Pug Dog Tick Prevention
Tick Prevention For Pug Dog Owners by Michelle E. Arthur
If you're a Pug dog owner, then you need to be particularly attentive when spring rolls around and ticks become a real threat. Ticks are technically called "Rhipicephalus Sanquineus", but more importantly these blood-sucking bugs can carry germs and diseases that can make you or your Pug sick. In fact, ticks can give people diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and ticks can pass on diseases that can even be fatal to Pug dogs!
Quite simply, ticks are parasites that live on the blood of their victims. Ticks have been blamed for causing the spread of disease among both people and dogs. In fact, they were shown to be behind the famous mass deaths of military dogs during the Vietnam War.
Although there are several different species of ticks (wood tick, brown Pug tick, etc.), a tick by any other name is still a tick. Because of resistance to insecticides, the tick is one of the most difficult external parasites to control.
The female tick will lay up to five thousands eggs in the crevices of a kennel, baseboard, or under the carpeting in the home. Eggs are never deposited upon the host animal. After twenty to thirty days have elapsed, the eggs hatch and become larvae. The larvae then seek out a host Pug, gorge themselves on his blood, then drop off again to hide.
A few weeks later, the tick larvae transform themselves into nymphs, which are sort of like teenagers. These nymphs looks for another host to grab some more blood, then fall off to rest again. Then, after another few weeks, the nymph transforms into an adult tick. Of course, now the adult tick is ready to seek out another host like a Pug, where it will fill up on blood and mate.
From the time the eggs hatch - and before the tick becomes an adult - it returns to the host Pug more than once to feed on the canine's blood. Once hatched however, a tick can live in a house for up to two years without needing a host Pug to feed on.
Once the tick finds its way outside, it will climb up into a bush, tall grass or a tree to lay in wait for a new host. A perfect opportunity for a tick is when a Pug dog walks under a branch or goes potty in tall grass. A tick can jump pretty far as well.
A tick inside a home will hang out in dark, hidden places awaiting a chance to latch-on to a host. Here's a shocking fact, but a tick inside the house can hang out for up to three months lying in wait for a Pug or person to walk by. And when the trap is sprung, and your dog or you walk by, the tick can instantly "wake up" and spring onto the victim in a blink of the eye.
Listen to a free audio where a top Pug dog doctor explains exactly how to keep fleas and ticks off Pugs. Visit Pug Health Guide for Pug health tips, step-by-step training and Pug health tips for Pug owners.