My husband and I live in the beautiful southern United States. While we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, we sometimes get excruciatingly hot during the summer months. We aren’t the only ones that get hot at our home though. Our beautiful dog Lucy also gets hot. I’m constantly searching for effective ways to keep her cool while she’s outside. And during the winter, it can get oddly cold at times. Do you have loving pets at home? Consider purchasing a small plastic pool for your pets to splash around in. And when it's cold, make sure to monitor them very carefully while outside. On this blog, I hope you will discover ingenious tips to help you care for your pets during any extreme weather.
When you are petting your dog, the last thing you want to find is a tick. Ticks are small parasitic anthropoids that choose to feed on the blood of their hosts, which is usually a dog or other animal that goes outdoors. They can not only irritate your dog but also spread a number of diseases. If you weren't able to prevent the ticks from latching onto your dog, you can use these methods to remove them.
Search for the Tick
Search your dog for remaining ticks. If there is one, there is a chance of being more. Rub your hand over your dog's fur and notice any raised areas on the skin, beneath the fur. You may need a flashlight to investigate the spots. Ticks like to hide in the fur crevices, skin folds, the ears and the neck, but they can be found anywhere. It may be engorged like the size of a lima bean, or as small as a pencil point, depending on its life stage. Note all the locations you find ticks.
Get Ready to Remove the Tick
Before you attempt to remove the tick, protect yourself by wearing a pair of latex gloves. You will need tweezers to remove it, but not just any tweezers. They should have a flat edge at the end, so that they will be able to get hold of the tick and pull it out. Avoid tweezers that only come to a point, as they are not as strong. There are also tick removal tools sold at pet stores.
Pull Out the Tick
You are going to use your tweezers to pull out the tick, but make sure you never squeeze its body. This can cause disease and bacteria to be injected into the site where the tick has bitten your dog. Grab a hold of the tick at the point of entry, and pull it straight out. You want to go slow and steady, and never turn or twist it. Pull it directly out without using any other angle. Keep in mind, some of your dog's skin may come off with the tick. If it bleeds, apply some light pressure with a clean piece of gauze.
Do not panic if some of the tick's head is still embedded in your dog's skin. You can try pulling it out with the tweezers. If it can't be removed, just give it a few days. It will eventually fall out on its own.
Dispose of the Tick
Once the tick has been removed, you don't want to throw it on the ground. It is still alive and can jump back on your dog. You can either flush it down the toilet or put it in a small airtight container with rubbing alcohol. The latter option will kill the tick by lack of oxygen and drowning, but you can save it for identification. This is a good idea if your dog later gets a disease from the tick and the veterinarian wants to see the tick for proper identification.
If you have further questions, or would like assistance, speak with experts like those at Oakton Animal Hospital.
Share4 February 2015
