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A tick has attached itself to my dog -- WHAT TO DO??!

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brooklyngirl

brooklyngirl

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I just noticed that there''s a tick attached to my dog''s belly. We took him with us for a hike on Sunday. What do I do? I''m calling the vet first thing tomorrow, but is there anything I should do in the meantime?

I''m very worried -- should I be?
 
We always got tweezers and pulled it off. I don't see any reason to be worried. It just comes with the warmer weather.
 
Thanks diamondseeker. I''ve never had to pull out a tick before, and I''m afraid I''ll squish it, or rip the body off the head.

There is a small red ring around where the tick is attached. I''m not sure if I should be worried about this, because he gets similar looking irritation from mosquito bites.
 

Grab the tick by the head or mouth parts right where they enter the skin. Do not grasp the tick by the body.



Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. Do not twist the tick as you are pulling.

Using methods such as applying petroleum jelly, a hot match, or alcohol will NOT cause the tick to ''back out.'' In fact, these irritants may cause the tick to deposit more disease-carrying saliva in the wound.

After removing the tick, place it in a jar of alcohol to kill it. Ticks are NOT killed by flushing them down the toilet.

Clean the bite wound with a disinfectant. If you want to, apply a small amount of a triple antibiotic ointment.

Wash your hands thoroughly.
Please do not use your fingers to remove or dispose of the tick. We do not want you in contact with a potentially disease-carrying tick. Do NOT squash the tick with your fingers. The contents of the tick can transmit disease.

Other than that, there isn''t much else to do. I don''t know if vets have a test for Lyme disease or not? I''d call and talk to them.
 
PP pretty much said it all. My dog gets them occasionally and we are able to remove them safely with tweezers using the method PP described.
 
Thanks PP and Blair.

DH just removed the tick, but it wasn''t as successful as I had hoped. I believe he pulled out the head, but a little bit of the tick is still there, and we can''t get it out.

Should we wait and see if anything is odd, or take him to the vet first thing in the morning?
 
Date: 4/8/2009 1:10:32 AM
Author: brooklyngirl
Thanks PP and Blair.


DH just removed the tick, but it wasn''t as successful as I had hoped. I believe he pulled out the head, but a little bit of the tick is still there, and we can''t get it out.


Should we wait and see if anything is odd, or take him to the vet first thing in the morning?
Click to expand...

I would. At the very least a trip to the vet will make you and your DH feel better!
 
Just wanted to say good luck!
 
You can also use salad oil on ticks, give it a good dab and it should drop off, I have had success with that over the years. Trying to pull them out can be difficult as you have found, you can buy tick twisters for the job, but check with your vet as to the recommended method - they do have a test for Lymes I believe, but your doggie should be fine.
 
I''d definitely go to the vet. I don''t know enough about the timeline or the type of tick that bit your dog to say anything definitively, and I don''t want to scare you, but a red, ring-like rash is a classic sign of Lyme disease. Here is a website discussing deer ticks and lyme disease in humans - its a good starting point for reading up on it.

Your vet will be able to give you more complete information, and if there is a chance of Lyme disease, you''ll want to get it treated ASAP - prompt treatment is available and effective, but if left untreated, it can be very serious and even fatal.
 
When we got our dog Brie, she had at least 15 ticks on her. We had gotten her from the pound. We took her to the vet after getting some off, they took more off, and gave us frontline to kill off any other ticks, and prevent anymore from attaching themselves to her. Worked like a charm. One thing to look out for is that Brie had large hard bumps where the tick bites had been, which kind of freaked us out, but the vet said that was pretty normal and that they would go away in about a month. 2 months later, and there is no sign that she ever had them.

Don''t stress too much!
 
I would bring her to the vet just to be on the safe side. Lorelei, I always find salad oil works brilliantly too! The vet will advise you what to do with her but maybe treat her for a few months as a prevention also.
 
I''d take her to the vet too just to be safe. We used to live in a house that backed up to woods. I keep my dog on frontline year round b/c fleas and ticks are horrible in TN. I let it lapse about a week a few years ago and sure enough after running around in our yard she came in and I found a tick on her. We pulled it out and thankfully she was fine but I never miss a dose of the frontline now.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone!

I spoke with the vet, and they said, all is well. Once the tick was removed, the redness subsided, and at this point pretty much gone. Bender is not showing any signs of discomfort, so it appears all is well.
 
That''s good to hear!
 
So glad to hear your doggie is OK!
 
Yay! Glad to hear it!
 
Yay for Bender. Pssst mom, he said "please have her put some tick medicine on me before we have another hike. That tick was yucky"
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Yay! I''m glad he''s feeling better! Ticks are
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.
 
Date: 4/8/2009 12:58:27 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
I''d definitely go to the vet. I don''t know enough about the timeline or the type of tick that bit your dog to say anything definitively, and I don''t want to scare you, but a red, ring-like rash is a classic sign of Lyme disease. Here is a website discussing deer ticks and lyme disease in humans - its a good starting point for reading up on it.

Your vet will be able to give you more complete information, and if there is a chance of Lyme disease, you''ll want to get it treated ASAP - prompt treatment is available and effective, but if left untreated, it can be very serious and even fatal.
Click to expand...
My dog actually had Lyme Disease that she received from a tick. She seemed to have some mild joint pain as a symptom. However, the vet treated her, and she''s still kicking around strong at healthy at 10 years old.
 
Oh yuck! I am so glad that you were able to get it out.
My sister called me last week to tell me that her DH had a tick in his arm...he woke her from a sound sleep to tell her this and asked her to help remove it
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. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I am a nurse, so I am ok with the removal and such, but I do not do bugs
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Grab it and pull it off! No biggie:)
 
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