Spring into Action!
Tick Season is on its way.
Did You Know ... Ticks become active when the temperature reaches 0°C.
Tick season in and around Winnipeg is from March through November.
Why do we care about ticks? Sure, they are small and gross, but more importantly, they can transmit diseases to YOU and your DOG. Of these diseases the most notable in dogs are:
Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis.
Clinical symptoms include lameness, fever, and lethargy; however, we often see no clinical signs. Early detection and treatment ensure the best chance to decrease long term effects.
Our recommendations for preventing and monitoring tick borne diseases are:
- Annual blood screening for tick borne diseases — included in the 4DX test.
- Annual Lyme vaccination.
- Tick prevention — this reduces the transmission of Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis, AND kill ticks that otherwise could leave your DOG and crawl onto YOU.
Heartworm season is fast approaching ...
Heartworm is a roundworm that lives in the blood vessels of the heart and lungs. It is transmitted to your dog, cat, or ferret via ONE infected mosquito's bite.
ONE positive heartworm dog in your neighborhood increases the number of heartworm carrying mosquitoes 10-fold!!
Prevention is the best medicine. Heartworm preventatives work by killing the infective larval stage before they have the opportunity to develop into adult worms.
Our recommendations for preventing and monitoring heartworm disease are:
- Annual blood screening for heartworm disease— included in the 4DX test.
- Heartworm preventative - administered once monthly from June 1st through November 1st. This will provide protection from May through October.
Our Spring Protocol:
4DX Testing:
Book for your dogs' annual 4DX test to screen for HEARTWORM, LYME, ANAPLASMOSIS and EHRLICHIOSIS. The test requires a small blood sample, and results are available within 15 minutes.
Annual testing is recommended yearly even though your dog may be vaccinated for Lyme and receiving tick and heartworm preventatives. We want to ensure that the preventative program is working, resistance is not emerging, and catch infections early so treatment can be initiated to reduce long term effects to the internal organs.
After a negative test, we can get your dog started on the annual preventative program, including starting the Lyme vaccine.
Preventative Program:
Lyme Vaccination
For our NON-LYME vaccinated dogs, we will screen for Lyme disease (4DX). Once negative, we will get your dog started on the vaccine. Naïve dogs (receiving the Lyme vaccine for the first time) will require a 1-month booster, then the vaccine is boosted annually.
For our LYME vaccinated dogs, we will continue to boost annually, when they are due.
Tick Preventatives
For the early tick season (March through May) we are recommending Simparica repeated monthly. Simparica offers effective protection against fleas and 5 species of ticks (the Deer/Blacklegged tick, Brown Dog tick, American Dog tick, Lone Star tick and the Gulf Coast tick).
Heartworm Preventatives
When the tick and heartworm season overlap (June through November), we recommend a combination preventative called Simparica Trio. Simparica Trio offers the fast tick kill that we know with Simparica, PLUS a heartworm preventative and an intestinal parasite dewormer for roundworms and hookworms.
TICK PREVENTION STARTS MARCH; HEARTWORM PREVENTION STARTS JUNE 1ST
Additional doses may be necessary for December, January and February depending on the local temperature and your travel plans!
We will continue to stock ALL the heartworm and flea/tick preventatives to meet all of your pet's individual needs.
Why is 4DX Testing so Important?
The 4DX blood screening test checks your dog for heartworm disease and three common tick-borne diseases: Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis.
Annual screening is done to ensure the heartworm and tick preventative program you have chosen for your dog is effective
Tick borne diseases are becoming increasingly common due to climate change and the migration of the black-legged/deer tick and Lonestar tick. Southern Manitoba is endemic for Lyme disease (transmitted via the deer tick). We are diagnosing positive cases in dogs that have reportedly never left their own backyard. Although not as common, we are also diagnosing positive cases of Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis transmitted by the deer tick and Lonestar tick.
Deer ticks are extremely small with the unengorged adult tick being only the size of a sesame seed. This small size makes deer ticks easy to miss when performing a thorough tick check of your dog. Dogs that are being regularly inspected for ticks are testing positive for disease, telling us that despite owners' efforts to remove ticks in a timely manner, ticks are being missed.
Tick-borne diseases, in the early stage, do not necessarily make your dog sick. It can be months, or even years before clinical signs of arthritis, lethargy and fever develop. Annual screening for tick-borne diseases identifies infected dogs and allows for early treatment before systemic and irreversible damage occurs. Whether your pet is vaccinated for Lyme, on a monthly tick preventative and/or being routinely inspected for ticks, annual testing is recommended yearly to ensure that resistance is not emerging.
Heartworm is a serious, potentially fatal disease in pets that is spread via an infected mosquito. It is found in parts of Canada including Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Heartworm disease can cause lasting damage to the heart, lungs and arteries, life long, even after the parasites are gone. In the early stages of the disease, many dogs show few symptoms or no symptoms at all. Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss.
Heartworm resistance to anti-parasitic medications is becoming a problem in parts of the United States. Despite this emerging problem, poor compliance remains the biggest risk for pets acquiring heartworm disease.
Whether your pet receives the heartworm preventative on time each month, or maybe late or missed doses, let us ensure your pet has not contracted heartworm.
The 4DX blood screening test checks your dog for heartworm disease and three common tick-borne diseases: Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis.
Annual screening is done to ensure the heartworm and tick preventative program you have chosen for your dog is effective
Tick borne diseases are becoming increasingly common due to climate change and the migration of the black-legged/deer tick and Lonestar tick. Southern Manitoba is endemic for Lyme disease (transmitted via the deer tick). We are diagnosing positive cases in dogs that have reportedly never left their own backyard. Although not as common, we are also diagnosing positive cases of Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis transmitted by the deer tick and Lonestar tick.
Deer ticks are extremely small with the unengorged adult tick being only the size of a sesame seed. This small size makes deer ticks easy to miss when performing a thorough tick check of your dog. Dogs that are being regularly inspected for ticks are testing positive for disease, telling us that despite owners' efforts to remove ticks in a timely manner, ticks are being missed.
Tick-borne diseases, in the early stage, do not necessarily make your dog sick. It can be months, or even years before clinical signs of arthritis, lethargy and fever develop. Annual screening for tick-borne diseases identifies infected dogs and allows for early treatment before systemic and irreversible damage occurs. Whether your pet is vaccinated for Lyme, on a monthly tick preventative and/or being routinely inspected for ticks, annual testing is recommended yearly to ensure that resistance is not emerging.
Heartworm is a serious, potentially fatal disease in pets that is spread via an infected mosquito. It is found in parts of Canada including Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Heartworm disease can cause lasting damage to the heart, lungs and arteries, life long, even after the parasites are gone. In the early stages of the disease, many dogs show few symptoms or no symptoms at all. Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss.
Heartworm resistance to anti-parasitic medications is becoming a problem in parts of the United States. Despite this emerging problem, poor compliance remains the biggest risk for pets acquiring heartworm disease.
Whether your pet receives the heartworm preventative on time each month, or maybe late or missed doses, let us ensure your pet has not contracted heartworm.