We might soon be moving to Scotland, if all goes according to plan - not sure exactly where yet.

We are coming from the south, where we don't really have a problem with ticks. Our short-coated dogs are fine without a tick preventative. They occasionally pick one up, but we see it and remove it quickly. Our dogs with longer hair get more of them and do need a tick preventative, but I usually manage to get to about May without using any and then one Bravecto sees us to Sept, so they only need one a year.

Am I right that ticks are so bad in Scotland that you really need all dogs to be using a preventative in the tick season? And that natural preventatives don't work? And when would you define the tick season as, and begin treating the dogs? March? April? Till... October? Sept?

Is there anyone reading this in Scotland who doesn't use a tick preventative and also has a dog that's walked off leash in cover and undergrowth? (Not a toy dog only walked on pavements!) Is there anyone who finds that natural preventatives/deterrents are sufficient?

We went on holiday to Cornwall once, and our dogs were just covered with ticks after every walk, even the short-haired dogs - it was impossible not to treat them. So we had to implement a totally different approach to what we do in the south east. I'm dreading it but thinking that Scotland is going to be like that...

I just hate to use pesticides but I also can't risk ticks and Lyme, so we won't have a choice if it's necessary.

Where about in Scotland are you moving to?
I am in Fife and have had both long and short coated dogs. Around here I think I saw maybe 3 ticks over the years and my dogs walked in parks woods farm land and on the beach.
However when I took my Beardies to the west highlands for the weekend they came back covered.
There used to be a website which told you how bad the problem was I areas but I can't remember what it was called.

Best thing to do is contact the vet in the area you are ,moving to and ask how much of a problem ticks are.

HTH and hope the move goes well

Thanks, that's great. We are hoping to move to the Borders but if we fall in love with some amazing place further north for less money....

Is it about the deer, largely? As in - areas with deer will have tick infestations....?

It will depend where you are and the type of countryside. Less likely on farmland, more likely in wilder areas with bracken or woodlands. 
We were in Scotland for about 5 weeks touring around during May/June when ticks can be prevalent. Didn’t notice too many until we were on the east coast on the the south side of the Moray Firth, they were everywhere.
As we have ticks at home and over in Suffolk where we have a static van I need something that works for most of the year. Heard not so good things about Bravecto so haven’t used that. For the last 6 years I’ve used a Seresto collar, I know some have had dogs react to it, but mine had been fine. I figured that if she did react then I could remove the collar, not much you can do if you have given the dog a pill and they react badly to it.
As I have a long haired breed ticks can vanish from sight under the coat even though she is gold coloured and not often found until they are big enough to feel, by that time they could have passed in a tick bourne  disease.

Hi 1234, I live in the West Highlands with my working gundogs, though we are really retired now. My Labs weren't particularly troubled by ticks but my spaniels were as is my FCR and GWP, by whom I am currently owned. I have tried the spot on tick pesticides but as my dogs swim a lot (even with 1 foot of snow on the ground!) the efficacy of these is short term. I have however found that the Seresto collars are pretty good, long lasting and effective. I also think that they give me some protection as since starting to use them on my dogs I haven't had a tick latch on to me. As working dogs running through mountain and moorland I wouldn't have collars on them but the Seresto collar is safe as it just pulls off so if it does get caught on a
branch it should be easy enough for the dog to pull free. Also I have used last years Seresto collars this year as not being able to get to the vet during lockdown and they have been just as effective as last year so they do last longer than it says on the tin. Also get yourself a tick hook. Ticks should not be pulled out but twisted out, otherwise they will regurgitate their stomach contents into the bloodstream of their victim and so may pass on Lyme disease.

Tick season is year round here, though worse from May to September.

Good luck with your move. You haven't mentioned midges - has no-one told you about them!!!

Thanks folks. As we also have working gundogs (part of the reason for the move!), we will probably be on moorland and countryside a lot - so perhaps will need something.

>Heard not so good things about Bravecto

Yes, I know about the isolaners or whatevertheheck the oral tick meds are called and risk of seizures etc, and I agree you can remove a collar. But it's a difficult one - because the benefit is that only the treated dog is exposed, not the whole human family.

>As I have a long haired breed ticks can vanish from sight under the coat even though she is gold coloured and not often found until they are big enough to feel, by that time they could have passed in a tick bourne  disease.

