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How To Remove A Tick From A Dog

how to remove a tick from a dog
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Ticks on your dog … ugh! They’re creepy and they can carry disease.

Experts warn us each year that it’ll be an especially bad year for ticks. They also share the reminder that the disease incidence is becoming endemic in new areas.

If your dog plays in wooded areas, once in a while he’ll probably pick up a tick or two … even if you use prevention. That’s because even the toxic pharmaceutical products aren’t 100% tick proof.

The good news is that Lyme and other tick-borne diseases aren’t transmitted immediately. So, if you get ticks off your dog within 24 to 36 hours of a tick bite, he’s unlikely to get infected. That means it’s really important to check your dog for ticks and remove them quickly.

So here’s what you need to know about how to remove a tick from a dog …

How To Remove A Tick From A Dog

Make Sure You Can Easily See The Tick

Part your dog’s hair around the tick with your fingers.

Grab Hold Of The Tick

Place the tweezers around the tick, as close as you can get to the skin. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. If using a tick removal tool (like the Tick Key) place the large opening over the tick as close to the skin as you can. Slide the tool until the tick is in the narrow slot at the end.

Pull Out The Tick

Gently pull the tweezers upwards with steady hands. Add pressure until the tick lets you pull it away from the skin. If you’re using a tick removal tool, keep sliding the tick key in the same direction, along the skin. The tick will come out including the head and mouth.

Clean The Area

Clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, iodine, or soap and water.

Get Rid Of The Tick

Dispose of the tick by killing it in alcohol … or wrap it in tape and flush it down the toilet. If you’re concerned about tick disease, save the tick in alcohol for testing.

What Do You Do If A Tick’s Head Is Still In Your Dog?

Don’t worry. Just clean the area as described above. The head will work its way out eventually.

Ticks On Dogs: What Not To Do

Now that you know how to remove a tick on your dog, here’s what you don’t want to do …

  • DON’Tremove ticks with your fingers. If you do this too, use a tissue or paper towel. Disinfect your hands afterward with soap and water. You don’t really want tick saliva or blood on your fingers. And don’t forget to clean the bite area on your dog.
  • DON’Tsquish or crush a tick. This can force infected body fluids through the tick’s mouth. It increases the risk of infection for you and your dog.
  • DON’Tworry if the mouthpart of the tick stays in your dog’s skin. It can happen sometimes when they’re really well embedded. It’s a bit like having a splinter and it will fall out in a few days.
  • DON’Tput things like nail polish, vaseline or repellents on the tick to try to suffocate or kill it. This can cause the tick to vomit into your dog, increasing the possibility of infection. (A lot of people still do it, because how to remove a tick from a dog with vaseline is one of the most popular web searches … but please don’t use this method.)
  • DON’T  … burn the tick with a lighted cigarette or hot match. These can also cause vomiting.
  • DON’Tthrow the tick in your trashcan or sink. They can easily crawl back out.

Tick Diseases In Dogs

Different ticks are specific to certain areas and carry specific diseases. Here are some of the most common tick-borne diseases you should know about and where they’re most often found.

Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgorferi)
Tick Type: Deer tick or blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Highest Incidence: Northeast and upper midwest US; now becoming endemic in western Pennsylvania and Pittsburg

Erlichiosis (Erlichiosis canis)
Tick Type: Lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum)
Highest Incidence: South-central and eastern US

Anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilium or Anaplasma platyu)
Tick Type: Blacklegged or deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus)
Highest Incidence: Northeast and upper midwest, Pacific coast

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Rickettsia rickettsii)
Tick Type: American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersonni), brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sangunineus)
Highest Incidence: Arkansas, Delaware, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee

Babesiosis (Babesia microti)
Tick Type: Blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Highest Incidence: Northeast and upper midwest

American Canine Hepatozoonosis (Hepatozoon canis or Hepatozoon americanum)
This is an emerging disease that’s quite rare but worth mentioning because it’s not spread by a tick bite, but by dogs eating infected ticks …

  • This can happen when a dog removes ticks off his own body, or if he eats prey that has ticks.
  • It can be a highly debilitating disease. So it’s especially important to remove ticks from your dog before he does it himself!
  • Exists in the south-central and southeastern US.

