We were right to be worried about ticks. Despite regular Frontline applications, constant grooming and total obsessing about ticks, it looks as if our dog, Jessie, has contracted Lyme's Disease. The symptoms started to show yesterday after our walk when she couldn't jump into the back of the car. I knew it was serious when I put a piece of bread in the boot and she still couldn't get into the car. She seemed not so much lame, but stiff, and there was no obvious reason why, nor any particular clatter that we could remember that might have caused stiffness.
One trip to the vet, 3 injections, 2 thermometers up her bottom and instructions to get a urine sample later we are wondering how we are going to cope with the ticks. We are not even into the tick season proper yet; everyone says it is going to get worse. Already the boys are starting to look like they are beekeepers when we go on a walk as I take tick paranoia to new levels. But, I can not work out how Jessie is going to get her walk AND we are to remain tick free. There are ticks everywhere from the woods on the hills behind Tuzla (to be expected) to the more manicured central park of Slana Banja in the middle of town (more surprising).
In the meantime, Jessie is visibly improved after her vet trip and almost has a bounce in her step. Lyme Disease is a nasty disease but very treatable so fingers crossed that that is what it is. She has most of the symptoms, except for the one which involves not eating, neatly demonstrating that our tales of her food obsession are not exaggerated.
I spent an interesting morning trying to obtain a urine sample from a female dog whilst attempting to hold a form of conversation, in patchy Bosnian, with a neighbour curious to know what exactly I was doing. It can be difficult to maintain any form of dignity in these situations. The life of a mother, nothing but glamour.
Showing posts with label ticks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ticks. Show all posts
Friday, 13 March 2009
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Ticked Off
While Britain has been merrily collapsing under the weight of 3cm of snow, Tuzla has seen some unexpectedly warm weather. The temperatures have been about 20C and we've been quite warm enough in just a jacket. Snow seems like a million miles away. Battles with the boys about wearing their gloves seem like a different lifetime. When it gets warmer, it gets hard to imagine that only a few weeks ago we were ensconced in snow and ice.
The return of warmer weather is not all good news though. We had been enjoying a bit of a break in the attack of the ticks on Jessie since it has been cold, but we found one on her last night. We get less stressed about it now, we have a nifty tick removal implement which gets them critters out, then the blood thirsty, revolting sucker is left to die in a glass of slivovica which does the trick. It does mean that we have to be careful with the boys running through the undergrowth though and is a reminder that even during the summer we will have to walk with long trousers and boots to stop the odious things attaching themselves to us.
In the meantime, the temperature has done that Tuzla thing and dropped from 20C to freezing overnight. May the cold snap get rid of them all.
The return of warmer weather is not all good news though. We had been enjoying a bit of a break in the attack of the ticks on Jessie since it has been cold, but we found one on her last night. We get less stressed about it now, we have a nifty tick removal implement which gets them critters out, then the blood thirsty, revolting sucker is left to die in a glass of slivovica which does the trick. It does mean that we have to be careful with the boys running through the undergrowth though and is a reminder that even during the summer we will have to walk with long trousers and boots to stop the odious things attaching themselves to us.
In the meantime, the temperature has done that Tuzla thing and dropped from 20C to freezing overnight. May the cold snap get rid of them all.
Monday, 13 October 2008
we're gonna get them critters...
Jessie didn't have to wait long before her next visit to the dreaded vets. Charging up and down the hills of Ilincica she managed to tread on a thorn and rendered herself extremely lame. She also managed to pick up a tick, without doubt one of the worlds most revolting creatures.
At the vets she managed a bit of a wag of the tail before she was muzzled, hoisted on the table and held down. Ever the gentle dog she barely moved throughout the whole ordeal even though the thorn had gone deep into her paw and there was a lot of blood. The removal of the tick was less successful. It turns out that we are in the middle of tick season and Jess's new blood is particularly attractive to these parasites. Getting rid of them is tricky, there is a certain knack to making sure that the whole of the tick is removed which we have yet to acquire.
Back at home Dave and I did our research on the internet and scared ourselves silly with tales of horrible diseases for both dogs and children, stories of house tick infestation and generally felt a bit icky for a while. But we took on board that ticks are a serious threat to health of dogs and children and need to be dealt with immediately.
Back to the vet we went. This time there was an enthusastic greeting of the vet from Jess, who is obviously a girl who likes to be treated mean. He got out his tick removing implement and despatched the critters with ease. Conscious that we don't have pet insurance in Bosnia (an imperative in the UK given the size of vets bills there) we opened our wallet to pay but he declined. Instead he retreated into his office and appeared with a litre of homemade slivovica (that's plum brandy for the uninitiated amongst you), a tick removing thing and instructions on how to use them to get ticks out. We've tried it on the subsequent 3 ticks that we found with some success. Not a fan of slivovica myself - I'll never make a true Bosnian - I'm just excited we have finally found a use for the bottles we have stacked under the stairs.
At the vets she managed a bit of a wag of the tail before she was muzzled, hoisted on the table and held down. Ever the gentle dog she barely moved throughout the whole ordeal even though the thorn had gone deep into her paw and there was a lot of blood. The removal of the tick was less successful. It turns out that we are in the middle of tick season and Jess's new blood is particularly attractive to these parasites. Getting rid of them is tricky, there is a certain knack to making sure that the whole of the tick is removed which we have yet to acquire.
Back at home Dave and I did our research on the internet and scared ourselves silly with tales of horrible diseases for both dogs and children, stories of house tick infestation and generally felt a bit icky for a while. But we took on board that ticks are a serious threat to health of dogs and children and need to be dealt with immediately.
Back to the vet we went. This time there was an enthusastic greeting of the vet from Jess, who is obviously a girl who likes to be treated mean. He got out his tick removing implement and despatched the critters with ease. Conscious that we don't have pet insurance in Bosnia (an imperative in the UK given the size of vets bills there) we opened our wallet to pay but he declined. Instead he retreated into his office and appeared with a litre of homemade slivovica (that's plum brandy for the uninitiated amongst you), a tick removing thing and instructions on how to use them to get ticks out. We've tried it on the subsequent 3 ticks that we found with some success. Not a fan of slivovica myself - I'll never make a true Bosnian - I'm just excited we have finally found a use for the bottles we have stacked under the stairs.
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