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Original poster

Friends Upset Over Tick Situation – Are we really in the wrong?

523 replies

Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 09:41

Hi everyone,
Would really appreciate some honest opinions on something that’s left us a bit stunned.
We just got back from a 2-week holiday and had left our dog with close friends who kindly offered to look after him. They also have two dogs, and they spent loads of time together — running around the house and their big garden, playing, sleeping near each other, out on plenty of walks, the usual.
When we picked up our dog, they told us they’d found 8 ticks in a matter of days — some on our dog and some around the house (sofa, bed, floor) which explained why they had asked if our dog was on tick prevention whilst we were away. We were honest from the beginning: he wasn’t and hasn't been for at least a couple of years. Totally our fault, just hadn’t gotten around to it. We also discovered they have treated him straight away once they discovered he wasn't up to date with it (they spoke with a vet first).
They’re clearly really upset and, honestly, we’re a bit taken aback. We obviously didn’t mean to put anyone at risk and feel bad — but also, we live in the Devon countryside where dogs are running through fields and long grass all the time and if we find ticks, we normally simply remove them from him. Ticks are kind of unavoidable here and the likelihood of Lyme disease is not that bad.
We’re now wondering… did we seriously mess up? Should we have flagged this before leaving him with them? We never thought it would cause this kind of fallout.
Would really appreciate some honest thoughts. Is this as big a deal as they are making it seem?

OP posts:
Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:26

Vroooooom · 04/06/2025 10:21

Then not only are you a shitty friend, you’re a shitty dog owner. Flea and wormer is a pretty basic requirement. How can you care so little about your dog being infested by bothersome parasites?

Show quote history

We love our dog, just didn't think about that but we care for him in every other way

OP posts:
middleagedandinarage · 04/06/2025 10:26

Vroooooom · 04/06/2025 10:21

Then not only are you a shitty friend, you’re a shitty dog owner. Flea and wormer is a pretty basic requirement. How can you care so little about your dog being infested by bothersome parasites?

Show quote history

Sorry but it's actually not, lots of research now showing fleas should only be treated when present, routine preventative treatment is causing resistance.

fiveIsNewOne · 04/06/2025 10:28

Please, tell us that you don't take your dog everywhere with you - to pubs, cafés, people's homes.

Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:28

socks1107 · 04/06/2025 10:26

That’s really poor on your part and they have every right to be upset, I would be. You should’ve been up front or treated the dog. I’d not ever be having your dog over again if you’d done that to me

Just to clarify, they didn't ask about meds before. If they had asked, we would have told them from the beginning so we weren't intentionally not up front, it simply didn't come up

OP posts:
Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:29

fiveIsNewOne · 04/06/2025 10:28

Please, tell us that you don't take your dog everywhere with you - to pubs, cafés, people's homes.

Yes we do and he's never caused any problem

OP posts:
LadyDanburysHat · 04/06/2025 10:29

As others have said it's a standard part of pet ownership to give regular flea, worm and tick treatment. I would also be annoyed if I was them.

Eyesopenwideawake · 04/06/2025 10:30

If you'd tried to take you dog to kennels you would have been turned away without proof of flea and tick protection and up to date worming.

You don't love your dog as much as you think you do.

Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:32

comeondover · 04/06/2025 10:17

the likelihood of Lyme disease is not that bad

Lyme disease is absolutely terrible. How on earth can you know which ticks are carriers and which ticks aren't?

I can't hence we kill them if we find them on him and never had any issues

OP posts:
DontTouchRoach · 04/06/2025 10:32

I don't currently have dogs but when I did, I don't think they picked up as many as eight ticks in their entire lives, let alone in two weeks (and yes, they were walked daily in long grass, farmland etc).

cannynotsay · 04/06/2025 10:32

Woah you’re an irresponsible dog owner and I’d never speak to you again if this was the situation you messed up

MolkosTeenageAngst · 04/06/2025 10:33

I would be upset too. Treatment against parasites is a pretty basic aspect of pet ownership and I would expect any good dog owner to be up to date. I would be unhappy if somebody brought a dog into my house who wasn’t up to date with treatment and brought them into my home. I’d also think you didn’t care much about the dog to be so lax about his health.

Is your dog up to date with his vaccinations?

Cleaningtroubles2 · 04/06/2025 10:33

I would be beyond furious. You are being very unreasonable.

