet’s clinic, and tag @Celeb_Dachshund. Each tweet counts as one vote with a limit of one vote per person per day. For an extra vote, tag a friend! Contest ends May 6, 2016.

Connect with Crusoe on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bayer, Inc. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

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14 Comments

  • We use wondercide and also on online site for other products that gets the non us versions over the counter

    • I remember seeing them on Shark Tank, but I didn’t realize it was commercially available now!

      • Yeah we got the sample pack first all of them really smell the same but it works wonders

  • Thanks so much for this post. Last year we moved in to our apartment and it was infested with fleas. It took forever to get them out and get them off my poor puppy. I’ve been worried they will come back sense flea season is coming soon. We will have to try this out =]]

    • The same thing happened to me in my very first apartment. I had no idea the previous renters had 5 cats, all with fleas. It was awful. 🙁

  • It’s too bad that most great pest treatments only work on dogs. Cats are completely different and there are few effective treatments…sigh

  • Fleas are the worst. Right now we use monthly Trifexis on our dogs and Revolution on our cats.

  • My cats had fleas a few years ago and the only thing that worked for them was Advantage. I willingly pay to keep up on it to avoid the hassle of it in the future. Not to mention my cats are much happier and healthier now! I wish preventative measures were more affordable :-/

  • Those ticks are nasty little things. I keep finding them crawling on the floor in our house, so I’ve got to figure out where they’re coming from!

  • Thanks for the great information. I hate ticks! I live on Vancouver Island and ticks have been a problem for our pooch this year since late February! A timely article for me. Cheers!

  • So important and such a great reminder!! Heartworm is another great one to prevent them from too!! They are our family after all 😉

  • My dog gets his yearly vaccinations and he gets his heart worm and flea and tick medication as well. It costs a fortune but it’s worth it to protect him.