Yes, that's what happens with my rough haired dogs. I get to about May or June and then I'm finding engorged ticks that have dropped off on the sofa despite trying to check frequently. So reluctantly have to use something.

>I have however found that the Seresto collars are pretty good, long lasting and effective. I also think that they give me some protection as since starting to use them on my dogs I haven't had a tick latch on to me.

Hmm... rather than that reassuring me, it worries me! Cos it suggests that the product in the collar is also transferring to the lipid level of your skin and you are also being exposed to the pesticides. I go round and round in circles on it: The pros of the collars being you can remove them immediately if needed and they have been around longer so arguably for the dog are safer, plus they last the whole season - but they do expose people to the pesticides. Versus the oral tick meds and the fact that only the dogs concerned are exposed to those, but there is a risk of seizures although the vast majority of dogs are totally fine. Those which are not, are hugely affected though. So how to weigh up a tiny risk but of a devastating event... arg. And then wondering if human health and life shouldn't just come first whatever (despite risk to dogs), and using the oral meds avoids exposing any people to the products. I don't know, it's all a minefield.

>Good luck with your move. You haven't mentioned midges - has no-one told you about them!!!

We plan on avoiding the west coast during midge time!

Just having a quiet laugh, no-one’s told my toy dog that he’s supposed to be only walking on pavements.

It's really the west of the country and the Highlands, or from Perth upwards on the east that are bad for deer ticks. I've tried all sorts of natural remedies, garlic, diatomaceous earth etc and collars and spot ons but nothing has been reliable apart from Bravecto. That said one pill last a whole year I've found, not the 3 months it's marketed at. I give them one pill when I first see a tick, this year it was January, mostly it's March or April, and ticks are still tiny and dead in October.

Apart from the rain, ticks and the infamous midges you'll love it up here, the scenery and the right to roam act make up for all that

Yes, right to roam is a major reason for the move! Can't wait! Luckily we're renting at the moment so we will be cash buyers and hopefully will be able to live rent and mortgage-free too :)

Hmm -Right to Roam okay but landowners can insist on dogs being onlead at all times -my experience anyway. Re. ticks -yes . We've had a real problem with them here in Berwickshire. Never had such an issue down in south east England. When we lived in France it was as bad as up here.

Would write more but need to sleep after the stress of USA election.

The world seems a better place place tonight

> landowners can insist on dogs being onlead at all time

No they can't, they can certainly ask or pretend to demand, but you can just ignore them, there is no such law. Of course the right to roam brings responsibilities, your dog should never worry livestock, you shouldn't walk through crop fields that are higher than a few inches, leave gates as you find them etc etc and your dog should always be in control, but it doesn't have to be on lead.

Aha ! Thank you for that Chaumsong. Very interesting. I think I am too easily intimidated. None of my dogs have ever shown the slightest interest in livestock -we lived next to a sheep field in south east England. And they are never permitted to run trough crops.

Dogs aren't included in the right of way and landowners can lawfully shoot any dogs on their land as can farmers.

>Dogs aren't included in the right of way and landowners can lawfully shoot any dogs on their land as can farmers.

Actually that's completely wrong. As is the idea that they can ask you to keep your dog on lead everywhere.

https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/15182070.farmland-the-right-to-roam-occupier-liability-and-dogs/

"It is a common perception that a farmer can shoot a dog that is on his land but this is not strictly true and the attempt to do such may find the farmer with more problems than worried sheep...A farmer may shoot a dog as an act of a last resort, but this must be reported to the police within 48 hours and they must be able to prove this was the only way in which their livestock could be protected. However, this is not without many legal implications. If the dog has already moved away from the livestock then the farmer has no defence. Dogs are considered property by law and anyone shooting one may be sued for criminal damage. Additionally if the farmer does not kill the dog outright then they may find issues arising out of animal welfare legislation and firearms offences dependant on the conditions with which the firearms licence was granted (highly unlikely to be included). Firearms offences almost always attract severe penalties, often prison sentences."

Dog owners must: "Keep dogs under control by not taking it into a field where there is livestock, cleaning up after them, keeping it on a short lead in certain areas;" and "Dogs must be kept on a short lead (two metres in length) OR under close control (close to the heel and obedient to commands) when walking through farmland." But there are lots of areas which are wild or national parks or moorland, which are obviously not 'farmland' and TBH if you're walking through a field just put to grass or cover crops, without any livestock or sale-able crops in it, it would be unusual for a farmer to object to that even if your dog were off lead.

