Flea and Tick Season is Here

Almost every new guests asks about fleas and ticks and it is such an important question to ask! Often, many of our new guests have recently moved to Miami from colder climates and have never experienced Miami's pests. The key thing is that Miami is a sub-tropical climate which means that every little pest fluorishes year-round compared to the winter seasons in the north that kill pests off naturally.

At the ranch, we have a professional service to treat our entire property every single month. But to prevent fleas and ticks, we don't stop there. We do head to toe checks of each dog every day. During those checks, we are checking for anything that is not normal for the dog, which of course, includes the presence of pests. And lastly, it is required that every dog that comes to the ranch be on a regular flea and tick treatment and over the years, we have found a few interesting things so here are a few steps that you can take at home to ensure that your pet and home stay pest free.

First, like us, it is good to do a head to toe check of your pet every day. This is a great way to not only bond and have cuddling time with your pet, but is also great to get to know what is normal or not normal for your pet. As pets age, things might show up that were not there before and all of these things are important to have your veterinarian review. Small things like bumps, scaly skin or runny eyes are just some of the things that you can catch during a quick and easy daily check, and of course, you can catch fleas or ticks befoe they have the chance to turn into an infestation.

Secondly, ensure that your pet is using a regular flea and tick prevantative medication. But don't just use any medicine and they are NOT all the same. It might also be necessary to change your pet's medication over time as we have seen that sometimes dogs build up a kind of a resitance to certain medicines and what used to work just fine, suddenly seems to do nothing to keep the bugs away. Your veterinarian is your best resource for knowing what the best treatments might be as they stay on top of the current treatments available.

Remember, even though your house and dog are pest free today, the second he steps onto a sidewalk, dog park or even an apartment hallway where other dogs walk, a pest can easily hop on board and start building a home on your dog! Staying safe and keeping your dog on an effective treatment will help you and your dog stay away from suffereing!