I took the girl hiking yesterday, and it seems the ticks are out in full force. When we finished the hike, I saw a couple of dark sports on Iris' face and thinking it was just some dirt, went to brush it off. Nope, a couple of ticks. I started checked her over throughly from nose to tail and found probably a dozen ticks on her, none of them embedded yet. When I was done, she turned toward me and I could see 5 MORE TICKS on her face. It was like something out of a horror movie. We were standing on pavement next to the car. I have no idea where they came from. I went over her again, figured we were in the clear, and loaded her in the car. At a stop light, I turned around to check on her and could see 2 more ticks on her face. When I got her home, I checked her over again and found 3 more ticks. I can't believe how many there were.
Today, I found 2 more on her, probably from the yard this time. I haven't see any on the boys. I did start Iris on Bug-Off garlic again. She was on it for spring and most of the summer, but a few months ago, Iris suddenly decided that she would not eat her food if there was garlic in it. Absolutely would not touch it. It was such a sudden change, I decided to listen to her and stopped adding it to her food. I hadn't seen any ticks on her until this weekend. Because of the number of ticks, I put some Bug-Off garlic in her food tonight, and she ate it with gusto. Funny dog. I'll probably keep her on it for the next couple weeks.
3 comments:
Wow! I really worry about ticks. Partner still gets his Bug off Garlic, he thinks it's a treat, and I spray him with the apple cider vinegar each time he goes out. We've been lucky, I haven't seen a tick on him all summer. The down side is having a dog that smells like a salad!!
I have never seen so many ticks on any of my dogs at one time. I think maybe she walked through a nest?
Ann, I haven't tried apple cider vinegar. Might have to next time we go walking in the woods.
Arrgh, gross! I have been lucky and have not found a tick on anybody this season. My two just seem to repel them (and I dig around looking for them on Strata).
We are -desperately- trying to get a natural flea/tick product in at work, something you can spray on before you go for hikes in the woods vs. a topical 1-month preventative, so I'll keep you all posted!
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