By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesI keep saying spring is approaching and I keep getting disappointed by the cold weather. But it’s going to happen soon, so we’ve been gearing up for tick season. There are a few new initiatives underway for tracking ticks and tickborne diseases in Canadian dogs and cats. Check out the recent post at PetsAndTicks.com for more… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsThe snowfall we had on the weekend notwithstanding, spring is here. As the weather warms up in Ontario (and other regions), we have to once again think more about ticks. Once the temperature reaches ~4C, hungry ticks that didn’t feed in the fall will come out, looking for food. Accordingly, tick prevention for people and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsWe’re getting ready to launch the Canadian Pet Tick Study, with funding from the OVC Pet Trust. We’ve had great response from veterinarians in Ontario, but need more clinics from other provinces, so please share this link with out-of-province veterinary colleagues who may be interested! Details are available here: https://www.petsandticks.com/news/calling-all-veterinary-clinics-join-the-canadian-pet-tick-survey… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationHere are some more leftover questions from the talk I did a talk recently for Third Age Learning in Guelph: As West Nile virus seems to be spreading, is there a vaccine becoming available for the general population? Probably not, but that’s just a guess. While it should be possible to make an effective human… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsTularemia is a nasty bacterial disease. The bug that causes it, Francisella tularensis, is a category A bioterrorism agent (along with things like anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox and Ebola virus). It’s classified as that because it’s highly transmissible and causes serious disease, so it’s something you definitely don’t want. The bacterium circulates in the wild,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsClick here for an article from TheConversation.com by Dr. Katie Clow (of petsandticks.com fame… well maybe not “fame” quite yet, but the site’s getting more and more attention) about “How to avoid Lyme disease while ticks are hungry in the fall.”… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,ParasitesHere’s a post by Dr. Katie Clow from our sister site, PetsAndTicks.com: Today, we received our 400th tick submission (actually, 401 to be exact). Does that sound like a large or a small number? Although there’s no real answer to that question, to me it seems like a pretty small number. At this time last… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsWhile ticks don’t care about political boundaries, researchers often do (or practical aspects dictate that we must). That doesn’t mean we can’t work together, though. A recent post at our related site petsandticks.com talks about the differences between US and Canadian tick submissions, and how US residents can submit ticks to the Show Us Your… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs“Use it and lose it” is often said when it comes to antibiotic resistance concerns. Every time we use an antibiotic (in a person or animal), there’s some potential for resistance to emerge. The more we use antibiotics, and the worse we use them, the greater the risk, generally speaking. Questions about the (rampant) use… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesHere are some pictures of the latest tick maps from PetsAndTicks.com. As expected, tick reports are down this time of year, but they’re likely to increase a lot in September as we see the next big wave of ticks come out looking for food.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesA post from guest blogger Dr. Katie Clow, reproduced from our sister site www.petsandticks.com. It’s summertime, and for most Canadians that means we’re taking some time off work to enjoy a little rest and relaxation. Maybe that’s a week at the cottage, or an adventure in another county. And if it’s a family trip, there’s… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesNegotiating the world of antiparasitics for dogs and cats can be daunting. With the wide range of products, similarly named products with different ingredients and differently named products with the same ingredients, it’s hard to keep up. The Ontario Animal Health Network as put together some useful tables that outline antiparasitic products available in Canada… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’m a little late writing about this (since I’m talking about 2018 forecasts midway through 2018), but the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)‘s parasite forecasts are worth a look. They don’t include Canada, but they show some interesting predicted patterns in the US. The maps are below, but check out the CAPC website to get… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsHere are the latest maps from our Pet Tick Tracker. More details (and submission information) are posted at PetsAndTicks.com. Keep the reports (and ticks) coming!… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesPublic Health Ontario has once again posted their updated Lyme Disease Risk Areas map for 2018. For comparison, you can still also access the 2017 map too, and you can see that once again (not surprisingly) the risk areas have expanded somewhat, including more of Eastern Ontario, as well as a few notable spots in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAt the 2018 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) forum, Dr. Michelle Evason gave an update on the Canadian canine lifetime Lyme study, which she also wrote about briefly last year on this blog when the study was launched. It’s a longterm (lifetime, hopefully) study following a large group of dogs, looking at Lyme… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsBy Dr. Michelle Evason, University of Prince Edward Island We’re all worried about ticks. Ticks on dogs, ticks on cats, ticks on horses and ticks on us. The reason for this concern is twofold: no-one wants to get sick (or have a loved one get sick), and ticks are quite simply “gross.” In dogs and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsOur first set of tick maps are available at PetsAndTicks.com. I don’t think there are any great surprises so far, but it’s interesting to see where black legged ticks are being reported. The Ontario map is copied below but the website has maps from submissions from across Canada. To answer a recent question…yes, we accept… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,ParasitesIf you’d asked me a few years ago, I wouldn’t have said that’s a question I’d expect to get (daily). However, we’re in a different world tick-wise now, so it’s a common and understandable question, particularly because of our tick tracking efforts. The answer is no/possibly/maybe later. How’s that for a straight answer? We are… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesAs part of our recently launched PetsAndTick.com information and tick-tracker website, we are offering a pilot tick identification program. We will be offering identification of ticks that are removed from animals (non-human animals, to be specific). The program will complement our tick-tracking efforts and help gather more information about expanding tick ranges and incursions of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsAfter a particularly miserable spring here (to put it mildly), it’s finally warming up, and the snow’s almost gone. That’s the good news. The bad news is that ticks are also going to start coming out and looking for food – that means looking for animals (including us). I assume there will be lots of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsLone-Star-tick-associated meat allergy is an interesting phenomenon in people that is getting a lot of attention, especially as these ticks (like others) are expanding their range. The condition itself is one of those odd-ball quirks of nature that you’d never expect. The basic story goes like this: galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) is a carbohydrate that’s part of cell… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsMinus 20C weather is supposed to have some benefits – at least that’s what we try to tell ourselves. (Maybe we’re just trying to justify why we haven’t migrated south.) I’ve written about leptospirosis a few times recently, given the horrible lepto season we’ve been having. This bacterial disease isn’t new, but there have been… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesMy lab has been spending a lot of time on Lyme disease over the past couple of years. It’s a fascinating (and frustrating) disease to work on, and we need to learn a lot more about it. In this region, we’re seeing clear changes in tick populations and the diseases they carry. With climate change, that’s not… Continue Reading
