What Pug Owners Should Know About Ticks
Published by toby on Tagged Dog TrainingAs winter turns to spring and the weather gets warmer, Pug owners everywhere should be ready to protect their dogs from ticks to ensure optimal Pug health.
Known scientifically as “Rhipicephalus Sanquineus”, these blood-sucking bugs can carry disease. Ticks can infect humans with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, cause paralysis, and can even kill our precious Pugs. Here’s ways to prevent ticks from infesting 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.
There are several different species of ticks, from wood tick to brown Pug tick and many more. Unfortunately, ticks in general are pretty resistant to chemical insecticides, so they are really challenging to control in the wild.
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.
If a tick somehow made its way or was born in your home, it will peek out from beneath carpers or rugs to wait for a victim to pass within range. It’s a bit disturbing but ticks can wait for as long as 4 months for a victim.
And when a Pug or person comes close, it only takes a tick an instant to jump on as the victim passes close by. Keep that it mind when considering ways to prevent ticks from infesting Pug dogs.
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