Flea & Tick Control

Fleas

Fleas are the MOST COMMON external parasite we find on dogs and cats in the Wauchope area and surrounding suburbs. They cause intense itching and hair loss, and may also trigger skin allergies or transmit other parasites to your dog.

Flea prevention involves a monthly or three monthly oral chew for dogs, or spot on treatments can be used for those dogs that don’t appreciate oral chews, and for cats there are some great long acting spot -on products now. Cats are not dogs, and cannot be given the same flea/tick products in many cases, so please ask us if you are unsure (eg. pyrethrin-based flea treatments are toxic to cats).

Paralysis Ticks

The dreaded paralysis tick is unfortunately very common throughout Wauchope and all along the east coast of Australia. Paralysis ticks attach to your pet’s skin, and over the course of 2 or more days, it becomes engorged with blood whilst at the same time injecting a cocktail of potent toxins that affect the nerves controlling the muscles- this can cause death if the muscles that help your pet breathe become paralysed. It is an emergency if your pet starts showing signs of tick paralysis.

• wobbly or weak hind legs
• vomiting, gagging, retching
• laboured or noisy breathing
• if the tick is near the eye, an inability to blink in that eye, or on a leg, weakness of that leg.
• some dogs present in acute pain around the site of the tick

There are very effective oral and topical treatments available to protect your pet from ticks. We strongly recommend these products ALL year round, as we see cases of tick paralysis in the winter months as well.