Remove Tick From a Dog

By Ian Pennington

A tick can be picked up by a dog at any time whilst he is out, but is more at risk whilst playing in over grown grassed areas and woodlands. Ticks are at their most prevalent in Spring and Summer and during this time it is wise to check your pet to see if there are any attached to his skin. It is not easy to remove a tick from a dog but the sooner you notice it and remove it, the less likely it is that your dog will suffer from an infection.

There are many ideas regarding the best way to remove a tick from a dog but unfortunately some of them are a little misguided. A tick is a member of the spider family and has a very strong, barbed mouth with which it can attach itself to the skin of the dog so that it can gorge on its blood. It is not the actual drawing of blood that poses the main threat to your pet, but the risk of infection. Ticks carry, amongst others, Lyme disease. This can be transmitted to your animal if any of the drawn blood is returned back in to his system. This is due to small amounts of the tick's saliva being present in the regurgitated blood.

The body of the tick will expand as it fills itself with blood and one of the most important points to consider is that you do not want this blood to get back into your pet. For this reason you must be very careful as you remove the tick from the dog. Do not just take a hold of its body and pull as this may squeeze the blood back into the wound.

The best way to remove the tick from the dog is to use a pair of narrow ended tweezers. Try to part the dog's fur away from the area as much as possible so that you can get a clear view of the tick and the mouth in particular. Use the tweezers to grab hold of the tick as close as is possible to the skin of the dog. Remember not to squeeze the body of the tick. Once you have a hold of the front of the tick, pull it straight back from the dogs skin. The tick will not want to let go, as it will have the barbs securely attached to the dog. If you keep pulling you should be able to remove it. Do not try to turn it to release it as this will not make it any easier and may cause unnecessary damage to the wound. It did not twist in so it will not twist out. Just pulling it away should be enough.

Sometimes you will find that not all of the tick comes away and a portion of the mouth section is left in the dog's skin. If this is the case, you should try to remove any leftover pieces with the tweezers but if they do not come away easily then you would be wise to seek help from the veterinary surgery. If you do manage to remove the tick from the dog in one piece, then you must immediately clean the area with disinfectant and, if you feel it is necessary, also apply an antibiotic cream. These will not necessarily kill any infection such as Lyme disease, however, and if you feel that your pet is unwell over the next couple of days you should seek medical attention for him. If you do have to take him to the veterinary practice, be sure to let them know about the tick and let them see the area where it was attached.

Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about tick removal, please visit Tick Treatment Now for current articles and discussions.