Schweden · 04/06/2025 10:34

Yes, your dog should be on tick/flea/worm prevention.

However, to present a more nuanced view....

A dog can pick up that number of ticks on a single walk. They can also do it even if they have been treated. Nothing is stopping ticks crawling up dog's legs, it is just stopping them attaching and/or remaining attached. It should also be noted that people can pick up ticks while out walking. So, all those ticks around the house could just as easily have been brought in by them, or their dogs. They just fell off their dogs because theirs had been treated. This time of year is peak season, so there are a lot more about than other times.

Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:34

DontTouchRoach · 04/06/2025 10:32

I don't currently have dogs but when I did, I don't think they picked up as many as eight ticks in their entire lives, let alone in two weeks (and yes, they were walked daily in long grass, farmland etc).

Yes so maybe they walked him in some tick infested areas, we don't normally find so many in a few days either

OP posts:
marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/06/2025 10:34

It’s also very concerning that you don’t seem able to see the situation from their perspective. That’s very strange.

DissDissOrDiss · 04/06/2025 10:35

I’m astounded you don’t de-flea, worm or tick your dog. Basic dog ownership.

Bad, OP, bad.

JasmineAllen · 04/06/2025 10:35

DontTouchRoach · 04/06/2025 10:32

I don't currently have dogs but when I did, I don't think they picked up as many as eight ticks in their entire lives, let alone in two weeks (and yes, they were walked daily in long grass, farmland etc).

It depends where you live. Where we are is tick - central SE England. We have them in our town garden and allotment and our cat is walking tick exterminator thanks to her spot on.

I also know someone in the next street who caught Lymes from a tick bite in there garden.

hereismydog · 04/06/2025 10:36

Is this a reverse? I’m struggling to see how anybody could be this irresponsible AND not see where they’ve gone wrong.

Rockhopper1 · 04/06/2025 10:36

I have a slightly different perspective in that environmental scientists have been sounding the alarm that preventive flea and tick treatments are causing havoc both regarding water pollution & in decimating bird populations .Treated animal fur is conveyed into the nest & frequently kills a batch of chicks .
Since learning about this I use regular electric flea combing & careful checking / tic removal as preventative measures rather than chemical .

Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:38

Schweden · 04/06/2025 10:34

Yes, your dog should be on tick/flea/worm prevention.

However, to present a more nuanced view....

A dog can pick up that number of ticks on a single walk. They can also do it even if they have been treated. Nothing is stopping ticks crawling up dog's legs, it is just stopping them attaching and/or remaining attached. It should also be noted that people can pick up ticks while out walking. So, all those ticks around the house could just as easily have been brought in by them, or their dogs. They just fell off their dogs because theirs had been treated. This time of year is peak season, so there are a lot more about than other times.

Yeah that's what we said. They replied they had never found a tick on their dogs before inside the home and that their dogs tend to stay on the path (which is true, they are very well trained) whilst our is a Golden Retriever who loves to go off path and sniff everywhere. Their walks always end with a 10 minutes road walk to go back (which we also know to be true) so they said ticks on their dogs are likely to fall our then before reaching the house. I still think ticks came from all three dogs

OP posts:
Blackdow · 04/06/2025 10:40

It doesn’t sound like you’re taking the responses on board. You seem to think your friends are the problem and that it’s perfectly fine not to treat your dog for fleas, worms or ticks. Are you actually going to continue not bothering to treat?

HelloCheekyCat · 04/06/2025 10:40

Dont all dogs get worms as standard so treating them is essential?!

Original poster
Dogowne91 · 04/06/2025 10:41

hereismydog · 04/06/2025 10:36

Is this a reverse? I’m struggling to see how anybody could be this irresponsible AND not see where they’ve gone wrong.

We see that we have done wrong and we would handle it differently if we could go back in time. We are just trying to understand if the level of drama this has created is justified or maybe a bit too much. But we know we are in the wrong

OP posts:
Cherrytree86 · 04/06/2025 10:41

You sound really slack tbh OP @Dogowne91

people like you are why I think dogs shouldn’t be in allowed cafes, pubs, shops etc

you seem very blasé about the risk of lymes but most people are not

Gundogday · 04/06/2025 10:45

If they didn’t have ticks before, and have never suffered from ticks, then I can see why it wouldn’t be an issue for you.

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