Additional, topical infos about Ticks:

During the past months, our 10-year-old Eurasierbitch Askia caught our attention by displaying unusual tiredness. We also noticed – but kind of ignored it – that she was getting a lot of gray hair in her face. No dog resembles the other, and so we did not think it would be sensible to compare her with her predecessor Dunja, who could still do 6-8 hour mountain tours with us when she was ten years old. We took Askia to the vet and it was found that her liver values had changed significantly, which could be slightly improved by a diet.

Then, another test showed that Askia was struck by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum.

This is an other illness which can be transmitted by ticks. This bacteria lives intracellulary in the granulocytes.

As a therapy, our veterinarian recommended an antibiotic in high concentration. This can trigger vomiting and diarrhea. If symptoms of remarkable fatigue appear in dogs, a blood test, designed especially for Anaplasmosis, can help in finding the right diagnosis. This test is not included in the usual blood tests. We would like to publish this information, so that in case your dog shows similar, non explicable behaviour, you do not lose valuable time unnecessarily, and consider also checking for Anaplosmosis.

Sigrid and Gerd Schröder

Additional hyperlink:

Tick, Wikipedia

Anaplasmosis, Wikipedia

Ticks and Fleas

Ticks must be removed from a dog as soon as possible, because the longer a tick can suck blood, the more the dog is in danger of being infected with tick-borne diseases. There are quite a lot of philosophies on how to remove a tick, and if you ask three experts you will get at least four different answers. Very simple and easy to use, is the  O'TOM Tick Twister, a useful aid that can be obtained at many veterinary surgeries.

The following pictures show how you position the twister similar to a little plastic fork between the dog's skin and the tick's head. The tick is then easily removed by just twisting this fork. The advantage of this twister lies in the fact that NO pressure is applied to the tick and therefore the tick has LESS chance of injecting dangerous viruses while being removed. Even very tiny ticks that are often too difficult to grasp with fingers or tweezers, can easily be removed with this twister. The twister can be obtained in two different sizes.

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Fleas - tiny black crumbs especially on the neck or around the backend where the tail starts are signs for fleas. Then, a visit at the vet is recommended, as the vet can provide you with the safest and best measures to get rid of fleas and will also inform you about what can be done to avoid fleas. 

Flea bites cause itchiness. Sometimes the flea saliva causes allergic dermatitis, in which case the dog develops fur- and/or skin irritations such as "hot spots" on the back, the tail or groin area. Quick measures must be taken against them. Hot spots are skin irritations that are very itchy, and often very painful, too. The dogs lick, bite and scratch constantly and things get worse very quickly, the hot spot grows rapidly and so does the itchiness, a good reason for immediate counteraction. 

When fighting against fleas, it is not sufficient to only take measures against fleas on the dog. You must also include the places where the dog likes to rest, his "bed", his blankets and even the car. The majority of fleas as well as their larvae (more than 80 per cent) do not live on the dog, but in the nearby surrounding. Your vet will give you the best advice on what can be used relatively safely (sprays, powder, etc.).

If your dog had fleas and you were successful in fighting them, it is recommended to administer worming tablets to your dog, as fleas can transmit tape-worms. 

Normally, fleas have a rather hard time trying to manifest themselves in a Eurasiers's coat and underwool.

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