Ticks are back! How to safeguard your dog from these bloodsuckers
The tick invasion and your furry friend: Essential tips on how to protect your dog from these little 'wee beasties'
In Scotland, ticks fit into the 'wee beastie' category, a nickname that includes mosquitos, deer flies and fleas. However, for Canadian dog owners, these tiny, blood-sucking arachnids don’t deserve a charming nickname—they are despised.
Ticks don’t discriminate between a woolly Tibetan Mastiff and a lovable mixed breed. They’re neither connoisseurs nor picky eaters. They’re indifferent to whether your name is Rover, Lucy, Charlie, or Max. And they certainly don’t care if your dog’s bark is yappy, howling, growling, or a guttural woof. To ticks, if it wags a tail, it’s simply a tasty meal.
SEE ALSO: Latest tick news across Canada and tips to prevent Lyme and other tick-related diseases
Ticks mature through four life stages. First, they begin as eggs that nature doesn’t serve sunny side up. They hatch into larvae that develop into nymphs—the teenagers of ticks, but without opposable thumbs for swiping through TikTok cat videos. And like teenagers, their appetite is insatiable. To extract blood, ticks use their sharp, scissor-like appendages to cut a hole in your dog's skin and then insert a small, barbed, straw-like structure. The tick also excretes saliva that prevents the blood from clotting and acts like an anaesthetic so your dog doesn't even realize anything is happening—no itch, no pain...nothing.
Ticks expand when they feed, with some adult species gorging themselves to increase their body weight by up to 600 times their normal size before detaching. Blood is essential for advancing through each life stage, and female ticks require blood to lay their eggs.
False facts and myths about ticks are repeated year after year, clinging tighter than these pests. Stories about left-behind mouthparts developing a new body after removing a tick persist. Or claims that a severed head will continue to suck blood are often heard. These horrid eight-legged parasites with flat, oval-shaped bodies may be an abomination, but they are not zombies. Don’t try petroleum jelly, nail polish, or a hot match to remove a tick from your dog, as these methods can worsen the situation. These methods irritate ticks, prompting a response that releases more of their saliva into your pet's skin or hurls the contents of their gut into your dog's bloodstream.
There are misunderstandings surrounding the idea that if a tick attaches to your dog long enough, it will lay its eggs on your pet. These little pests are creepy, but they’re not that creepy.
The idea that only humans can contract Lyme disease is also false; it affects many animals, including dogs.
Another widespread myth suggests that you don’t need to worry about ticks unless you’re far into the woods. The reality is that they have infiltrated our cities and are hungry. They linger in urban parks and backyards, often found in piles of leaves, near water sources, tall grass, and shrubs. Their numbers increase as the weather warms, yet they remain a nuisance throughout the year.
Some Canadian ticks live for an average of two years, and unless they latch onto a dog heading South for the winter, they don’t migrate. They survive winter by becoming inactive and burrowing into leaf litter or decaying wood. For instance, deer ticks can be active once temperatures go above 4°C, so even in winter, ticks can be found.
Not all ticks clinging to tall grass and shrubs are infected with viruses or Lyme disease. These infections occur when ticks feed on an infected host and then pass the infection on to humans and animals when they feed again. Some tick-borne diseases can be very serious, and many dog owners don’t use tick protection.
Products such as K9 Advantix® II are recommended and trusted by veterinarians to prevent tick bites that can cause Lyme disease and a range of other issues. The topical treatment is applied monthly, protecting your dog from ticks and other bloodsuckers by killing them on contact and continuing to do so for at least four weeks.
Experts recommend that people wear long clothes and tuck their pants into their socks. Since pets don’t have these options, be tick aware during Tick Bite Prevention Week from March 25 to 31, 2025, and learn the steps needed to protect you and your pet, including removing these tiny wee beasties, no matter the season.