Dog owners in Essex

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Princess16

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Beware of a fatal disease called Babesiosis caused by ticks which has just arrived in Uk. First cases been found in Harlow in Essex.
 
I have never routinely used anything for ticks and fleas. We are only a few miles from Harlow so I do wonder if I ought to start. Is it advocate that is best?
 
advocate doesn't do ticks. To do ticks you can either use advantix - a spot on that is applied monthly, though is fatal to cats if so you need to be a cat free household. Other wise bravecto is a tablet that is given quarterly that does fleas and ticks. They could also have a seresto collar which lasts 7 months roughly that repels fleas and ticks.
 
Dectomax, whilst unlicensed for dogs, is used by many, despite the fact that the manufacturers cover their rear ends by issuing cautions. I know a professional greyhound trainer who blanket injects all his dogs with 1.5mm annually, and has never had a problem in the last 10 years.

Dectomax works on all parasites, both internal and external, and that's it!

Alec.
 
I must have taken a dozen calls about it today despite being a long way from Essex. Call me cynical but The Big Tick Project behind this research is sponsored by MSD/Merck who happened to launch a big new tick product last year... it would be very much in their interests to whip up some hysteria!
 
blackcob said:
I must have taken a dozen calls about it today despite being a long way from Essex. Call me cynical but The Big Tick Project behind this research is sponsored by MSD/Merck who happened to launch a big new tick product last year... it would be very much in their interests to whip up some hysteria!
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Ask the deceased dogs' owners how cynical they are !
 
Alec Swan said:
Dectomax, whilst unlicensed for dogs, is used by many, despite the fact that the manufacturers cover their rear ends by issuing cautions. I know a professional greyhound trainer who blanket injects all his dogs with 1.5mm annually, and has never had a problem in the last 10 years.

Dectomax works on all parasites, both internal and external, and that's it!

Alec.
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unfortunately, its this sort of use of a drug that leads to drug resistance. Quite apart from the risk to herding breeds should someone take your recommendation.
 
My OH agrees with you Twiggy, he points out that our dogs have never had a tick and the chances of them getting one now and it carrying the disease are remote. So I am undecided! We prefer not to blanket chemical the dogs.
 
The foxes and badgers have ticks I presume as when we had terriers who used to go to ground they picked them up sometimes but since we upgraded to labradors we have only seen one and that was after a trip to Norfolk.
 
my uderstanding is that only certain types of tick carry the disease and they are generally found in other areas, also that all the dogs had been walked along the same stretch of meadow.
Best advice I have heard is check your dogs for ticks at the end of each day-well who would have thought that might be a good idea?
the ticks take 24-48hrs to pass the disease to their host.
 
Alec Swan said:
Drug resistance is almost exclusively limited to the over usage of antibiotics and the sustained use of the 'white' wormers in sheep, and both are actually uncommon.

Alec.
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I'm sorry what? Drug resistance is not restricted to antibiotics or white wormers or that uncommon.
 
Alec Swan said:
Drug resistance is almost exclusively limited to the over usage of antibiotics and the sustained use of the 'white' wormers in sheep, and both are actually uncommon.

Alec.
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it's not and its not uncommon either. and if there's resistance to a certain drug in another part of the world (as there is to dectomax), its only a matter of time before we get it here-unless we are careful.
 
Just thought you may be interested in Red Water in cattle . It is the same parisite as the dog one and is spread by the ticks from deer. It becomes a problem when the ticks get in to a new area where it has not been before. Once it has been around for a while and young cattle that have had exposure to it they develop their own immunity to it. On our own farm it arrived 10 years ago and we had a few cows with it, we saved them with blood transfusions, the correct special parisite treatment and antibiotics as backup. We did joke with vet as she was a new vet and the first 3 times she came it was RW I thought it was the only thing she had learnt at vet school! After about 3 years touch wood it has not been a problem though we still have a few normal tick fevers that only need antibiotics to get cow better.

Hopefully as people and vets become more aware of the dog one it will settle down and not cause undue problems. As prompt treatment works well.
 
hobo said:
Just thought you may be interested in Red Water in cattle . It is the same parisite as the dog one and is spread by the ticks from deer. It becomes a problem when the ticks get in to a new area where it has not been before. Once it has been around for a while and young cattle that have had exposure to it they develop their own immunity to it. On our own farm it arrived 10 years ago and we had a few cows with it, we saved them with blood transfusions, the correct special parisite treatment and antibiotics as backup. We did joke with vet as she was a new vet and the first 3 times she came it was RW I thought it was the only thing she had learnt at vet school! After about 3 years touch wood it has not been a problem though we still have a few normal tick fevers that only need antibiotics to get cow better.

Hopefully as people and vets become more aware of the dog one it will settle down and not cause undue problems. As prompt treatment works well.
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That is interesting, Hobo, thank you for that.
 
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