Yes but would you really want to take the chance, after all according to the highway code if you hit a dog on the road your supposed to report it.
I wonder if anyone has.

Well I wouldn't walk my dog off-lead where there are livestock in the same field, no. But other fields, with no livestock or crops? Sure.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to shoot my dog, in that case though.

> Dogs aren't included in the right of way

I think you must be thinking about England? In Scotland we have the right to roam pretty much anywhere, with our dogs, we can carry out sporting events on almost any open space, I have a racing club (drag lure) and we regularly use a farmers field or playing field up the road from me, you don't have to ask anyone permission. You do have to be responsible though, so obviously we don't race in fields with livestock, you don't ever take dogs into a field with baby animals, foals, lambs, calves but that's more about protective adults. You can walk through any crop field too but you stick to the edge unless there is a clear path straight through. Basically as long as you leave the countryside as you found it. don't damage anything or worry any livestock then for the most part nobody cares, you can pitch a tent, play football, walk your dogs, fly your kites in almost all fields, moorland, woods, beaches, parkland etc. There are exclusions, gardens or curtilage near houses and buildings, you can't exercise your right to roam to peer in someones windows.

I have wondered the same thing about the Seresto collar - if it affects the humans in the house as well as the dog wearing it.  Is there any evidence that this is something that happens?

I have found a tick attached to me whilst the dog was wearing the Seresto collar. I think it crawled off her onto me whilst we were having a cuddle in the sofa

>I have wondered the same thing about the Seresto collar - if it affects the humans in the house as well as the dog wearing it.  Is there any evidence that this is something that happens?

Well, the collar works by covering the whole top layer of the dog's skin and if human skin is in contact with dog skin (especially for any length of time, like lying on the sofa) then I think this is likely to happen to some degree. The instructions on Noah Compendium do say "Pets wearing the collar should not be allowed to sleep in the same bed as their owners, especially children."  https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-472679

But seeing people can quite easily lie around on the sofa with their dogs for 4 hours of an evening to watch TV, what's the difference between that and sleeping in the same bed...?

On another note, the Seresto contains 2 pesticides - imidacloprid (for fleas) and flumethrin (for ticks). Whereas the Scalibor collar contains only one - deltamethrin (for ticks). Since most of us are concerned about ticks, we could at least switch to the similar Scalibor collar and remove one of those 2 pesticides. I don't like the white powdery stuff which comes off the Scalibor when you open it though - the Seresto doesn't have that, I don't think? (I've not used the Seresto, but have used the Scalibor.) The Scalibor is also non-prescription and lasts for 6 months.

Seresto is also off prescription now

Ticks in Scotland: Ticks are all over the UK possibly not in huge numbers or clusters, but they are present. Tick/Flea collars are something I use all year round in Wales.  My two Breeds are of working type, continually in shrub & woodland and for me it's a necessity.

No matter, my dogs collect ticks and it is something I have to be vigilant about.  Tick hooks are part of my doggie medicine cabinet but if discovered out on the field, a swan vestas or any other match struck, blown out and immediately placed on the tick will release it's jaws from the skin and be easily brushed off.
 
Re tresspassing in Scotland, there is no such law. However, trampling crops (dog or human), entering a field with stock (dog or human), leaving dog excerement behind or leaving gates open (even those in line with a cattle grid) can have a fine imposed.

A previous poster stated that no one would want to shoot their dog and a farmer would be in more trouble if they did than worrying about their livestock coming to  sticky end...

I have to correct this opinion...if just one dog enters a field of expectant cattle then the farmer has the right to shoot the dog (irrespective of what a lovely dog it is).  It can cause the livestock to abort their offspring and create a situation where foxes, badgers etc smell blood and congregate to create even more carnage. 

Im not proud of the fact but I had to shoot a German Shepherd who over two days worried my stock to the point of chasing them into barbed wire fences despite warning the owner/excerciser that their dog was a hazard to my livelihood.

The stark warning is - any dog can be a threat to farmland.

