Seabird

I am so sad to hear so many tick cases.

We live in a leafy part of Brissie, The Gap, and we had to rush my partner's cat to the vet three weeks ago. She was not tick protected, lived outside and not insured!! Thank goodness she has made a full recovery, but the one piece of information missing in this link, I think, is the cost.

$1,450 all up for the cat, not to mention all that suffering.

Then on Friday I went to their house because their dog had been coughing. They took the dog to the emergency vet who told them she thought it had kennel cough and sent it home. I took one look at it and immediately suspected another tick - sure enough there it was on her nose. I ripped it out and off we set back on the path to Stafford emergency vets.

We were told to ALWAYS and IMMEDIATELY remove the tick when you see it. Even if you leave the mouthparts behind, that is at the worst an infection. The paralysis tick poisons the animal only when it still has the body attached.

So far the dog has cost a further $2000, and it is now in hospital at the local vets for another couple of nights. The dog had Advantix but no collar. If you live in a tick prone area, it is wise to double up but be careful because the makes of collar and drops are not all compatible - some have the same chemical in them and you can overdose the animal if you're not careful. Above all, check them daily, a major task on a big dog! Glad mines a PBGV!

Finally, having done the research, at the moment PetPlan are the only insurer that covers all the costs associated with paralysis ticks. Prices start at around $20 per month for a cat and $35 for a dog with $100 excess. You can get even cheaper rates if you chose a higher excess etc. So worth it, as my poor OH is now over $3,500 down and counting.

I would hate to have to make a decision to euthanise an animal for the want of money to pay for their veterinary care, and ticks could finish me off, let alone my dog... so PetPlan it is!!

Hope this helps....

cresta57

We do the tick check thing nightly with ours, similar style, I say to him "tickles" & he hits the deck legs in the air. He loves to play in the bush that covers most of our block so daily checks are a must. We have a mate who works at the local vets, she reckons daily visual checks are a far better method than any chemical product. If a tick is removed quickly there are usually no adverse affects. By quickly I mean within 24hrs

Seabird

Sounds a great plan - what dog have you got?

cresta57

He's a Blue Cattle dog cross.

bobbyftm

Takes after the owners i see zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

cresta57

His eyes are open Bob, more than my dad's were when he was laid on the couch with him.
At the moment he's making himself comfortable on debs side of the bed, sulking because we took him to the doggie wash today.

bobbyftm

Is that the left or right side ?

cresta57

Don't go there lol I don't understand how you logically conclude that left & right is measured from the foot of the bed. We don't stand at the front of the car & say we drive on the right Female logic...............
Back on topic he's on Deb's side which is the Left when your sitting up driving the bed

Seabird

Apparently most men sleep on the side of the bed closest to the door. Not sure whether they want to protect the missus or sneak out in the night wthout her noticing...

Bermudashorts

100% agree. That is what we learned (after our incident), daily checking all over is absolutely the safest way to go. The poison is slow acting that is why it is not essential to find the tick immediately.