What Pug Owners Need To Know About Ticks | Print |  E-mail
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Written by Michelle E. Arthur   
Sunday, 20 April 2008
When the warm weather comes, Pug owners everywhere should be ready to protect their dogs from ticks. Known scientifically as "Rhipicephalus Sanquineus", these blood-sucking bugs can carry disease. Ticks can infect humans with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, cause paralysis, and can even kill our precious Pugs.
by MichelleE.Arthur


When the warm weather comes, Pug owners everywhere should be ready to protect their dogs from ticks. Known scientifically as "Rhipicephalus Sanquineus", these blood-sucking bugs can carry disease. Ticks can infect humans with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, cause paralysis, and can even kill our precious Pugs.

Quite simply, ticks are parasites that live on the blood of their victims. Ticks have been blamed for causing the spread of disease among both people and dogs. In fact, they were shown to be behind the famous mass deaths of military dogs during the Vietnam War.

Although it's really true that a bug is a bug, it's also true that there is some variety in the specific kinds of ticks such as the brown tick, the wood tick, the black tick and several more. One of the things in common is the fact that all ticks are very resistant to typical insect poisons, and this makes them very hard to control.

This can really gross people out, but it's absolutely true that a female tick can produce several thousand eggs - yuck! They usually lay their eggs under the carpet, in a little whole in the baseboard, or some other dark and out-of-the-way place. Ticks lay their eggs in a safe place but never on the body of their victim. Once the eggs hatch after a month or so, they turn into larvae. Tick larvae seek out their first host, where they'll suck down some blood and then detach to go find a place to hide out.

The tick continues to grow up and changes into what are called nymphs, the tick equivalent of a surly teenager (without the acne!). And the first thing a tick nymph does is seek out a new victim to grab some more blood from, at which point they'll fall off and go hide once again. Finally, after another two weeks or so, the nymph changes once again into a fully grown adult tick. The adult tick will then look for a host to really suck some blood, and this could be your Pug, another dog or even a child.

Adult ticks can live for up to 2 years without eating...which is really bad news for Pug dog owners, as this means you can have ticks lurking in ambush.

A tick outside will look for a hunting ground, which means getting up into some low-hanging branches or into a pile of leaves. This becomes the launching pad for the tick when an unsuspecting Pug dog comes along for a potty break or just running by in play. The tick will literally launch itself and jump up to several feet to land onto its victim.

A tick inside a home will hang out in dark, hidden places awaiting a chance to latch-on to a host. Here's a shocking fact, but a tick inside the house can hang out for up to three months lying in wait for a Pug or person to walk by. And when the trap is sprung, and your dog or you walk by, the tick can instantly "wake up" and spring onto the victim in a blink of the eye.

About the Author:

Listen to a complementary interview where a top Pug vet explains exactly how to keep fleas and ticks off Pugs. Visit UltimatePug.com for Pug potty training video, expert tips and advice for Pug owners.



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