Tick prevention for camping with a Vizsla

A first camping trip with a young Vizsla — that's a high-exposure situation, especially if you're heading anywhere with long grass, woodland, or moorland. The most effective prevention depends on your dog's weight, the tick pressure in the area you're going, and whether you want something oral, a collar, or a spot-on. Some of the widely sold products offer surprisingly weak tick protection, so it's worth getting this right before you go. What does your Vizsla weigh, where are you camping, and do you have a preference for how you apply treatment?

The Scottish Highlands is genuinely high tick-risk territory — Lyme disease-carrying ticks are well established there, so you're right to take this seriously. At 22kg and with no previous treatment, I'd start her on Bravecto chewable tablet for medium dogs (10–20kg sits just below her, so you'd want the 20–40kg version). It's a single oral dose that covers her for 12 weeks, killing ticks within hours of attachment and fleas too. It's prescription-only in the UK but widely available through licensed online vets like PetDrugs Online or VioVet — you fill in a short health questionnaire and they issue the prescription. For a week-long trip, one dose is all you need.

Yes, Bravecto is licensed for dogs from 8 weeks old and 2kg upward, so a healthy 1-year-old Vizsla is absolutely fine. The active ingredient is fluralaner, and it's one of the most thoroughly tested tick treatments available. As for adding a collar or spray on top — honestly, if you've given her Bravecto, you don't need to layer more chemical treatments. What I would add is a good tick removal tool. The O'Tom Tick Twister is cheap, small enough to go in a pocket, and the right technique for removing any tick that attaches before the treatment kills it. Ticks can still climb on and attempt to attach, so having one on you is sensible. That's your full kit: one Bravecto dose before you go, O'Tom Tick Twister in your bag.

Give it at least 2 days before your trip starts — ideally 3 to 4 days. It takes around 12 hours to reach full efficacy after ingestion, and giving it a few days of buffer means she'll be at full protection well before she's in the long grass. Give it with food to help absorption and reduce any chance of an upset stomach. Order sooner rather than later if you're going through an online vet, as the prescription process can take a day or two.