SAN DIEGO — If you love to hike and take your dog on every trail you go on, you probably already know how easy it is for ticks to latch onto your pup.
Not only are they difficult to deal with, but also could carry potentially serious diseases.
"There's a bunch of tick-borne diseases," said Ally Loparo, who is the hospital manager at VCA Four Paws in 4S Ranch. "Ehrlichia & Anaplasma are clotting disorders. So, if your pet were to get them and then go under a surgery and they don't have platelets, we can't help them."
San Diego County has all sorts of these crawling parasites like the Wood tick or the Pacific Coast tick, but due to our climate, bites from the Deer tick, known for spreading Lyme Disease are very uncommon.
"If you stay in San Diego County, Lyme Disease is pretty rare," said Loparo.
So, what can you do to prevent good dogs from getting bit by a tick?
Thankfully there’s plenty of preventative measures like special collars or topical ointment. But Loparo says the best treatment is oral medication prescribed by your veterinarian.
"Ticks can be as small as a flea, so they can be really teeny tiny or they can be more obvious," she said. "The best thing to do is check for ticks on your pet."
If you’re out and about this summer hiking San Diego’s beautiful trails with your four-legged friend, you’ll want to make sure they’re not carrying any hitchhikers.
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