How Do You Remove A Tick From Your dog? What’s The Best Way?
Is there one?
If you live in wooded areas, it’s important to know how to remove ticks from your dog and even yourself.
Ever had the joy of trying to get these little buggers out of your dog’s hide?
I have, and it’s not a fun task. I’ve even had the pleasure of having these hideous little bloodsuckers on myself a few times.
Owning a dog or even a cat often brings ticks into the house unnoticed. They’ll sneak a ride in and a free meal too, if you’re not careful!
They Won’t Let Go!
One thing I really hate about ticks is the fact that once they get a hold it’s hard to get them off. And, these nasty things are drinking either your blood or your pet’s, which is never a good thing in my book.
Why Is It Important to Remove Ticks?
It is very important to remove ticks from your dog since they can carry diseases such as Lyme disease, which is the most well-known one.
But, did you know there are other diseases some ticks may be carrying depending on where you live? I didn’t know either until recently, so I will be looking more into this subject and writing about it soon!
This is a female deer tick, which is usually the size of a sesame seed. Male deer ticks are often smaller and are all dark brown in color. This image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adult_deer_tick.jpg
Remove any ticks that you find on your dog or you immediately!
The less time they are stuck on you the better and here is why…
Removing a tick before it has been on its victim for 24 hours will prevent it from spreading Lyme disease!
Check your dog at least once a day for ticks!
However, deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks are the only culprits that can spread Lyme disease. But, that’s if they too are infected with the bacteria that can cause it.
Ticks are so hard to get a hold of since they’re almost flat, like they’ve been run over by a truck. Even using tweezers, they’re slippery little buggers!
Believe me, it’s hard to know that they’re crawling on you. I’ve had these nasty critters stuck to me, biting into me, and didn’t feel it at all.
The only way I noticed the darn thing is by actually seeing it on me, and after freaking out…Well, that awful tick had to GO!
Even your own yard isn’t safe anymore, but there are things you can do to keep them out of your yard, which I will tell you about in the next post How to Get Rid of Ticks.
The image below shows a great and easy to use tool (pack of 3 tools) that will get those ticks out safely and easily! So far, nothing left behind such as the tick’s head or mouth parts!
Works great on both you and your dogs! Click the image below to find them at Amazon.
Or, you can try the method below if you don’t have these yet. But, so you know, the method below is NOT that easy, especially on your pets. You know how hard it is to get a hold of a tick just right AND hold your dog still at the same time?
I’m just sharing what I’ve done in the past to get ticks off of my dogs and people. Plus, this may not work out for you and I would be extremely careful to make sure you got the whole tick out.
**So, do this at your own risk!**
The Tweezers!
- Clean tweezers with rubbing alcohol.
- Recruit an assistant. It really helps to have someone to assist you to hold your dog still.
- Apply rubbing alcohol to a cotton ball and hold it on the tick for about a minute. It seems to help to get them to loosen up their grip at least as far as I’ve noticed.
- Grasp the tick as close as you can to its head with the tweezers.
- Pull in a steady motion and don’t just jerk it out since you might end up beheading the tick, leaving its head still stuck to you or your dog.
- Clean the area with a small amount of rubbing alcohol or an antiseptic of your choice using a cotton ball.
Or, you can get a set of these The Tick Key (TickKey) Tick Remover Family 6-Pack – Your Key to Reliable, Safe & Effective Tick Removal – Made in USA
Whether using regular, everyday tweezers or one of the special tick removal tools, it is very important to get the whole tick out.
Do NOT leave its head attached to you or your pet!
Otherwise, it may cause problems down the road….infections are never fun for anyone even if it IS your dog and not you…guess who’s gonna be bringing them to the vet and giving them antibiotics later?
Why, YOU, of course!
Besides, who wants to see their best furry friend feeling miserable? Not me!
This is how I remove ticks from my dogs and myself. Although I must say I’m removing more ticks from my kids than my dogs or myself, but go figure!
BUT,
If these steps do not work, I would suggest that you bring your dog (or cat) to the vet and have it removed. Especially if you somehow left the head behind.
It is very important to get it out, so bring your dog or yourself to the vet. Well, or the doctor, depending which one of you is the proud carrier of the tick’s head decoration!
* Disclaimer-Do so at your own risk. The methods mentioned above are what I have found to work in the past with my dogs, but I do NOT guarantee that it will work in all situations or have the best results. It all depends on the individual and how you interpret and apply these methods.
Hope this helps you out in getting rid of these pesky critters! Have any other ideas that you’ve used to remove ticks from your dog? How did they work? Ever had trouble removing a tick?
Let me know in the comment box below. I’d love to hear any suggestions you can add to help fellow dog lovers out!
Thanks for reading and best wishes to you and your furry friends 🙂 -Sherry