Summer is here.... fleas and ticks

Floridians.... keep you pets safe from fleas and ticks especially during the summer months. Ticks can transmit serious diseases (even to humans) and fleas can cause serious skin problems to your dog.

Despite the monthly topical you use on your pets, fleas and ticks are still susseptiable to your pets; especially if your dog is an outdoorsy dog, or your house backs up to dense shrubs / woods / conservation.

Be sure to check your pets after their walks and prior to letting them back into the house. It would also help to check pets daily; regardless of how often or long they stay outside.

Here are some directions on how to remove a tick safey from your pet or yourself:

The best way to remove a tick is to pull it off gently, leaving the tick and its mouth parts intact. This can be difficult because some ticks cement their mouth parts into the skin. Every effort should be made to remove this cement if it does not come out with the tick. Applying heat, alcohol, petroleum jelly or fingernail polish to an embedded tick is not effective. The following is the recommended procedure:

* Use blunt curved tweezers or a thread.
* Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with a steady, even pressure.
* Do not twist or jerk the tick because this may cause the mouth parts to detach and remain in the skin.
* You should pull firmly enough to lift up the skin.
* Hold this tension for 3 to 4 minutes and the tick will back out.
* DO NOT squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick because its fluids may contain bacteria.
* To dispose the tick, put it in a plastic cup quarter full of alcohol. Wait for tick to die before disposing of it.

Did you know Guinea Fowl help control, eliminate and prevent from tick infestations?

Dog Responsibly..........University of Doglando