Is Your Dog Scratching All Day Long? Here's How to Keep Your Dog Tick-Free

Fur owners love to see their pets happy, but what can you do when they silently feel weird? Have you noticed they have been scratching all day? Your dog might be infested with ticks. Here's what you can do to get them tick-free.

Ticks are tiny, blood-sucking insects. Ticks have eight legs, and they're related to spiders.

They bite people and animals and may spread diseases. However, they are often harmless, but ticks can cause allergic reactions, and certain ticks can pass diseases. These diseases can be dangerous and can even kill you when not treated promptly.

There are more than 200 types of fleas that can live on dogs. These fleas can cause tapeworm infections, anemia, and other health problems. Some dogs are very allergic to flea bites and get itchy, red, scabby skin and even lose their hair as a result.

Infestations of ticks develop when several ticks bite and attach to dogs to absorb their blood. Different varieties of ticks are capable of transmitting a variety of diseases if they remain attached long enough.

• Small bumps on the skin
• Rashes and inflamed skin
• Rise of body temperature
• Low appetite
• Anemia
• Nose bleeding
• Shivering
• Pain in the body
• Weakness
• Depression

These symptoms appear 1-3 weeks following your dog's tick bite.

When the temperature gets warmer, flea eggs can hatch outside, and ticks can do well in shrubs and grasses. At this time of the year, you and your dog are more likely to go hiking, walk, and enjoy nature. But these bugs don't need it to be warm for your dog to be vulnerable to them.

Ticks are most likely to infest parts of the body that are warm and moist. Once a tick has attached itself to your pet's body, it's likely to migrate to the following areas.

Here are the most common areas you should check on your dog to spot a tick:

Ticks hide in places where they are hard to find, so it's common for them to crawl in between your dog's toes and get stuck there. They can be found between the toes or near the pads on the bottom of the foot. If you see your dog licking or chewing on his feet, it could be because something is bothering him, and could be a tick.

Pay close attention to the color of any bumps or nodules around your dog or cat's eyes when looking for ticks. It's probably a tick if it's brown or reddish and has legs or spider-like features. Most skin tags are the same color as your pet's skin and won't keep getting bigger like a tick that has eaten too much.

Ticks love moist places like the armpits, elbows, and back legs, where they can feed without being bothered or seen. The good news is that these areas tend to have less fur, making it easier for pet owners to find a tick.

These nasty hitchhikers should be easy to spot with a quick look while you move your pet's fur to the side.

Ticks like dark and soggy places, so the underside of the tail is a great place for them to live. Ticks can stay hidden for a long time because most dog owners don't check the underside of their dog's tail, especially near the base. If your dog has thick fur, you'd want to go through it with a comb and look carefully. A tick stuck under the tail will likely be caught by a fine comb.

Many dogs don't get their collars off very often and for a good reason. It's important to always have your dog's ID on it. Ticks can get stuck under your dog's collar without anyone noticing until the tick is big enough to see, which means it's been there for a while. If a tick is crawling under the collar, take it off and check it to stop it from attaching. No matter what, it's important to take off the collar and look for ticks carefully.

The best way to protect your dog from ticks and flea is to give it flea and tick prevention medicine all year long, as your vet suggests. Still, it's a good idea to check on your pet after they've been outside, even if it's just in your own backyard.

Flea and tick prevention is the best way to stop ticks from getting on your dog, but a tick inspection is the best defense against diseases and infections that ticks can carry.

Topical tick medicines are the ones you put directly on your pet's skin. Tick medications on your pet's skin works well since the medicine gets into the skin's oil glands and then released regularly throughout the coat.

What does a Detick inhibitor do? Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA). It kills fleas on dogs and cats, as well as mites. It can be used on dogs and cats over 8 weeks old.

How to use:

1. Split your pet's hair on the neck so the skin is visible.
2. Apply a drop starting at the nape of the neck where your dog can't lick it.
3. After applying Detick, don't bathe your pet.

Best used after a 3-day bath.

How to use:

1. separate your dog's fur to expose the skin.
2. Apply the tip of the applicator to the skin.
3. Maintaining contact with the skin, draw a straight line from the base of the tail to between the shoulder blades of your dog. Remember to squeeze the tube of the applicator until it is empty.

How to use:

1. Part the dog's hair between shoulder blades.
2. Place the tip of the applicator just above the skin, then squeeze.
3. Do not apply it on the hair coat's surface. Avoid touching the treated area until it has dried.

Tick bites are symptom-free and harmless. However, ticks can transmit dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease.

If you observe a bullseye-shaped rash, fever, chills, and body aches in your pet, you must immediately consult a physician, contact your veterinarian or seek medical attention.