Each year as the warm spring weather approaches, Pug owners should be increasingly apprehensive about those blood-sucking, disease-carrying ticks, otherwise known as "Rhipicephalus Sanquineus". This dangerous creature can infect man with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, cause paralysis, and can even kill Pugs and Pug puppies.



Ticks are parasites. They were blamed for carrying the buggies that caused the death of so many dogs used by the military back in the 60s and 70s. After close study, it was shown that ordinary ticks were the culprit.

Although it's really true that a bug is a bug, it's also true that there is some variety in the specific kinds of ticks such as the brown tick, the wood tick, the black tick and several more. One of the things in common is the fact that all ticks are very resistant to typical insect poisons, and this makes them very hard to control.

The female tick will lay up to five thousands eggs in the crevices of a kennel, baseboard, or under the carpeting in the home. Eggs are never deposited upon the host animal. After twenty to thirty days have elapsed, the eggs hatch and become larvae. The larvae then seek out a host Pug, gorge themselves on his blood, then drop off again to hide.

A few weeks later, the tick larvae transform themselves into nymphs, which are sort of like teenagers. These nymphs looks for another host to grab some more blood, then fall off to rest again. Then, after another few weeks, the nymph transforms into an adult tick. Of course, now the adult tick is ready to seek out another host like a Pug, where it will fill up on blood and mate.

From the time the eggs hatch - and before the tick becomes an adult - it returns to the host Pug more than once to feed on the canine's blood. Once hatched however, a tick can live in a house for up to two years without needing a host Pug to feed on.

A tick outside will look for a hunting ground, which means getting up into some low-hanging branches or into a pile of leaves. This becomes the launching pad for the tick when an unsuspecting Pug dog comes along for a potty break or just running by in play. The tick will literally launch itself and jump up to several feet to land onto its victim.

A tick inside a home will hang out in dark, hidden places awaiting a chance to latch-on to a host. Here's a shocking fact, but a tick inside the house can hang out for up to three months lying in wait for a Pug or person to walk by. And when the trap is sprung, and your dog or you walk by, the tick can instantly "wake up" and spring onto the victim in a blink of the eye.