A good morning spent christening tyres in the supermarket carpark. Wilf quickly sloughs off his lethargy when a world of fence posts, lamp standards and trolley bays is unveiled. However, it's fast dawning on us that a twenty minute drive to the local industrial park in order to avoid ticks is the height of lunacy. Short of confining him to the house we'll have to find a working balance. Frontline every three weeks (rather than four) and a new tick collar every month seem to be the solution. Finger tip checks are a given but they don't work if the tick bites, transmits the infection and then moves off again.The posters for the concert have been printed. This morning 'the font' dropped 80 of them off at the town hall. Considering the church will hold a maximum of 200, and the village population is 65 ( including us) the ratio of posters to potential audience seems to border on overkill. In order to prevent the floral village and the beautiful byeways committees from laying claim to the proceeds we have added a line at the bottom ' toutes les recettes seront reversees pour la restauration de l'horloge de l'eglise'.
I'm off to a wet and miserable Amsterdam to give a speech so Wilf is set to discover the joys of the Toulouse airport carpark with 'the font'. More tyre christening therapy is on the cards.
Frontline only works on ticks if administered every 2 weeks. The company doesnt advertise that fact, neither do vets but that is reality, every 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have described 'peeing on each and every tyre in the vincinity' as 'tyre christening'.. definitely sounds more glamourous!!
ReplyDeleteGive Wilf lots of water. We don't want him dehydrating with all the christenings!
ReplyDeleteXXXOOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella
Yeah.we agree. infact,of late the tick population is on the rise here in India, due to the humid summer conditions. we are using it every week.
ReplyDeleteyou can use the anti-tick powder too,if u are not using it already.
Best of luck for ur trip to Amsterdam.
Mercifully we seem to have passed the peak tick season here, but we are also restricted to tarmac because of nasty spikey seed pods... I never realised how easy the six months of snow we had in Canada really was! :-)
ReplyDeleteHope you bring back some magnificent tulips
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip and stay dry.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think it's wonderful that you added that the proceeds will go to the restoration of the church clock!! (I hope I translated that right, it's early here!)
ReplyDeleteSecond, I know how hard it is to find the balance in using Frontline and other preventatives. I have to admit that even though we live in the country I never put Frontline on my senior dogs and use it very sparingly on the others because it is a pesticide--But having gone through what you have, I totally understand and respect your choices to change your regiment and I wonder if I would now make make different choices if I were in your shoes...
Have a safe trip!!
I would be nervous applying Frontline every two weeks since it is a poison and your pet could die of an overdose. I think once a month would be the safest, perhaps only occasionally every three weeks. I have a little dog (Teddy), so am very careful with the timing of these applications.
ReplyDeleteOh, trip to the airport - lots of tires in that place -
ReplyDeletethis would be a GOOD adventure.
Have wonderful trip and just think how wonderful is will be to be home.
XXoooXXoo
My vet recommends Advantix, as it is more powerful and kills more kinds of ticks. It is poisonous to cats, so we're waiting until we get to Hilton Head next week before using it. Happy to buy some to send your way if you can't Find it in France. Bayer (the manufacturer) says that Advantix Repels and kills 98.5% of all ticks, including brown dog ticks, before they can attach. The ticks die within three hours of contact. Advantix is 100% effective in preventing Lyme disease as well, even in studies conducted by Frontline. Let me know if you'd like me to send you some K-9 Advantix.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a safe trip! It sounds like Wilf is managing well enough and bouncing back a bit. I still laugh at his windblown hairdo!
ReplyDeleteSending many hugs and a little kiss to Wilf. Getting through monumental loss is not an easy road - no matter how many tires you may water during the day☺
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if a little brother may help pull him out of his gloomy mood...just a thought.
Lots of love to Wilf! I have also heard that advantix is better. Yes it is a pesticide but we just experienced the alternative with precious Digby so I would absolutly do what you are doing. Pee on everything goofy boy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWoooos! I hope woo have a safe trip, and give Wilf extra buckets of water to keep up the tire christening.... Mum gets worried because I am allergic to frontline and others, luckily the ticks can't find my skin due to the fur....