Is There Tick Disease Where You Live?

To check the incidence of tick disease near you, go to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC). They have nice interactive maps for the US and Canada on their website. You can select the type of parasite or disease, as well as the year (or month, if you want that much detail).

As you view this data, keep in mind that the big pharmaceutical companies sponsor this CAPC website. You know, the companies who make money when you buy their tick products!

PRO TIPS FOR FINDING TICKS
Some dogs will “show” you where they have a tick. Watch your dog to see if he’s scratching or biting at himself repeatedly in one piece. If you have a long-haired or double-coated dog, use a dog hair dryer to blow his coat around. The hairs will part so you can see his skin and spot any ticks lurking there. You can also use your own hairdryer but make sure you use the cold setting so you don’t burn your dog.

How Long Can Ticks Survive Without A Host?

It’s easy to drop a tick after you remove it, so you might wonder how hard you need to look for it when that happens. Here’s the good news about deer ticks and most other hard ticks (the ones that usually carry disease).

  • They can dry out and die very quickly if humidity is less than 90%.
  • Most won’t survive 24 hours and will often die within 8 hours.
  • On moist clothing in a laundry hamper they might survive 2 or 3 days, or longer if they’ve recently had a blood meal.

But what if you bring ticks home on your clothes?

Well, here’s what a study by the University of Vermont found … putting your clothes in the dryer for 5 minutes on high heat will kill ticks. If you wash your clothes first, the water temperature needs to be above 115°F to kill them. If a tick survives the wash cycle, put the clothes in the dryer. Dry for 70 minutes on low heat or 50 minutes on high heat. This study used blacklegged (deer) ticks … so other ticks may respond differently.

Of course, keeping ticks off your dog in the first place is the best strategy. But it’s always worthwhile taking the time to check him regularly for ticks. If you remove them promptly, the likelihood of your dog getting a tick-borne disease is very low.

Here are some quick tips to help keep the ticks off your dog in the first place … safely.

Keep Ticks Off Your Dog

There are many chemical tick preventives that can harm your dog. These include spot-ons and sprays or collars that repel insects. They include brands your vet may prescribe like …

  • Frontline
  • Advantix
  • Advantage
  • Seresto (In June 2022, a US Congressional Subcommittee hearing is reviewing why dangerous Seresto collars remain on the market) 

These pesticides are toxic and can all cause risky side effects in your dog. The newer oral flea and tick preventives are especially risky. It sounds very convenient to just give your dog a tasty chew every month or so … but these drugs circulate in your dog’s bloodstream. Once in the blood, they work by attacking the nervous system of the insect to kill it. This means they can also be dangerous for your dog.The side effects include …

  • Vomiting
  • Lethargy
  • Diarrhea
  • Seizures

Once these drugs are in your dog’s bloodstream, they’ll be there for several weeks or even months. So if your dog has an adverse reaction, you can’t get it out of his system! It’s much safer to avoid these side effects by using organic and natural tick repellents.

RELATED: Learn which are the safest and riskiest flea and tick preventives …

3 Natural Solutions For Ticks On Dogs

When preventing ticks naturally, there are 3 areas to focus on … food, topical preventatives and your dog’s environment.

1. Food That Can Protect Your Dog From Ticks

Some foods can help stop your dog from getting ticks.

Garlic

Garlic helps repel fleas and ticks as the odor comes through your dog’s skin. Don’t think garlic is toxic to your dog! It’s a healthy addition to your dog’s diet. The key is to feed the right dose – about 1/3 tsp of fresh chopped garlic per 10 lbs of your dog’s body weight.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Give your dog 1/2 tsp per day per 25 lbs of body weight.  Add it to your dog’s food or water bowl. The apple cider vinegar will make him less appealing to ticks – and fleas too!

