Warning! Blood suckers are feeding earlier on dogs and people

Blood sucking ticks are feeding earlier in the year and for longer, putting the health of Northamptonshire’s dogs and their owners at risk.

Tick bites can transmit serious infections, such as Lyme disease, a serious and debilitating illness that can cause long term health problems in dogs and people.

Now, vets across Northamptonshire are teaming up with the Heath & Reach Vet Surgery by joining naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham and the University of Bristol in the Big Tick Project.

The new nationwide initiative runs from spring through to autumn, tracking the rise of the tick population in the UK and finding out how many carry disease.

Dog owners can take their pets to Spinney Lodge Veterinary Hospital on Kettering Road in Northampton, Wooton Fields Vet Surgery at Tudor Court Northampton, Easipetcare on Mariners Way in Kettering, New Lodge Veterinary Centre on Red Lodge Road in Oundle, Beech House Veterinary Surgery on Watling Street in Towcester or Croft Veterinary Centre on Banbury Road in Brackley for a tick check and advice about innovations in effective tick control.

Any ticks found on dogs will be collected and sent to Bristol University laboratories to help advance the knowledge of tick-borne disease, benefiting both veterinary and human medicine.

Chris Packham feels the challenge of keeping dogs and people tick-free has never been greater,