# Hiking with your dogs



## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Where are you going? That makes a difference. We live in Orange County, and have never had a problem with ticks when hiking.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Just remember that ticks can hide really well, so you might want to do a recheck before bedtime to catch any of the stragglers. I usually find any leftover ticks by massaging Cookie with my fingers, which she does not mind. 

One of these is a good tool to keep in your pocket too:
Protick remedy

It is my favorite tool for removing embedded ticks, and mine has lasted for almost 10 years.

Have fun!


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

When we went hiking and camping in Coquille, Oregon. I used this Off! brand repellent. It's made of essential oils that naturally repel fleas and ticks. I still do the tick tests afterwards, and visually inspect him before bed.  

OFF!™ Pets Flea & Tick Spray for Dogs - Flea & Tick - Dog - PetSmart

ETA - I also have a Tick Key for easy removal: http://www.tickkey.com/


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

DanaRuns said:


> Where are you going? That makes a difference. We live in Orange County, and have never had a problem with ticks when hiking.


It will be in different areas, but this weekend it will be here

https://plus.google.com/106183108952218928726/about?gl=us&hl=en

Wonder View Trail Head

Thanks for the feedback and info everyone! I'll let everyone know how it goes with our hikes.


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## Gwen_Dandridge (Jul 14, 2012)

Ticks are out! Little tiny ones. I pulled three off Maddie as they were crawling around two days ago. We had gone on a short hike up Parma Park. The rain brings them out.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I'm not sure if this is what you meant to post... but Revolution does NOT do deer ticks, only the dog tick is it labeled for. I'm not sure how prevalent tick borne diseases are in your area, but back home in Virginia where I'm from, they are a large problem. I still use frontline without a problem but others have switched to Vectra 3D


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## Heather C. (Sep 25, 2013)

Is Lyme an issue here in CA? Or just near the LA area? It was a huge deal for dogs and people in Boston where we previously lived; our female dog contracted lyme once and luckily was treated successfully with abx. We used to do family tick checks, pets and people, all the time. But where we live in CA (eastern Sierra, so other side and higher up than you all) both the pediatrician and the vet said not to worry about it; there are a few ticks but no lyme to speak of and the few odd tick borne diseases you can get are extremely rare. Our vet said we didn't need to bother with Frontline or anything for our previous dogs or for Molly, which personally I think is awesome, since I don't like the stuff. Maybe we are just lucky. We do have hantavirus up here though...although I don't think dogs can catch it.

Heather


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

I just picked a deer tick off Fiona a few days ago. That is with a snow pack on the ground and having well below freezing temps for a while now.

A dog we walk with is being treated for Lyme, she was diagnosed with a few weeks ago. No month of the year is considered safe here, we have very hearty immune to almost everything ticks. 

Thankfully our ticks are not immune to being chopped in half with a utility knife, being splattered with a hammer, using a blowtorch until their evil little bodies pop, crushed in a vise, or slow suffocation in a jar amongst many other methods of torture I have joyfully used on them over the decades..

Brush daily and keep a keen eye out for anything that looks like a speck of dirt on them while out walking.


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

Heather C. said:


> Is Lyme an issue here in CA? Or just near the LA area? It was a huge deal for dogs and people in Boston where we previously lived; our female dog contracted lyme once and luckily was treated successfully with abx. We used to do family tick checks, pets and people, all the time. But where we live in CA (eastern Sierra, so other side and higher up than you all) both the pediatrician and the vet said not to worry about it; there are a few ticks but no lyme to speak of and the few odd tick borne diseases you can get are extremely rare. Our vet said we didn't need to bother with Frontline or anything for our previous dogs or for Molly, which personally I think is awesome, since I don't like the stuff. Maybe we are just lucky. We do have hantavirus up here though...although I don't think dogs can catch it.
> 
> Heather


 CA as a state is low risk, but I still want to protect all I can. Thanks for the info, and I will talk to my vet about cases of lyme in this area etc


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

Rainheart said:


> I'm not sure if this is what you meant to post... but Revolution does NOT do deer ticks, only the dog tick is it labeled for. I'm not sure how prevalent tick borne diseases are in your area, but back home in Virginia where I'm from, they are a large problem. I still use frontline without a problem but others have switched to Vectra 3D


Yep you are right my bad. I'm going to switch to Vectra 3D because of the hiking. Revolution is awesome against fleas, but it's not the best for ticks just like you said here.

Thanks everyone for your replies and tips


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

I went on our first of many hikes this past weekend. No ticks or fleas were found 

Well So Cal area has been real dry so I think that helps a lot, but rain is coming tho. So that might make a difference, but my pups LOVED going on a hike!


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## kenitra (Apr 22, 2011)

Okay, I can't resist. I live in Alaska so we don't have ticks or fleas. Bears and moose yes, little bitty things no. I love hiking with my beautiful 4 year old Grover, but hard to get him not to run up and bark at moose. (Still trying to figure out how to post a photo of my gorgeous guy


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

kenitra said:


> Okay, I can't resist. I live in Alaska so we don't have ticks or fleas. Bears and moose yes, little bitty things no. I love hiking with my beautiful 4 year old Grover, but hard to get him not to run up and bark at moose. (Still trying to figure out how to post a photo of my gorgeous guy


We don't have fleas or ticks either, at high altitudes. We're also short on moose, but we have an abundance of coyotes, I'm sorry to say. Well, not too many at high altitudes, but there are a few even there.

