Fleas, Ticks and mating dogs

We've had a rather unusual Saturday today, firstly we spent an hour finding out about the life cycles of ticks and fleas, then this afternoon we filmed two dogs mating!

Vet Tanya Leslie from Merial gave us some surprisingly interesting information about fleas and ticks and Flea Allergic Dermatitis (FAD). The life cycles of these little blood suckers are quite extraordinary, for example, did you know that the tick 'quests' by standing on a leaf and waving their front legs around. When they sense a vibration or shadow or a change in CO2 level, or temperature change, they reach out and grab hold!

This afternoon we filmed a mating at a local breeders, we plan to film an article about what is involved in mating and breeding dogs soon so thought we would get the practical footage while we could.