Jazz took all the commotion and plethora of canines in stride and enjoyed napping in the shade of our booth. Nestle spent the day hiking with his Daddy up near Norris..... land of many, many ticks!
Which brings me to my summer-time topic: Ticks!
Even if you use the monthly tick/flea preventative with success, ticks still latch on. Yep. They'll ingest the Frontline (or whatever you're using), drop off and die, but they STILL come home attached to your dog! Not an issue if Fido sleeps on the floor and doesn't meet with the public in facility settings.
If your dog comes home posing at the Liberty Cruise Line for the tick species, take some time to remove the critters before Fido settles in on your bed, the couch, or goes on a therapy visit! Some good tweesers and a cup of soapy water is all you need. Your dog should be relatively relaxed and view this session as calming and bonding. Put extracted ticks in the soapy water cup. Follow up with a thorough bath (for the dog), which will ease the discomfort of all the tick-bite sites.
Remember, when making therapy visits, your dog must be clean. Thoroughly. You may enounter folks with allergies to dander/hair, etc., and NO ONE wants to find a tick while enjoying your dogs companionship.
Typically you want your dog freshly bathed within 2-3 days of the upcoming facility visit. This includes grooming and removing dead/loose hair. Swimming in the lake does not count as a bath! Lake water is usually soft and will leave your dogs coat feeling lovely, but it does nothing to remove excess body oils, dirt, etc. Bath time for doggie, is an offical "bath" with dog-appropriate soap.
As your dogs advocate, make sure your four-legged therapy worker is clean, pest free and ready to make the best impression ever with staff, patients and visitors.
Happy Summer!
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