Dogs vs Ticks ...

Years ago, when I first moved from the Midwest to Colorado, I was amused by the number of animals that could harm you.  In the Midwest, we didn't live with rattle snakes, scorpions, black widow or brown recluse spiders.  We didn't have a bear or mountain lion population to speak of, etc.  Colorado had all these.

Now, close to 10 years later, I am getting ready to head back to central Wisconsin on vacation with the dog and can't believe how many conversations I have had about ticks.  Sure, I remember we had wood ticks, and a few people had Lyme disease.  Now, there are four major diseases carried by ticks and / or mosquitoes, all in the Lyme disease family.  It seems it is not the larger, more well known wood ticks that are such the problem, as much as the very small deer ticks.

The dog goes everywhere with me almost every day. I had NEVER considered leaving her at home in a kennel before.  All my usual dog sitters are out of state this week as well.  Well, after a little research, we opted to still take the dog with us.  We made sure all the normal annual vaccinations were current and got some Merial Frontline Plus Flea and Tick Control for Dogs .  We decided that you can't hide from life or the adventures and memories that it creates.  The best you can do is take your reasonable precautions and go live life!