> entering a field with stock (dog or human), leaving dog excerement behind or leaving gates open (even those in line with a cattle grid) can have a fine imposed.

Again, that's NOT the case, you CAN walk through fields of livestock in Scotland, with your dogs, you will NOT be fined. The access rights extend to animal fields.

You must behave responsibly, so don't take your dog into fields of young animals, lambs, calves etc, and keep it under control at all times when in fields of only adult animals.

This is the relevant paragraph

"The Access Code says:
Access rights apply to people walking dogs as long as their dogs are kept under proper control. Your main responsibilities are:

Farm animals:
Never let your dog worry or attack farm animals
Don't take your dog into fields where there are lambs, calves or other young farm animals
If you go into a field of farm animals, keep your dog(s) on a short lead or close at heel and keep as far as possible from the animals
If cattle react aggressively and move towards you, keep calm, let the dog go and take the shortest, safest route out of the field"

chaumsong:> Don't take your dog into fields where there are lambs, calves or other young farm animals<br />If you go into a field of farm animals, keep your dog(s) on a short lead or close at heel and keep as far as possible from the animals

Joe Public come into the countryside under the belief that their dogs can be lead free until all of a sudden, their dog is in a field of stock...they then react...too damn late!
Why would outsiders go into a field with animals grazing on them anyway.  Can't they see that the field is occupied - get a grip! As farmers we have acres of ground that we don't mind people enjoying but there is a limit!

Chamsong:> that's NOT the case, you CAN walk through fields of livestock in Scotland, with your dogs, you will NOT be fined

Just picked up on the initial sentence on your last post as above.
I didn't say you CANNOT walk through fields of livestock in Scotland nor that you WILL be fined for doing so.

If you do and you break any of the rules you quite rightly listed, you will be fined and your dog possibly shot - there it is  FACT.  If you don't
want to follow the 'countryside code', don't visit us,,,plain & simple.

"Tick hooks are part of my doggie medicine cabinet but if discovered out on the field, a swan vestas or any other match struck, blown out and immediately placed on the tick will release it's jaws from the skin and be easily brushed off."

This is so not true. Ticks need to be twisted off to release their jaws otherwise, as I have said before, if pulled or killed before removal they will regurgitate their stomach contents into their victim and so possibly pass on Lyme disease. Other said removal methods are to cover them in vaseline, dab them with vodka or otherwise kill them before removal result in the same outcome. As an old campaigner I can twist of a tick from my dogs without a tick hook, though I prefer to do it with one, and I may be unique in this but I  carry a tick hook in my field and make up bag as you never know when one of these wee beggars will make their presence felt. I would not ever take a match to my dogs, especially not out in the field.

Absolutely agree gundog girl . Those old methods are risky
.I  too can remove them then completely with a twist and lift so u get the complete tick.
  At also wipe the are within antiseptic or alcohol. 
So far we havnt had any infections or lymes thank goodness. 
I have also been tested for lymes after gaining some strange possible symptoms. Fortunately  all negative
For anyone who hasn't got a.tic.hook  amazon do them.very cheaply under the name of.tom o tic

Gundog Girl:> match struck, blown out and immediately placed on the tick will release it's jaws

> This is so not true.

It is a very old fashioned way of removing a tick,  I watched both my grandfather twist them out & father do the matchhead burn over years.  I don't remember either of them ever owning a tick hook.
You don't take the match to the dog, you place it on the head end of the tick which creates a 'release action' and you immediately knock it off.  Thank goodness due to tick collars it doesn't happen very often but I would rather do something than nothing and touch wood. I have never had a case of lyme disease within my group nor ever wish to have, Awful disease.

Glad to hear it FF. O'Tom is the best tick remover. So simple and so effective.

Your father and Grandfather won't have owned a tick hook as they may not have been available to them. You seem to change your story when it suits. I wonder what is next...

Whoa.  I've made no changes to any story.  I previously stated on my post that I have tick hooks in my doggie cupboard but when out in the field all day every day of shooting season I have used the match head remedy, Goodness me!

https://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/about-ticks/tick-removal/
This might clarify if u scroll.down to.dos and donts
Old fashioned methods such as heating with  a match, painting with various things or spraying with hairspray as I have heard are not advised anymore
Knowledge has moved on . Those methods are more risky and more.likely to cause infections or lymes

I used to rescue wild hedgehogs and I’ve literally dealt with hundreds of ticks made fairly inaccessible by prickles. Those little tick hooks are absolutely genius and I wouldn’t be without mine - just a perfectly designed inexpensive little object that does exactly what it’s supposed to do quickly, easily and efficiently.

