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The Tick
The Tick. No I’m not talking about the cartoon character, but the real life creepy 8 legged member of the arachnid family, that hangs out in tall grass and brush, and likes to jump onto anything nice and warm that happens by it. Big breath! If these little blood sucking bug-gers find their way on to your dog or you, and sink in their little fangs for a tasty “blood meal”, bad things can happen.
Some of the bad things that can happen;
Lyme disease
Ehrlichiosis
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (this one doesn’t sound very pleasant)
Anaplasmosis
Babesiosis
Tick paralysis
Common tick types seen in North America:
American dog tick (Wood Tick)
Deer tick
Brown dog tick
** The American Dog Tick and the Deer Tick are the two most commonly found ticks in North America.**
Ticks like to attach themselves in crevices and/or areas with little to no hair. A dog’s ears are a popular tick destination– typically in and around the ears. The insides of the legs where they meet the body is also prime real estate, as is between the toes, and within skin folds.
How to Remove a Tick From Your Dog
1. Wear latex gloves (unless you’re allergic to latex). Use a pair of tweezers or a tick removal tool to grasp the tick close to its mouthparts. Try and get as close to the skin as possible.
2. Be very careful not to squeeze the body of the tick, this could cause the tick to regurgitate some of its infected fluids into the the site.
3. Pull the tick straight out from the skin slowly and steadily (don’t twist or turn). You might pull off some of your dog’s skin when you pull the tick, not a big deal, but if bleeding occurs, apply light pressure to the area for a minute or two until the bleeding stops.
4. Once the tick is removed, feel free to smash it with a hammer. No, don’t do that I’m just kidding. Most people probably just flush the tick down the toilet to get rid of it, but it might be a good idea to save it in a small jar with rubbing alcohol. Then if one of the bad things happens and your vet needs to see it, you’ve still got it. For safety sake, label the container with the date and contents, and store it away safely.
5. If part of the tick’s head still remains, use the tweezers to gently pull it out. If some of it can’t be removed, don’t sweat it, it will eventually fall out with no further problems.
6. After you’ve got the little bug-ger out, clean the bite area with mild soap and water, and keep an eye on it for a few days in case of further irritation or infection. If the area around the bite site does not clear up in a few days, call your veterinarian.
Things That Don’t Work
When I was a kid if we found a tick on or off of us, we’d try burning it to death with a match (yep I played with matches, bad bad boy – sorry mom), but as it turns out that doesn’t work, and if you did that to your dog, you could hurt him, so yeah, don’t do that. Same goes for applying nailpolish, petroleum jelly and other chemicals, they don’t work either.
Tick Control for Dogs
The best way to keep ticks from grabbing a blood meal at your dog’s expense, is to prevent then from catching a ride in the first place. Keeping the grass cut short in your yard is a good place to start. During tick season it’s also a good idea to check your dog for ticks on a regular basis.
You could also talk to your veterinarian to see if he or she could recommend one of the many topical tick prevention formula’s out there like Revolution, Frontline and Advantix, which are designed to be applied monthly to your dog. These three have to be purchased from your veterinarian (in Canada at least), but there are also a number of tick control products sold in many pet stores including Zodiac Tick Collar for Dogs and 6-PACK Preventic Tick Collar 25 which some people have success with.
Keep in mind that all of the items mentioned in the last paragraph are chemicals and contain toxic chemicals, most of which are highly toxic to cats. So do your research and talk to your veterinarian to see which method of tick control is best for your situation.