2. Topical Tick Preventives For Dogs

There are also many natural topical flea solutions that can prevent ticks on your dog. 

Herbal Flea And Tick Powder
There are many herbal flea and tick powders and sprays on the market. Most contain herbal combinations to prevent ticks.  You can make your own using equal amounts of diatomaceous earth (food grade), neem and yarrow powders. Sprinkle a small amount of this mixture on your dog, starting at the tail. Pull back the fur to get the powder on his skin. Use care around eyes, nose and mouth.

Herbal Flea And Tick Collars
You can make your own herbal flea and tick collar by …

  • Mixing 2 Tbsp of almond oil with 2 drops of rose geranium essential oil or palo santo essential oil.
  • Dab a few drops on your dog’s collar or a bandana.
  • Remove the collar or bandana when your dog comes indoors.
  • Reapply the essential oil to the collar or bandana weekly.

There are also several herbal or essential oil tick collars you can buy.  Avoid any products containing essential oils of wintergreen, pennyroyal, and clove. These oils are dangerous for your dog and you should not use them for any reason. Even with safer essential oils, it’s best to use them only when your dog is outdoors, and remove them when he’s indoors.

Tick Shampoo
Make your own tick shampoo …

  • Mix several drops of palo santo essential oil with your favorite organic lavender shampoo.
  • Let the suds sit on your dog for 20 minutes, then rinse.

This will kill any existing ticks … and help repel new ones.

Citrus Repellent
Make your own citrus repellent …

  • Cut a lemon into quarters and put them into a pint jar.
  • Cover with boiling water. Let it steep overnight.
  • In the morning, pour the liquid into a spray bottle.
  • Mist your dog (be careful around his eyes and nose).

TIP: For best results, pay special attention to these areas …

  • Behind his ears
  • Around his head
  • The base of his tail
  • His armpits

Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
DE is a fine white powder. It’s the fossilized remains of tiny aquatic creatures called diatoms.

  • Buy food grade diatomaceous earth.
  • Sprinkle a small amount on your dog, starting at the tail.
  • Hold back the coat so you get the powder on his skin.
  • The powder will pierce the protective structures of ticks.
  • They will dehydrate and die.

It’s safe for your dog but can be drying to his skin. So don’t over-use it, and be careful not to get it in his eyes, nose or mouth.

DNM RECOMMENDS: Kin+Kind offers 100% Organic Natural Flea & Tick Spray to protect your dog from pests and soothe itching from bites. Buy Kin+Kind Flea + Tick Prevent! now …

3. Preventing Ticks Where Your Dogs Plays

If ticks live in your yard, you can take steps to get rid of them.

Nematodes
Nematodes feed on tick larvae. This breaks their life cycle and kills off the parasite. The beneficial nematodes are microscopic, worm-like organisms that live in soil.  They eat many kinds of garden pests as well as fleas and ticks.

You can buy them online at places like Arbico Organics or Amazon. They come ready to use. Add water as directed on the package. Spray them throughout your yard using a hose sprayer or a watering can.

Diatomaceous Earth
Use food-grade DE and sprinkle it around your yard.  The powder is lethal to ticks and fleas but safe for pets and humans. And it won’t hurt beneficial earthworms either. It also contains minerals that are good for your garden.

Dogs Get Ticks!

Let your dog be a dog and don’t worry! There are many ways to protect your dog from ticks. Ticks don’t always have to be scary! Just remember to check your dog for ticks and get them off him as soon as possible.

Oh … and don’t forget to check yourself as well!

References

Ewing SA, Panciera RJ. American canine hepatozoonosis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003;16(4):688-697.

Nelson CAet al. The heat is on: Killing blacklegged ticks in residential washers and dryers to prevent tickborne diseases. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2016 Jul;7(5):958-963.

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