Cedar Valley Dog July/August 2013 Issue #4 | Page 3

W

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hy should I use Frontline or Certifect?

hy should I vaccinate my dog for Lyme Disease?

Warmer winters and changes in weather

patterns have created the perfect conditions for
the spread of ticks, and in turn, the spread of
tick borne diseases to become more prevalent.
This has put more people and animals at risk of
contracting a tick-borne illness. Lyme disease is
often hard to diagnose and tricky to treat.
Reported cases of Lyme Disease are on the rise,
and other infections, such as Anaplasmosis and
Ehrlichiosis, are also steadily increasing. While
not all ticks carry disease, some may spread
numerous types of infections in a single bite.
Compared to fleas, ticks have a wider range of
potential hosts (i.e. birds, rodents, rabbits, deer,
etc.), a longer lifespan, lay more eggs, feed off
more victims during their lifespan, and are more
hazardous to health. Protecting your pet is
easier than ever if addressed properly. Is your
pet protected? Vaccination and topical
prevention are the best ways to assure your pet
will be safe against tick-borne illnesses. Think
about the seatbelts and airbags in your car.
When one fails, the other keeps you safe. The
same goes for using topical prevention and
vaccinating against Lyme Disease. Frontline, or
the “seatbelt,” kills ticks that carry vector borne
diseases, but this is not 100 percent effective.
The Lyme Disease vaccination acts as the
“airbag”. If you forget the seatbelt or it fails, the
airbag will protect your pet.

Lyme disease is the new “Tick”ing Time Bomb.

Lyme
disease is one of the most common tick-transmitted
diseases in the world and is diagnosed daily in the
veterinary field. Although it is not considered a
“core” vaccination (core vaccines are recommended
for all puppies and dogs with an unknown
vaccination history and required by state law to be
current in hospital settings), it is very important to
consider your pet’s exposure to diseases in the noncore vaccination group. Non-core vaccines are
optional vaccines that should be considered in light
of the exposure risk of the animal based on
geographic distribution and the lifestyle of the pet.
Ticks are no longer just a backwoods menace. They
are now a backyard threat, putting all pets at risk.
Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease,
Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis pose a risk to dogs in
many areas of the country. Because clinical signs are
not always apparent, yearly testing is recommended
to identify dogs that have been infected. Even dogs
that receive year-round tick control products and do
not spend a lot of time outside may be at risk of
exposure to tick-borne diseases. Testing helps
identify dogs that need treatment for one of these
infections before permanent damage is done. Every
time your pet has a heartworm check at our clinic,
he/she is also tested for Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis,
and Anaplasmosis.

2020A 3rd Ave. NW Waverly IA
50677
319.483.5049