Ticks can pose a serious risk to your dog’s wellbeing. Once they are attached to the skin of your dog, they can cause pain, irritation, and could transfer a disease. If your dog has a tick, it is vital that you eliminate it as soon as possible. A tick can be the root cause of infection. The problem is that a lot of people are not aware of how to remove a tick or the proper way of eliminating tick.
Run your hands over your dog’s body to look for ticks on your dog. Pay close attention to crevices and skin folds, especially tears. Ensure you are in a well-lit room, so you can look closely at anything which feels doubtful. There are many kinds, sizes as well as colors of ticks, depending upon the life stages and species. Ticks are almost undetected and will attach to your dog’s body and start to feed on his blood. Deer tick transmits Lyme disease. It is a small type of tick, which makes it hard to find.
Ways You Must Never Use When Removing Ticks
There are a number of tick removal methods available out there that have been passed down in generation, and some of these techniques are risky or just don’t work. One common technique you might hear about is to burn the tick off. This is very risky and dangerous. You must never go towards your canine friend with an open flame. This is not an appropriate and effective method and you should never try to do this. This might harm your dog and yourself as well.
Another popular way that you might have been told is to smother ticks using grease. Usually, this will not work and can really cause more harm than good. Of course, you do not want your pet buddy licking the grease, especially if you are using a substance that is lethal and deadly.
How To Remove Ticks From Your Dog The Right Way
The proper removal of a tick from your dog begins with understanding what it is you want to accomplish. Obviously, you know your main purpose is to eliminate the tick. However, you also have to keep other vital things in mind. You have to make sure that the place remains clean and sterile in order to lessen the spread of ticks in other areas. Also, you need to make sure you can effectively eliminate the ticks completely, which includes near your dog’s facial area.
The Right Way To Take Away The Tick From Your Dog
You have to follow these steps if you want to successfully and safely remove the ticks from your dog.
- Put a considerable amount of rubbing alcohol in a screw-topped jar. You will need to put the tick in a screen topped jar just in case you want to have your vet examine it.
- Put on rubber or latex gloves to keep yourself safe from the tick as well. It might also be useful to have your friend or family member to help hold and calm the dog.
- Securely seize the tick as close to the skin of your dog as possible with the use of a tick removal tool, or if not available, you can use a fine-tipped tweezer. With gentle, steady pressure, pull the tick out of your dog’s skin and put it in a screw-topped container. Avoid using too much force or a twisting motion or jerk the tick.
- There could be situation where the mouth-portions of the tick remains. If so, try to eliminate as much as possible with the use of tweezers. However, you do not have to worry if you can eliminate it all. The immune system of your dog will try to remove it over time by creating a site of infection or a small abscess. But larger abscesses may need to be carefully treated.
- Cleanse the bite-size with a cotton swab submerge in rubbing alcohol and then clean with soap and water. Make sure to clean the tweezers or the tick removal tool using alcohol.
- Closely monitor the location of the bite and the wellbeing of your dog over the next couple of weeks. If either becomes an issue, call the vet for help and take the tick with you for assessment and identification.
With the above information, you can protect your pet, yourself, and your whole family from the hazards of tick-borne disease, like Lyme Disease. Keep in mind to do checkup regularly and remove ticks immediately or other possible diseases that your dog might have.
If your dog has a serious tick infestation, you could try using some dog shampoos that are meant to remove ticks. Do check out shampoo guide by Well Pet Coach where it provides many different opinions of the latest dog shampoos in the market that you would not want to miss out. To keep the pet safe and sound, talk to your veterinary about the most efficient product to utilize.
Tick Removal in Your Dog: Do’s and Don’ts
Do
- Use latex gloves to keep your hand safe and away from contact with the tick.
- Use tweezers or a well-made tick removal tool
- Make use of a tick prevention product or tick collar
Don’t:
- Grab the tick using your hands unprotected
- Squeeze the body when you are taking it away
- Wiggle or twist or jerk it
- Try to smother the tick with alcohol or Vaseline
- Try to kill it by using a match or applying grease
Getting rid of a tick is a daunting task. However, it is really not that hard if you take your time and are very careful. You just have to make sure to fully eliminate the ticks where possible and keep the whole area clean before, during as well as after removal. Your canine friend will be very happy if you get the nasty little creature out of his skin, and perhaps you will feel better too. Ticks may not be the only discomfort that your dog might encounter, if you notice any other health issues such as dog feeling more lethargic than usual or throws up frequently, do visit a vet immediately. Afterall, we just want our beloved furry friends to be happy and healthy.
