It is hard to believe that we are half-way through 2025 and we are looking forward to hearing about the 2nd quarter performance of the publicly traded animal health companies. Maybe the earnings reports will clear up a few things. Here is what I mean.
According to a Wall Street Journal article published this week on Monday ticks are really bad this summer for humans. Fordham University’s tick index is at a 9 out of 10 – a high risk time for humans. And the CDC’s tick bite tracker has 2025 as the highest year since 2019 for ER visits for tick bites. So if ticks are bad for humans, they must be bad for dogs, right?
But if you follow the weekly Vetsource Veterinary Industry data, seems like the flea and tick product dispensing is down every week this year. According to Vetsource, the canine purchasing patients per practice is down about 7% YOY (TTM through June) and the months of protection dispensed are down 10% YOY for the same period. So, big tick year, but slow sales of parasiticides through veterinary clinics. What’s happening?
Are some pet owners moving to OTC channels to purchase their flea and tick preventatives? Are some pet owners just not purchasing this year? We will find out soon.
Robert Jones
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