Our Take on Ticks

Update (Aug 2013): see here

**The following represents MIBO PDC's personal opinion. You are free to agree/disagree and have your own take on it. We feel that the more is shared, more is learned. Do consult your veterinarian before embarking on any changes for your pet.

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We are discovering that Fleas and Ticks are Developing a Resistance to the Popular Pesticide-Based Treatments. These systemic insecticides that variously kill and disrupt the development of fleas, ticks and other insect parasites, have to be ingested by the insects for them to work. This means that they must have at least one meal of your dog's blood before getting the poisons in the medicated pet's blood into their systems. Hence these new treatments do not stop infected ticks from transmitting Lyme disease, Tick paralysis, and others, or from causing allergic hot-spots in animals allergic to the insects' saliva.

There is no need except under the most unsanitary or tropical (like Singapore) conditions, to have to use potentially life-threatening, health-impairing and environmentally harmful chemicals to ward off ticks, like these new and very expensive anti-flea and tick and other parasite-eliminating drugs, that could put your animal’s health at risk and be of greater environmental risk than the benefits that you may derive from the erroneous belief that these new products will mean your pet will never have fleas or ticks.

Only too often, in spite of using these products, animals get severe allergic reactions to flea bites/saliva, such that they are then routinely put on steroids, thus compounding the risks of these products, especially to animals’ immune and neuro-endocrine systems.

Healthy animals are less attractive, for reasons that science has yet to determine, to fleas and other external and internal pests and parasites, whose whole existence is one of opportunistic survival and multiplication.

Fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, biting flies and other insects whom we hate and fear are far more ancient than we and our animal companions. We should try to keep these creatures at bay with the least harm to all. And that entails a holistic approach to animal health, and involves the companion animal's emotional / psychological as well as physical well being, (the two being inseparable in the making for a well functioning immune system).

Don't get us wrong, some pets have done, and continue to do, well on established flea and tick products like Frontline. We understand owners have relied on their effectiveness over time. If your pet is one of them, we have no issues for you to continue its usage. Just be aware that even though your environment might not have any parasites present, others do. So while your dog might appear clear from ticks in your home environment, he might already be building resistance to the product and hence show signs when he goes to the dog-park and brings home a couple of "friends".

We (MIBO) like to call it the Mosquito/Antibiotic Theory. If you constantly use/abuse the use of antibiotics to treat/prevent symptoms of disease, you will build a resistance to it - it has been proven. And no matter how you take actions to prevent the onset of mosquitoes, the pests are always around. It's through no fault of your own, you just try to cope with what you can. We do all we can with the choices that we make. If it helps you sleep better at night knowing what you did to help your pet (whatever it may be), then we have done our very best.

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All that said (it read like a science journal!), here's where we stand:

• If you are currently on a F&T programme, feel free to continue it's usage. Just be aware of the possible long term consequences.
• We would prefer that all dogs to be on some form of F&T programme when they check-in. What you choose to protect your dog with is up to the owner. Do note that we will NOT allow any dogs who show signs of ticks to check in.
• We also provide Flea & Tick prevention upon check-in. Do let us know what you prefer:
  1) Spot-on application - best for stays of 3 days or more ($10 per tube, large breeds require 2 tubes)
  2) Spray-on application - (complimentary upon check-in.) Recommended for short stays or as an additional prevention before going home ($10 per application)
  3) De ticking dip & bath - carried out at least 2 days before going home, so as to let any existing ticks die. Only available over weekdays. (as charged by groomer - check with us)
• We treat the MIBO facility once a month with insecticide spray targeted for fleas and ticks. This only takes place when there are no guest dogs. We do not attempt to treat the facility more than once a month as it is a chemical and we have to weigh the pros and cons for your dogs, our resident dogs and cats (the cat species react differently to the chemicals than dogs do). We are continually concerned about their/our regular exposure to the such toxic chemicals.
• If your dog goes home with signs of ticks, do let us know and we will monitor the situation. Based on your experience, we will not hold it against you if you do not choose our services in the future. We are dogs owners too and we can understand your frustration.
• We hope that you are able to be open to new theories (like the ones mentioned above). Our resident dogs are currently 3, 9 and 20 years old respectively (in year 2009). The cats are 1+ year old. We love and care of them as you would your pets; you may/may not agree to the choices that we make (feel free to ask us), but we live here and feel that the environment should also be something that we can all sleep soundly at night in.

This was posted not to offend anyone or cast anyone in a wrong light. We accept that this is Singapore and that the climate (hot/humid) will always pose a challenge in our fight against ticks. This is how we are carrying out the fight.

Thanks for reading! :)