• Home
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policies
  • Recent Posts
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

A Magical Mess

Finding Magic in Every Mess

  • About
  • DIY
    • Crafts
    • Finances
    • Blogging
    • Side Hustles
  • Self-care
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Garden
    • Fitness
    • Fun
      • Pets
      • Movies & Shows
      • Games
      • Books
      • Funny Posts
  • Food
    • Magical Treats
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Appetizers
    • Snacks
    • Cocktails
    • Free eCookbook
  • Shop
    • Gift Guides
Home » Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Family Products

Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Home » Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

Tweet
Pin
Share

Flea and tick prevention has been a huge topic lately. It’s clearly quite important to us since we want the best for our pets. I asked Ben, Sweep Tight contributor and vet tech at Southwest Animal Care Center, to share his experience. Yes, this is to scare you into using flea and tick prevention. It’s a real problem that needs prevention. This post is brought to you by K9 Advantix. All opinions are our own.

Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Real Flea and Tick Encounters

~ Written by Ben

I can’t count the times I’ve advised clients to use flea and tick prevention. I also can’t count the times that clients have said, “No thanks. He’s fine,” or, “He doesn’t go outside that often.” Let me just say now that not going outside “that often” is not the same as never going outside.

So what’s the worst that can happen if your animal isn’t on flea and tick prevention? A few ticks? You can just pull them off. A few fleas? No problem.

Nope.

Fleas can infect your animal with tape worms. That’s bad in itself, but if you have children it’s even worse. Tape worms can be transmitted to people. How many times have we told our children to get their hands out of their mouths? There you go. All a child has to do is touch the family pet. If that fido has tape worms, the tape worm eggs which have shed through its stool can be on his fur. So when a child’s hand goes straight into his or her mouth… well, it’s not good.

Fleas can also cause allergic dermatitis. This is a condition in which your pet’s skin becomes red and inflamed due to an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva. If it continues on unaddressed, it can lead to severe reactions causing flaking, greasy, smelly skin, and hot spots due to the animal chewing and scratching at the irritated area.

Ticks are no better. They transmit lyme disease. Lyme disease can be a painful proposition for pets. It causes severe joint pain, lethargy, inappetence, and listlessness. It’s not deadly, but it can certainly make your pet look like it’s dying.

Flea and tick control isn’t the cheapest thing in the world, but its definitely one of the more kind things you can do for your pet.

Flea and Tick Horror Story

We’ve all heard it – more than once. “Is your pet on flea and tick medication?” It’s a question that’s asked every time we take our animals to the vet. Well, as a veterinary assistant, I’m going to give you a real life example of why we always ask that question.

We have an adorable little Shih Tzu that comes to our clinic. He’s a nice dog, but his owner is, shall we say… less than diligent about giving him his flea and tick medication in a timely manner.

One day, said client brought in her dog and said that he was shaking and acting jumpy. She couldn’t figure out why, and she asked if there was anything we could do. We said yes, and the doctor came in to look him over. Without any exaggeration, within thirty seconds, both the doctor and I had fleas all over our arms and torso. That poor dog was quivering because he was so uncomfortable! His skin was red and inflamed. He was miserable.

After giving him an oral dose of a powerful flea killing medication, we counted around 100 fleas before we gave up on it. The dog had been infested for weeks, suffering from inflamed, itchy skin, and it was 100 percent preventable.

Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Please, give your pets flea and tick preventative. With topical prevention like K9 Advantix II, your dog can safely frolic around this summer without having to worry about flea and tick infestation. The monthly applications are easy to apply and well worth the peace of mind to know that your pet is protected.

Flea and Tick Horrors and Why Prevention is Key

Tweet
Pin
Share


28 Comments

About Jennifer

Jennifer is the founder of A Magical Mess. She is married to a wonderful man, and together they live with their three rescue dogs. Jen is an entrepreneur at heart. Hobbies and interests include working, reading, and learning new things. Typical life status = more mess than magic.

« Waterproof Phone Case Review
Dreamy DIY Mini Ice Cream Bites »

Comments

  1. Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

    June 30, 2014 at 6:27 am

    I live in a wooded area and ticks are a real concern for me. For our dog and us humans!

    Reply
  2. Ellen Christian says

    June 30, 2014 at 8:53 am

    I have had two ticks so far this year. I just HATE them!

    Reply
  3. Tammi @ My Organized Chaos says

    June 30, 2014 at 8:55 am

    I remember getting a tick years ago, it was horrible! Getting them is so dangerous too, there’s been such an increase in Lyme Disease!

    Reply
  4. Tiffany (Fabulous Mom Blog) says

    June 30, 2014 at 9:05 am

    I always feel so bad for dogs that have a flea and tick problem. You’re right, it is a horror/nightmare. My mom uses this on her dog.

    Reply
  5. Amber Edwards says

    June 30, 2014 at 10:30 am

    Oh the horror of having pets! Yes, it is so important to protect them against fleas and ticks because not only is it bad for your pet’s health, but your own health as well!

