Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My dogs are covered with them. I keep them outside, but neglected 'Frontline' due to financial problems. I'm going to buy some soon but have to wait a few days.

Thing is, I have four dogs, so it's expensive. I also keep the dogs in my backyard and didn't realize there were so many ticks. Wasn't carelessness.

Your dogs may have already contracted a disease from the ticks. Some of these diseases are deadly. Ticks will multiply quickly, too. Advantix or Frontline on the dogs will handle it. But there is great reason to hustle. And if you see ANY symptoms of illness, get that dog to a veterinarian.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Ticks are nastly little creatures that carry a variety of diseases including Lyme Disease. Also with an infestation they can cause a dog to become anemic from lack of blood. You may need to take the dogs to a vet to have them dipped and thoroughly cleaned. Tick removal is not for the faint of heart. Then get the Frontline to prevent any future problems.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Okay thanks. I've since removed all the ticks and put some powder spray on them since I cannot, as of yet, afford buying frontline or the other stuff for them. I've also removed them from the backyard and put them upfront on my patio.

I want to ask, what tests do you need to see whether or not they're infected? A blood test?

>>I want to ask, what tests do you need to see whether or not they're infected? A blood test?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yes, a blood test. My vet does a scanning tick disease blood test with the heartworm blood check. If a tick disease value comes in high, then he does a more detailed blood test for that specific disease. There are also symptoms to watch for in your dogs. Sometimes a blood test will fail to show the disease, but it is there.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Spraying down the yard with Ivory Dish Soap and water can cut back on the ticks there, I'm told.

If your dogs do not play by biting each other's necks, the Preventic Collar might be a good alternative.

Ticks can be deadly, more info can be found here:

http://dogsandtickdisease.googlepages.com/
http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ticklinks.htm