Pampered Dog Blog

Ticks are common, However, they are very disturbing because they can pose serious health problems to pets and humans too. They are second to mosquitoes in transmitting communicable diseases. Lookout for the following symptoms that are brought by tick infestations: discomfort, tenderness, local infection, allergic reaction, fever, lameness, loss of appetite, sharp pain in legs or body, arthritis, malaise or lethargy, cough, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis.

Ticks are very hard to detect particularly when they are still very small or in larval and nymphal stage and the dog’s hair are thick and long, that is why some pet owners choose to regularly cut their dog’s hair short or shave them for easy tick detection. Don gloves when searching for ticks. Rub your hands against the dog’s hair and feel for bumps. At random check the areas for ticks.

Removing Ticks – Common Practice

To eradicate ticks, spray alcohol or pour one to two drops of mineral oil at the tick. It will immoblize the tick in an instant. It also releases the tick’s hold to the dog’s skin. Locate the head of the tick, and grip the head as close to its mouth as possible. Gently apply pressure. Deliberately, eliminate the tick away from your pet’s skin. Avoid gripping the tick at its head as not to twist the tick. Twisting can leave tick fragments or other parts behind. Be careful not to crush the tick. Crushing the tick can spread more microorganisms, or worse, it can cause the blood of the tick to don the dog’s wound. If the head or any part of it remains in the dog’s skin, remove them cautiously. Although the immune system of the dog can generally banish these remainders, an infection or swelling might occur, so it is best to contact your veterinarian if uncertain.

As soon as you removed the tick, drop it in a mineral oil or alcohol until it is dead, and then dispose it in a trash bin. To prevent transfer of infection, clean the mineral oil in the dog’s fur and then disinfect the area with alcohol.

Useful Tools For Tick Removal

In no way takeout the tick directly with your bare hands. If you use your bare handss, you can transfer the microorganisms from the tick to your hands. Although removing dog’s tick might not be as simple as you think, there are other ways to easily get rid of ticks by using different tools such as curved hemostats, tick spoon, tick slider, tick nipper, tick noose, and tick tongs. Curved thermostats are usually used by physicians or veterinarians. Tick spoon on the other hand, is an impressively well-crafted little plastic ladle with a notch at the end. Tick spoon is used by sliding the notch under the tick before levering it off. The tick slider is very similar to the tick spoon. Just slide the tool below the tick for easy removal. Tick nipper is a little plastic instrument with a curved jaw, which enables you to grasp the tick by its head prior to lifting it off. Tick forceps is just like an instrument used by ophthalmologists. Its fine tipped end makes it possible to easily grasp the head of the tick. Never use sharp material when removing ticks as not to poke holes in your dog’s skin.

Even if ticks are highly treatable, it is important that dog owners know how to prevent ticks. Regular bathing and other preventive tick medications are still the best ways in keeping the ticks off your pet.

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