Ticks, fleas and leishmaniasis: protecting your dog from parasites

In the Moroccan climate, external parasites hardly take a holiday. Fleas, ticks and sandflies don’t just itch: they carry serious, sometimes fatal diseases, some of which also affect people. Prevention is simple, not very demanding, and far cheaper than treatment. Here is what you need to know to protect your dog all year round.

Fleas

The flea is the commonest parasite. The adult fleas you see on your dog are only a small part of the problem: most of the population, eggs, larvae and cocoons, lives in the house, in carpets, floor cracks, the sofa and the bedding. A female lays several dozen eggs a day.

What they cause

• itching, especially on the lower back and at the base of the tail;
• an allergy to the bites in some dogs, with hair loss, scabs and scratch wounds;
• transmission of a tapeworm, which the dog picks up by swallowing a flea while grooming;
• anaemia in a heavily infested puppy.

How to spot them

Part the hair on the back and belly. Look for the fleas, but also their droppings: small black grains that, placed on damp cotton wool, leave a red-brown stain.

How to get rid of them

Treat all the animals in the household at the same time, each with a suitable product, then treat the house: vacuum floors, skirting boards and sofas thoroughly, wash bedding at sixty degrees and, in a heavy infestation, use a household product. It often takes two to three months of regular treatment to clear an established infestation.

Ticks

Ticks wait on tall grass, in scrub, on waste ground and in gardens, and latch on as you pass. The brown dog tick, very common in Morocco, can live and breed inside houses and kennels. They are active much of the year, with a peak in spring and autumn.

The diseases they carry

• Ehrlichiosis: fever, lethargy, nosebleeds, then chronic bone-marrow damage if untreated.
• Babesiosis, or piroplasmosis: destruction of red blood cells, high fever, dark coffee-coloured urine, great tiredness. It is an emergency.
• Hepatozoonosis and anaplasmosis, rarer.

Any dog that is lethargic, feverish or refusing food in the days or weeks after a tick infestation should see a vet quickly.

Removing a tick properly

Check your dog after every walk in the countryside, paying attention to the ears, neck, armpits, groin and between the toes.

1. Use a tick hook, sold by vets and pet shops.
2. Slide the hook under the tick, right at the skin.
3. Turn gently, without pulling, until it comes away.
4. Disinfect the skin and wash your hands.

Don’t apply alcohol, oil, ether or a cigarette: a stressed tick regurgitates its saliva and increases the risk of transmission. Don’t crush it between your fingers.

Sandflies and leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is the most worrying parasitic disease of dogs around the Mediterranean, and Morocco is affected, in particular in the north of the country and in several rural and peri-urban areas.

It is transmitted by the sandfly, a tiny silent midge, active from dusk to dawn during the warm months, generally spring to autumn. It has nothing to do with the mosquito of stagnant water: it lives in stone walls, cellars, woodpiles and animal sheds.

The signs of the disease

Incubation lasts from a few months to several years. Symptoms set in gradually:

• weight loss and muscle wasting, despite a good appetite;
• hair loss around the eyes, heavy dandruff, wounds that don’t heal;
• claws that grow abnormally fast;
• nosebleeds;
• swollen lymph nodes;
• tiredness, limping, then kidney failure.

Leishmaniasis can be treated but not cured: treatment, long and costly, controls the disease without eliminating the parasite, and relapses are common. Prevention is therefore essential. The disease reaches people through the sandfly, not by direct contact with the dog.

How to protect your dog

• Use a repellent parasite treatment against sandflies: a deltamethrin collar or a permethrin spot-on. Not all parasite products are repellent; ask your vet for advice.
• Bring the dog indoors from sunset to sunrise in the warm season.
• Fit fine-mesh screens and avoid having it sleep outside, in a garage or a cellar.
• Ask your vet whether a vaccine is available and useful in your region.
• Have your dog tested once a year if you live in a risk area: treated early, the disease is much better controlled.

Choosing a parasite treatment

Several forms exist, each with its advantages:

• spot-ons, applied to the skin between the shoulder blades, generally once a month;
• collars, effective for several months, practical but they must fit correctly;
• tablets, very effective against fleas and ticks, unaffected by baths, but with no repellent effect: the parasite has to bite to die;
• sprays, useful occasionally and in the very young puppy, depending on the product.

In our part of the world, protection should be continuous, all year, not kept for summer. Your vet will help you combine products according to your region, your dog’s lifestyle and the presence of children or cats.

Essential precautions

• Respect weight and species. A product dosed for a forty-kilo dog can kill a five-kilo dog.
• Beware of cats: permethrin, very common in dog products, is deadly to cats. Never treat a cat with a dog product, and keep them apart while the spot-on dries.
• Check the minimum age on the leaflet before treating a puppy.
• Distrust products with no packaging or leaflet, sold loose: counterfeits and diverted farm products cause poisonings every year.
• Don’t use home remedies like paraffin, bleach or household insecticides.

Key takeaways

Protect your dog all year with a suitable parasite treatment, check it after every countryside outing, remove ticks with a hook and, in risk areas, add repellent protection against sandflies. A dog that is tired, feverish or losing weight after a season of parasites should be seen without delay by a vet. For the rest of prevention, see our guide to vaccines and deworming.