Most that came in had at least a couple of ticks, but you could almost guarantee that if a hedgehog had a lot of them it was pretty sick. I’m not sure why that would be the case, maybe they are an easy target in some way?

If you to use the"match"method on the head end, that would be very near the skin of the dog, not something I would do.  Very rarely had any ticks on my dogs, they do get fed raw with added herbs etc wonder if that has anything to do with it?

There’s a natural remedy called Cedercide which I believe has herbs amongst other things that is quite effective, so your herb usage could well keep the ticks away

Jodi:  Yes these natural remedies can be effective and most contain rosemary,thyme,oregano & lemongrass.  Haven't used them for my dogs but certainly worth a try from what I have heard from others.

> If you to use the"match"method on the head end, that would be very near the skin of the dog

Indeed it would. Not for the faint hearted. I suppose it's like a pair of tweasers pulling out a thorn from a paw. Not pleasant but quick. A bit of 'cut & heal' spread on the small puncture wound left behind will help prevent infection in both cases

Silverleaf79: > Those little tick hooks are absolutely genius

Yip there are brilliant things and hats off to the inventor.  Hope your wee hedgehogs with just a few ticks survived and hopefully some treatment helped with those who had many & were poorly.

> Very rarely had any ticks on my dogs, they do get fed raw with added herbs etc wonder if that has anything to do with it?

More likely it's the coat type Ann. I walk a lot with a friend with a whippet, our dogs are fed the same food and run through the same undergrowth but the whippet never gets any ticks, I think her coat is too close for them to get through, the silkens always pick them up, their long silky hair must be easier for the ticks to climb. When my last collie was still alive she collected about twice as many as the silkens did, going all the same places, I had her daughter too and she never got as many ticks as her Mum, her coat was very slightly harsher.

Not really as I have a rough coated BC, one of the others has a very close coat & the other has a medium coat.

In the past I have had hairy dogs with openish coats & some with very dense coats.

My dogs have always had garlic oil added to their food & herbs, it saves them from browsing my growing herbs.

I wonder whether it's the garlic.  My boy has a garlic and fenugreek tablet daily.  Only had 4 ticks this year and I do check daily.   He regularly walks through fields where sheep have been.  Seems to keep the fleas away too, only seen 4 of them this year.  No chemicals at all.

Are you in Scotland 91052?

> I wonder whether it's the garlic.

I honestly don't think it is, I tried mine on garlic for over a year, the dorwest herbs g&f, and we've tried every other herbal or natural product that people say have worked for them, we still got ticks, yet I know lots of people who walk the same areas and don't get any on their dogs. A friend never uses any chemicals on her ridgebacks, she says a dusting of diatomaceous earth keep them tick free, tried it, got ticks.

No 1234, far too cold and too many ticks and midges.

They are attracted to carbon monoxide given off by host animals.   Perhaps you have a heavy breather.

>I honestly don't think it is, I tried mine on garlic for over a year, the dorwest herbs g&f, and we've tried every other herbal or natural product that people say have worked for them, we still got ticks, yet I know lots of people who walk the same areas and don't get any on their dogs. A friend never uses any chemicals on her ridgebacks, she says a dusting of diatomaceous earth keep them tick free, tried it, got ticks.

This sounds like my experience too. I had one wire haired dog and other short haired dogs. From about March I would start them all on Billy No Mates and when I started hearing about ticks, I would spray the wire-haired dog with natural tick deterrent - like cedarcide but a different brand.

It didn't really make any difference. The wire-haired dog still got ticks and the other two didn't. When I stopped the natural products, the results were the same. So I don't really think natural products work. People assume they do, but the reason one dog gets ticks and another doesn't is probably due to coat length, locations walked, height of the dog, cover and whether the dog likes to run through it and all that stuff, rather than the natural products.

This thread has been edited but still open for now

Im assuming my comment about there being other farmers on here was removed because it would have made no sense with the other posts that had been removed? Didn’t think there was anything wrong with it personally.

Your assumption was correct .