In many parts of the country, ticks are no longer just a summertime concern for pet owners.
“Canada is getting hotter and hotter, so the ecosystems are changing a lot,” said Dr. Christopher Fernandez Prada, a veterinarian, professor at the Université de Montréal and an expert in veterinary parasitology. As a result, the tiny arachnids are “starting to become a year-long issue, especially in southern Canada,” he noted, and can now be found as early as January in Quebec.
There is also a greater variety of ticks — and tick-borne illnesses — to be aware of these days, making protection even more critical for dogs and cats. Increased travel is one reason for this, according to Dr. Elissa Bessonette, a veterinarian and the director of animal health at the Calgary Humane Society. “We sometimes bring our pets with us, and so [ticks] hitchhike either on us or on our pets, and sometimes they will establish themselves in new areas,” she said.
Luckily, there have been improvements in monitoring these parasites and in methods to prevent tick bites. So with the arrival of warmer weather — and the increased chance of tick encounters that comes along with it — we asked Fernandez Prada and Bessonette to share their top tips for protecting your pets.
Understand your risks
According to the Government of Canada, more than 40 species of ticks can be found across the country. Both experts recommend speaking to your vet for accurate, up-to-date info about the specific risks in your area. “It’s important that we understand that Canada is not homogeneous in terms of tick populations, and different regions will have different ticks and different ecosystems,” said Fernandez Prada.
While ticks are most commonly found in tall grasses, the woods, parks, on hiking trails, or in places where there may be wildlife, Fernandez Prada added that, “ticks can [be found], honestly, in any green environment right now.”
A vet can give you personalized advice on how to keep your dog or cat safe based on their usual summer activities, too. “If you’re living right in downtown Toronto, you might not see a lot of ticks there because most of the parks are fairly well taken care of,” said Bessonette. “But if you go up to cottage country with your dog on the weekends … that changes your exposure completely.” For cats, the risk of tick exposure varies depending on if you also have a dog at home or if your feline friend spends time outdoors.
There are also trustworthy and timely online resources that can help you understand your pet’s risk level, such as the searchable Government of Canada website that monitors Lyme disease disease cases reported across the country.
Fernandez Prada suggests checking out eTick, a platform for Canadians to submit images of ticks for identification and population monitoring, while Bessonette recommends the Worms & Germs Blog, a site that’s run by researchers at Ontario Veterinary College’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.
Embrace preventative methods
Thankfully, there are lots of options on the market to keep ticks away from dogs and cats, including oral medications, topicals and collars. “Basically the products are like parasiticides — they’re repellent or growth inhibitors with respect to the insect,” said Bessonette. These preventative products can also help reduce the risk of bacteria-harbouring ticks entering your home.
Bessonette recommends reviewing options with a vet rather than simply ordering something online, because you could accidentally harm your pet by applying the wrong product or dosage. It’s also critical that you don’t use any products intended for dogs on a cat, she pointed out, since products containing permethrin can be toxic to cats.
While products are more efficacious than they used to be, you may want to chat with your vet about taking a multimodal approach to prevention if you’re living in an area with a lot of ticks. And if Lyme disease is prevalent, you could also talk about vaccinating your dog against the disease, said Bessonette.
Beyond your vet’s recommendations, you’ll want to consider factors like cost and your habits. For example, will you really remember to reapply a topical every month? Also, for dogs that swim often, a tick collar might not be the best choice. “They are water repellent, but they’re not waterproof, and so that will change the efficacy,” said Bessonette.
Take time for tick checks
“Normally, pets are much more exposed [to ticks] than humans,” said Fernandez Prada. So along with preventative products, you can help keep everyone healthy during tick season by always checking yourself and your pet thoroughly for ticks after you’ve been out hiking — or after simply spending time outdoors in tick-prone parks or backyards.
On dogs, Bessonette recommends examining around their head, neck, ears, underarms and groin, as these are areas where ticks like to hang out. The type of coat your dog has will factor into how long this process takes, as well as whether the ticks have fed or not — before a meal, they can be just millimetres in size, she said.
Tick mittens can help collect and remove ticks before they get down into an animal’s fur. But if you do see one that’s attached to your pet, never extract it with your hands. Instead, remove it promptly and carefully either with a tick removal tool or a clean pair of tweezers.
When using tweezers, Bessonette advises placing them under the head of the tick, as close to the skin as possible. Then, slowly pull it straight out — without crushing or squeezing it. “You don’t want to push any of the saliva of the tick into the animal or into yourself,” she said. “That’s often how the disease transmission occurs.”
After you’ve removed the offending parasite, you can submit photos to an online reporting website. “Once they identify the tick, they can track where tick populations are, but they can also tell you if that’s a type of tick that carries a disease that either you need to be concerned about for yourself or for your pets,” said Bessonette.
Know the symptoms of disease
Of the more than 40 tick species in Canada, Fernandez Prada says there are five main ticks of concern for companion animals.
There’s the blacklegged tick and western blacklegged tick, which can transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, among other illnesses; the American dog tick, associated with rabbit fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever; the Rocky Mountain wood tick, which can cause paralysis; and the brown dog tick, which may be found on dogs arriving from warmer regions and can cause a wide variety of illnesses.
Lyme disease is the primary concern for dog owners, and unfortunately the symptoms aren’t always recognizable and will vary from one animal to another, Bessonette said. But they can include: flu-like symptoms, general fever, loss of appetite, lack of energy, and lameness that may shift from leg to leg.
Cats are not necessarily immune to Lyme disease either. Although it’s uncommon and not yet been observed “in real life,” said Fernandez Prada, “we are starting to see some clinical cases in which cats are not so resistant as they were meant to be.” He notes that the symptoms of Lyme in cats would be similar to those in dogs.
There’s also anaplasmosis to be aware of, another illness caused by bacteria from black-legged ticks. “We are seeing a huge increase in Eastern Canada … especially in Quebec and in the Maritimes,” said Fernandez Prada. “Both humans and animals can get infected.”
While [this is also] more common in dogs than cats, both can experience symptoms such as lethargy, joint pain and stiffness, a reduced appetite and fever, he said. But like Lyme disease, its presentation “really depends on the immune system,” so it’s a good idea for pet owners to monitor for changes in their furry friend’s behaviours and bring anything concerning to the experts for treatment.
“We have to see the vet as an ally for the owners,” said Fernandez Prada.