    Reply
  6. Jenn says

    June 30, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    You are so right that prevention is key! We use flea and tick treatments but it’s the prevention that makes life easier – if they don’t have fleas or ticks, there’s no infestation to treat!

    Reply
  7. Nancy Lustri (StyleDecor) says

    June 30, 2014 at 1:35 pm

    I had a black dog when I was little and he always had fleas in the summer! Ugh…. When I had a white dog, he never had them. Not sure if there is something to that? Anyway, prevention is so important. Glad they have Advantix.

    Reply
  8. Amy Desrosiers says

    June 30, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    Oh my gosh, I hate ticks..they are so gross!! I protect my little pooch too with a similar product!

    Reply
  9. myrah - Coupon Mamacita says

    June 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    These are so aggravating! This is the same product we use for Gino!

    Reply
  10. Meagan says

    June 30, 2014 at 3:08 pm

    We LOVe our chocolate lab and always do our best to protect against fleas! I think it’s gross how fast fleas can reproduce…yuck!

    Reply
  11. Jen Temcio @dapperhouse says

    June 30, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    That graphic is disturbing!! I am so glad that K9 Advantix can repel mosquitos too because we have a lot of them here in Illinois and I dont want my dog to deal with that.

    Reply
  12. Christine says

    June 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    Yuck yuck yuck. I absolutely hate ticks. We’ve luckily been spared for several years now that the neighbors took care of their infestation.

    Reply
  13. Kelsey Apley says

    June 30, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    They can get so bad, it is always good to treat before their is trouble or notice of fleas or ticks!

    Reply
  14. Chelley @ A is For Adelaide says

    June 30, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    We use a different brand, but I think we need to look at Advantix because it repels mosquitos, too!

    Reply
  15. Laura (Lauras Little House Tips) says

    June 30, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    Our Mini Schnauzer suffers with them too. We keep her groomed and protected. Can’t have a family member suffering.

    Reply
  16. Pam says

    June 30, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    We have a cat who is severely allergic to fleas. We do our best to keep her protected, because if fleas get a foothold in your home you can never seem to completely get rid of them!

    Reply
  17. Mama to 5 BLessings says

    June 30, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    GROSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I remember when I was a kid we found a stray cat which we kept and she was infested with fleas, they are so hard to get rid of.We do not have any animals ourselves because of my daughters allergies but this sounds like a great product.

    Reply
  18. Tess says

    June 30, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    Our last dog had a big flea problem. It was horrible and it took forever to get rid of them.

    Reply
  19. Sarah Marturano says

    June 30, 2014 at 7:55 pm

    I love summers but I hate the bugs that come with the season. Just the thought of ticks makes me shiver. UGH

    Reply
  20. Tosh says

    June 30, 2014 at 8:01 pm

    Ugh! Fleas and Ticks are the WORST!! Prevention is the key b/c they are so hard to get rid of!

    Reply
  21. Brett Martin says

    June 30, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    Thanks for sharing! We’ve had to deal with fleas with our pets before and it is no fun at all.

    Reply
  22. JulieK says

    June 30, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    Okay you’re totally making me rethinking letting my kids roll down our hill on the grass. ugh! We’ve already found one tick on our son. so gross!

    Reply
  23. Ann Bacciaglia says

    June 30, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    This is a very important preventative measure. Ticks can be so dangerous to both humans and animals.

    Reply
  24. tammileetips says

    July 1, 2014 at 12:05 am

    Oh fleas and ticks just gross me out!!! I hate how many bugs there are in summer. Great tips to prevent a flea problem!

    Reply
  25. April says

    July 1, 2014 at 8:46 am

    We had an issue with fleas and I went crazy cleaning everything and was able to get rid of the pretty quickly.

    Reply
  26. Liz Mays says

    July 1, 2014 at 10:00 am

    I lived in an apartment right after a pet owner moved out, and I had to deal with the aftermath of a flea infestation. I didn’t even have pets! Flea horrors are real.

    Reply
  27. Ari T. says

    July 1, 2014 at 10:03 pm

    Wow, prevention is definitely key! Fleas, ticks and then the possibility of tapeworms? Yikes.

    Reply
  28. nicole dz says

    July 3, 2014 at 1:01 am

    We always give our pets flea and tick preventatives, it is very important. We want to make sure they are safe and most of all happy.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Us

Two sisters, raised apart, now trying to adult together. We love to share ways to make life a little more magical! Jen and Shelley from A Magical MessEmail: jen@amagicalmess.com

Categories

Warm Up!

Magical Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate Recipe
A Magical Mess is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

You May Also Like

decorated cupcakes on white dishes

Galaxy Cupcakes Recipe

blue hot spring in Yellowstone National Park

Hot Springs in Montana

Unicorn coloring page with colored pencil coloring

Free Unicorn Coloring Pages

Green and yellow alcohol ink four leaf clover

St. Patrick’s Day Crafts with Alcohol Ink Clovers

colorful unicorn snack mix spilling out of striped paper cup

Unicorn Party Snack Mix Recipe

Copyright © 2019 · Divine theme by Restored 316

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more