Dog Tick Removal Tips to Easily Prevent Diseases
As a dog parent, you must ensure that your dog is properly groomed, including their fur, skin, face, ears, and paws. Setting up a grooming schedule every month and extra care during the summer is essential. The hot season is when ticks are active and cases of tick-borne diseases worsen. If you are used to bringing your dog on every summer outing, you should be extra careful as they might get exposed to ticks. Check on their fur after going out. The tick must be immediately removed, because the longer it clings to your dog, the more severe the risk that a health issue might happen.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Jerry Kirkhart
You must include a tick checkup in your daily routine during its most active season. Make your dog feel that you are just simply brushing their fur and giving them a nice rub. When brushing, simply scan the body by running your fingers to check for bumps or swollen areas. Those spots might be where the tick creates its burrow. Inspect the whole body and not just one area — paws, ears, face, neck, legs, and other body parts can also be prone to ticks. You can spot a tick if it is black, brown, or tan with eight legs. Ticks are tiny insects, making it challenging to spot and remove them from the dog.
There are helpful tools that you can utilize to successfully remove ticks from your dog. You must have the following items:
- Latex or rubber gloves
- Extra lighting and magnifying glass
- Tweezers or tick removing tool
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Small container with a lid
- Triple Antibiotic ointment
Once you have the tools, here’s how you can correctly remove ticks without hurting your dog.
- Expose the tick by spreading your dog’s fur.
- Grasp the tick’s body using tweezers or a tick-removing tool.
- Pull the tick in a gentle slow motion until the head pops out.
- Immediately put the tick inside a container with isopropyl alcohol to properly dispose of it.
- Wash your hands thoroughly.
- Clean the tick bite with a cotton ball with alcohol or triple antibiotic ointment.
- Clean tweezers or tools with alcohol.
If you couldn’t pull the tick’s whole body off and have to leave the mouth or other body parts, you could repeat the steps above. But if not successful, you can leave the area alone and let it come off on its own or consult your vet. What’s important is that you don’t forcefully remove those parts from your dog; forcing it might stress your dog and cause infections. If the tick’s head remains on your dog’s fur, you have to wash the area with warm water and soap. After a few days, check the spot for any signs of healing. An appointment with your trusted vet is the best solution if the area looks red and inflamed.
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