Unfortunately, ticks are a part of life when you own a dog, especially in South Florida, where tick season is year-round. It is easy for your dog to pick one up when running through tall grass or hiking in the woods. Here’s what to do when you find a tick attached to your dog.
- Gather your materials. Never attempt to remove a tick with your fingers–you will not be able to get the proper grip and are likely to do more harm than good. Instead, gather tweezers, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, and a plastic ziplock bag.
- Check if the tick has bitten yet. If you’ve found the tick quickly, there’s a chance it hasn’t attached yet and can simply be picked off. You may see it crawling, or you can test it by grabbing it with the tweezers and very gently lifting it. If any resistance indicates the tick has attached, stop pulling immediately.
- Soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and hold it on the tick. In many cases, the alcohol will cause the tick to let go of its own accord, which will make it easy for you to lift it off.
- Get the tweezers if the tick hasn’t let go after a few minutes. Grab the tick as close to your dog’s skin as you can and gently pull upwards. DO NOT twist the tweezers, tug side-to-side, or yank too quickly. The head and mouth will likely break off in the skin and be even more difficult to remove if you do.
- Once the tick is removed, put it in the plastic bag. Seal the bag, and put it in the freezer. This will effectively kill the tick, but it will also preserve it so that if your dog gets sick, a professional can positively identify the tick. Alternatively, you could drop the tick into alcohol and preserve it that way.
- Wash the bitten area with soap and water, and wash your hands as well. Reward your pup for sitting while you removed the tick.
Once you’ve got the tick off, try to determine when your pup could have been bitten. Understanding the timeline will help you figure out if they are in danger of sickness–disease-carrying ticks only start transmitting the disease after 12 hours and need a full two days in order to pass it along fully. If you removed the tick before then, chances are that your pup will not get sick. Still, you should monitor your dog over the next few weeks for signs of Lyme disease-like lethargy, swollen lymph nodes, or fever. Contact your vet if you have any concerns.
To prevent bites from ticks in the future, steer your dog away from tall grass or shrubbery areas. Perform a quick once-over of their body each time they come inside, focusing on areas that tend to be warmer and darker like under the tail, in the groin area, under the collar, between toes, or on the underside of the ears.
Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training is a professional dog training facility based in Bradenton, Florida. We are committed to your dog’s health and safety. If you are interested in learning more about dog training classes – from puppies to mature dogs – call us today.
