In order to control fleas and ticks on your Cairn Terrier, you have to carefully examine your pet’s skin during routine grooming sessions. It should be healthy and clean, with no indication of irritation, flaking, or sores.

If your Cairn Terrier is scratching more than usual—especially on the rump above the tail—he might have flea allergy dermatitis, a reaction to the saliva of biting fleas.

However, you probably won’t find parasites on your dog. Because fleas are remarkable jumpers, they spend most of their time off the dog, nestled in bedding material, carpets, and grass.

Their calling card is the black specks of fecal matter they leave behind in the fur. Fleas not only produce acute itching, but also can transmit tapeworms and a variety of diseases. Although most infestations occur in warm, humid climates, fleas also exist in the arid regions of the southwestern United States. Further, fleas can live in a warm house year-round.

Preventing and eliminating fleas may seem like a never-ending challenge to many pet owners. To win the battle, you must treat both your dog and his surroundings. Effective insecticides include shampoos, dips, powders, foams, and collars.

Spot-on products, which contain insect-growth regulators, are applied to the skin between the shoulder blades. These kill adult fleas, as well as their eggs and larvae; ticks; and mosquitoes, depending on the formulation.

In addition, a prescription medicine in the form of a once-a-month tablet given orally works when a female flea bites a treated dog and then passes the active ingredient into her eggs. By curbing a critical step in the reproductive process, flea eggs cannot develop, and the life cycle is broken.

Other parasites that feed on dogs include the American dog tick, brown dog tick, and black-legged or deer tick. Ticks can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and Ehrlichiosis, serious diseases that afflict both humans and dogs.

Their bites also may cause skin irritation, sores, and occasionally tick paralysis. Dogs that spend much of their time outdoors pick up ticks in woods, tall grass, and shrubbery. However, birds, rodents, deer, and other small animals can bring them right into your backyard.

Be sure to inspect your Cairn Terrier’s coat and skin after a walk in woods or fields. If you find a tick, grasp it with tweezers as close to the skin as possible, and pull straight up with steady pressure. Then clean the area with rubbing alcohol.

Spot-on products and collars aid in repelling ticks. Ask the veterinarian whether your Cairn needs a Lyme disease vaccination.