ReplyDeleteBe safe, but be happy!
~husky kisses~
-Kira The BeaWootiful
Have a safe and fun trip!
ReplyDeleteTicks are nasty...we live in an area with a lot of Lyme disease, but it certainly doesn't sound as bad as where you live.
ReplyDeleteHope Wilf has fun christening tires at the airport!
He's khristening fur two!
ReplyDeleteSafe trips fur all!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
you can only do the best you can do for Wilf. it sounds like you are taking all precuations. isn't there a medicine that repels the ticks so that they won't get on the dog in the first place?
ReplyDeletewe had a collar strangulation accident 6 years ago with a 3 month old puppy. you would not believe how paranoid i am about anything that i put on my dogs' necks. i think that when something bad happens you become very sensitive about it.
take care.
Hi everybody. Thanks so much for your comments and advice. Unfortunately there is something in Advantix that Wilf is allergic to. He starts to develop uncontrollable spasms. By contrast Frontline doesn't have this effect on him. Take the point about it being a pesticide but the alternative is not using anything at all - as we live in deep, deep country with herds of deer wandering through the fields some form of treatment is a must. Seems to me that once every 3 weeks is probably the best balance.
ReplyDeleteThe official tire(tyre) waterer of France! Hugs around to you all and we continue to hold you in our hearts.
ReplyDeletePats and scritches to Wilf, Hugs to you and the "font" Angus. Hope the trip to Amsterdam goes smoothly.
Hugs
Sunny,Scooter&Jamie
Well, Mr. Angus, you are not alone. My mom is prolly one of the Most Paranoid peoples in the whole wide world so we know where you're coming from! You just do what you think is best and that's all you can do.
ReplyDeleteI think Wilf is very much handsome and he looks very rakish in that last picture with his furs all over the place. Give him some nose kisses from me!
Oh, and have a very much safe trip!
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
Hi Angus!
ReplyDeleteI found this all-natural solution for you as well:
http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/bug_off_garlic_d/dogs
After living in Italy and France, I imagine Wilf has a refined taste for garlic!
Good luck!
Hmmm. I can only suggest staying out from under trees...the little buggers seem to delight in parachuting down upon unsuspecting heads, and out of untrimmed grasses for a bit. I have to be walked in the middle of the road right now, even the sidewalks are treacherous as sandspurs are blowing in the winds. SHE plucked 4 out from under my leggie pits yesterday after a walky in the middle of the road. Not fatal, but hurts like the dickens. After every walky I get fine tooth combed and I hates it!
ReplyDeleteHer friend the long haired hippy chick recommends a couple of drops of rose geranium oil on dog collars. We have no idea what that is or what it does, but thought we'd pass it on. Check with yer vettie frist. I think her friend smokes too much happy weed sometimes.
sniffies,
Bonnie
how thoughtful of him to shower all the dirty tires for the peoples'
ReplyDeletegive him extra slobbery sugars from ush please
pibble wiggles
the pittie pack
coming from a relatively tick free country we can only imagine your angst, have a good trio mr angus and give wilf a cuddle from us lovea and licks
ReplyDeleteI am sending my warmest regards and hope Wilf becomes stronger each day....besides I enjoy licking and hopping about and I know Wilf needs a good lick and a hop.
ReplyDeleteheard about loosing Digby and sending purrz and hugz fur ur fambly...
ReplyDeletehope Wilf gets France all sorted out though. Sounds like Wilf is marking all of France!
I miss France... had a lovely time there in 2006.
Hope you get a lot of proceeds for the church!
purrz,
Katie Kat
I can understand your worry about ticks. The only other solution I saw once (on TV) was someone whoc shaved their dogs each summer for the heat and also to make ticks more easily visable. This is rather a drastic measure, and of course, as you say above, there is still the chance of the tick biting and moving off so chemicals are still needed.
ReplyDeleteSending Woofs to Wilf.
oh, wilf. i love your morning hair dos. :)
ReplyDeletei don't know you surroundings, but i'm assuming you have a road by your house? even if it's just a dirt road, walking wilf on the road would probably work. ticks aren't near as likely to be there.
the booker man and asa's mama