The best way to maintain a strong bond between you and your pet is to spend time together and indulge in special treats. Although, sharing hitchhiking pests, such as ticks, can be an unpleasant aspect of caring for a pet. Throughout this article, we will discuss how to recognize ticks and what to do if one is found on your pet.
It’s common to mistake a pet’s nipple or skin tag for an engorged or dried dead tick. So before removing a part of your dog’s body, make sure to carefully examine that suspicious lesion. When engorged, ticks can range in size from barely visible to the size of a grape. Most are brown or black, and some may have distinguishing marks or spots depending on the species. Another thing to note is that ticks have six legs in the larval stage and eight legs in the adult stage.
Spotting A Tick On Your Dog
If you live in an area where ticks are common or if your dog spent time in the woods, checking your dog’s fur is imperative. Ticks can attach to any part of your dog, including the paws, belly, head, neck, ears, nose, and mouth. Make sure that their fur is parted, as smaller ticks can be difficult to see on thick-fur dogs. When inspecting your dog for ticks, always check for movement. There are some dogs who will bite or scratch ticks in order to alleviate the irritation caused by these hitchhiking pests.
Steps To Remove A Dead Tick From Your Dog
A dead tick can be removed in the same way as a live tick. Before attempting to remove anything from your pet, consult your veterinarian if you are uncomfortable removing a tick or if you are unsure whether the dark spot is a tick.
How To Safely Remove A Dried Dead Tick
To safely remove a dried, dead tick from your dog, wear gloves and follow these steps. The first step is to part your dog’s fur and to apply fine-point tweezers or a tick removal tool to the skin as close as possible to the tick. After that, gently pull upward and slowly apply pressure. You should avoid squeezing the tick body too hard to prevent the engorged body from rupture, which might spread infectious bacteria. Then continue to pull gently until the mouthparts have dislodged from your dog’s skin. And be sure to avoid twisting or moving the tweezers in a side-to-side motion. If you’re unsuccessful in removing the tick head or mouthparts, try gently grabbing the remaining parts with your tweezers again. Next, place the dead tick in a Ziploc bag with a moistened paper towel to preserve the body for examination and possible analysis by your veterinarian. After removing ticks, clean the area with 70% isopropyl alcohol or 3% hydrogen peroxide. And finally, clean the removal tool with rubbing alcohol. Following the removal of a dead tick, mild redness, a small bump or scab, and hair loss are normal findings at the bite site.
Aftercare of Removing A Tick From A Dog
Keep an eye on the area and note whether your dog’s skin is in good condition. Immediately contact your veterinarian if your dog has pus, extreme redness, or dark skin in the area where the tick was removed. To ease some of the discomfort caused by a tick bite, try Allergy Chews and Omega Oil to support your dog’s inflamed skin. You should also discuss tick prevention medications with your veterinarian and if a Lyme disease vaccination is recommended. Once a tick attaches to take a blood meal, disease transmission does not begin for at least 24 hours. When dogs are bitten by ticks, they can show signs of tick-borne disease for weeks to months later.
Signs of Tick-Borne Diseases In Dogs
Common signs may include joint pain, lameness, decreased appetite, fever, lethargy, swelling of the limbs, bruising, vomiting and diarrhea, or neurologic problems. A tick-borne disease can be fatal to a dog, so it is important to seek veterinary attention immediately.
Almost all dogs who enjoy outdoor activities are at risk for tick bites, and it’s important to remove ticks from your dog’s body as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming infected with potentially lethal bacteria such as Lyme disease.
