The first properly warm weeks of Spring are always good ones – windows open, sandals back on, the family dog losing its mind with excitement on a walk that isn’t freezing. But there’s a quieter side to the season change too, and it’s one a lot of us don’t think about until it’s already a problem: ticks.
As temperatures climb, so does tick activity. Warmer, more humid conditions create exactly the environment these parasites thrive in, and with forecasters flagging an unusually intense heat pattern heading into 2026, vets are expecting this tick season to be a big one.
The numbers are worth sitting with for a second. Australia sees around 5,000 tick-related vet visits in an average season, and roughly one in ten of those pets doesn’t survive the toxins a tick bite can introduce. It’s not a fringe issue. It’s something almost every dog or cat owner in tick-prone areas will brush up against at some point.
Why Timing Matters So Much
Petstock’s Head Vet, Dr Gloria Ebeyer, has been sounding the alarm on how much of a difference early detection makes. Catching and removing a tick quickly can change the entire outcome for a pet, while one left unnoticed for even a day or two can escalate into a genuine emergency.
Part of what makes ticks so dangerous is how easily they hide. A small parasite tucked into thick fur near the ears or under a collar isn’t always something you’ll spot at a glance, which is exactly why building a quick, physical check into your routine matters more than people realise.
Ticks tend to favour cool, moist, vegetation-heavy spots – think bushland, long grass, dune areas and anywhere near lakes or rivers. So if your weekend plans involve a hike with the dog, a picnic near water, or even just a wander through an overgrown local park, it’s worth being a little extra vigilant afterwards.
Three Habits Worth Building Into Spring
1. Stay ahead with preventative treatment. Keeping worming, flea and tick protection current is the first line of defence, but it works best alongside physical checks, not instead of them. A quick chat with your vet can help you land on the right protection for your specific pet.
2. Make skin checks a daily habit. After time outdoors, run your hands over your pet’s entire body – coat, skin, everywhere – paying particular attention to the head, neck and ears, since that’s where ticks most commonly attach.
3. Don’t wait if something seems off. Wobbliness, vomiting, or a sudden change in your pet’s bark or meow are all signs worth taking seriously, even if you can’t actually find a tick. If you do find and remove one but your pet seems fine, it’s still worth a quick call to your vet just to know what to watch for.
It’s Not Just Ticks
Spring brings a whole cluster of seasonal changes that are easy to write off as “normal” behaviour when they’re actually worth a second look. Increased shedding, skin irritation and seasonal allergies to grass and pollen are more common in dogs and cats than most owners realise, and they’re frequently mistaken for bad behaviour or just background scratching.
If your pet has started rubbing their face more than usual, chewing at their paws, or seems generally more unsettled than normal, it might be less about mood and more about allergies. Regular grooming and bathing can help clear pollen and irritants from the coat, and a vet can point you toward gentler, skin-friendly products if irritation is already showing up.
All of which makes spring a genuinely useful moment to book a half-yearly check-up – less a “something’s wrong” appointment, more a seasonal reset to catch anything small before it becomes something bigger.
The Bottom Line
None of this is about being paranoid every time your dog rolls in the grass. It’s about building a couple of small, low-effort habits into a season that’s otherwise all upside – more sunlight, more outdoor time, more long walks. A thirty-second pat-down after a walk and a bit of awareness about the warning signs can be the difference between a non-event and an emergency vet trip.
Enjoy the sunshine. Just keep one eye out for the tiny hitchhikers that come with it.