One way to post a photo is as an attachment to a post. Click the Manage Attachments button and go from there. Good luck!


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## Eclipse (Apr 21, 2014)

My dog got a tick on her last January on a week that was in the negative digits . She got it the day I took her around the block, which was the only "warm" one, roughly 30 degrees.

The hiking trails around here definitely have some ticks to watch out for.


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## mehouse (Mar 1, 2014)

My dog had a tick on him last January as well, even though it was below freezing. I thought they died in the winter, but apparently not. Thankfully, it wasn't embedded.


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## GoldenMum (Mar 15, 2010)

They come out on sunny days! All winter long, mine have protection year round as we hike in the woods daily!


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## djg2121 (Nov 22, 2015)

Melfice said:


> All,
> 
> I'm going to take my pups for their first hike this weekend. I live in the Southern California area (Los Angeles), and I wanted to ask folks here about hiking, dogs and ticks.
> 
> ...








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## dlmrun2002 (Mar 4, 2011)

*checking for ticks*



BriGuy said:


> Just remember that ticks can hide really well, so you might want to do a recheck before bedtime to catch any of the stragglers. I usually find any leftover ticks by massaging Cookie with my fingers, which she does not mind.
> 
> One of these is a good tool to keep in your pocket too:
> Protick remedy
> ...


If hiking and concerned about ticks, check the dogs real good as soon as you get in. They will be on the top coat at this point and easy to spot on a Golden. Look real good and then do a look/feel pass all over the dog. Ticks love to move toward the head. I would say 90% of the ticks I would pull off of my past 3 Goldens ••when I had a dog ••
where on the front of the dog. I live in a super high tick environment in New York.
HTH

dlm ny country


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

In Maine, I fight a constant battle against the ticks, even to the point of finding them on myself bc the dogs sleep with me and we hike daily. One thing my vet and I both do is keep doxy on hand for both dogs and humans- if anyone canine or otherwise has an embedded tick, they get a single dose of doxycycline prophylactically . Columbia University researched this, and it seems like a good Hail Mary pass for halting some of the tick disease process before it starts. My pet dogs are on Bravecto( even though it scares me) and my intact dogs are on frontline plus. 




Melfice said:


> All,
> 
> I'm going to take my pups for their first hike this weekend. I live in the Southern California area (Los Angeles), and I wanted to ask folks here about hiking, dogs and ticks.
> 
> ...


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

This is an important topic. I have been using natural wipes with Oscar for the last year and it seems to be very effective. We have avoided any type of systemic products. Seems to me that anything that is in the bloodstream of a dog that can kill a tick when it bites is pretty toxic. In speaking with our vet there do not seem to be any long term studies of the effect of systemic products on animals. Interested in what people think.


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

OscarsDad said:


> This is an important topic. I have been using natural wipes with Oscar for the last year and it seems to be very effective. We have avoided any type of systemic products. Seems to me that anything that is in the bloodstream of a dog that can kill a tick when it bites is pretty toxic. In speaking with our vet there do not seem to be any long term studies of the effect of systemic products on animals. Interested in what people think.


Yes it's important, and I agree about systemic products being used on dogs (pets) might be a bad thing for them. 

What natural wipes are you using on Oscar btw?


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Ljilly28 said:


> In Maine, I fight a constant battle against the ticks, even to the point of finding them on myself bc the dogs sleep with me and we hike daily. One thing my vet and I both do is keep doxy on hand for both dogs and humans- if anyone canine or otherwise has an embedded tick, they get a single dose of doxycycline prophylactically . Columbia University researched this, and it seems like a good Hail Mary pass for halting some of the tick disease process before it starts. *My pet dogs are on Bravecto( even though it scares me) and my intact dogs are on frontline plus.*


I have to ask, since Noah is still intact, why you only use Frontline Plus on your intact dogs? I presume it's because they are breeding, and not because it interacts differently whether intact or nuetered?


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

I am using Vet+Best Flea and Tick Wipes. Contains Peppermint Oil and Clove Extract. I think I got it from our vet. LAbel also indicates it repels mosquitoes.


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## djg2121 (Nov 22, 2015)

dlmrun2002 said:


> If hiking and concerned about ticks, check the dogs real good as soon as you get in. They will be on the top coat at this point and easy to spot on a Golden. Look real good and then do a look/feel pass all over the dog. Ticks love to move toward the head. I would say 90% of the ticks I would pull off of my past 3 Goldens ••when I had a dog ••
> 
> where on the front of the dog. I live in a super high tick environment in New York.
> 
> ...



As a Golden owner, I’m sure you already have a sticky-tape lint roller. I keep one in my truck and give my dogs a good rolling when we come out of the woods. Ticks like to embed around the head and neck of dogs, where they cannot easily be chewed off. You can often see them crawling up the dog’s legs and body toward the dog’s head, or on the dog’s head as they look for a place to attach and establish themselves. You can catch them on the tape roller before they embed.

Where I live, ticks are a huge problem, and while my dogs have been fortunate, I have had Lyme disease and it’s a pain in the ass.

On advice from my father, who is a vet, I use Frontline Plus on my dogs and Advantix on my cats (purely indoor). In the best of worlds, I wouldn’t treat for ticks because Frontline obviously is toxic, at least to fleas and ticks. But it’s necessary where I live if my dogs are to be outside of the house.


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