# Are some dogs more attractive to ticks?



## mcdavis (May 1, 2012)

I was just wondering if ticks were attracted to some dogs more than others? a bit like how some humans are much more attractive to mosquitoes than others.
The reason I ask is that my previous dog hardly ever had a tick, despite being walked through long grass and never being treated with repellent sprays, yet my current dog only has to look at grass and he's got a tick. I've started using repellent sprays and lavender wipes but still he seems like a tick magnet.
They're the same breed of dog, but fed different food, and groomed by a different groomer / use different shampoos. Could it be the food? or the shampoo? or just the individual?


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## Fergusmom (Apr 12, 2015)

Seems like it. I walk my two together and one seems to end up with one tick on his fur, per week. I've never seen a single tick on the other dog. They are both on Frontline Plus, and have the same diets. The only difference is that the tick-prone one is on anti-anxiety medication.

They do have different types of coats however, and I wonder ticks have a preference. The rough-coated terrier is tick-free. The other dog has a silkier and slightly longer coat.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Yes, definitely! Just like the mosquito example you mentioned, and how in a household of dogs some get fleas and some don't.... No one really knows why this happens.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Canyx said:


> Yes, definitely! Just like the mosquito example you mentioned, and how in a household of dogs some get fleas and some don't.... No one really knows why this happens.


Mosquitos are responding to proteins in the blood, it turns out.

I think with dogs, it's type of fur, blood proteins, or both. Muggsy was a double-coated dog and he never, ever got fleas in 12 years. I never used flea control with him. Kabota has a silky, longish, single coat and I swear fleas on another continent are drooling over him right now.


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