How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find

  • December 4, 2008
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Did you know your fine furry friend can get Lyme disease too? Giving Fido a once-over will not only protect him from infection, but can help keep you and your family safe too.

You Will Need

  • Fine-tipped tweezers
  • Soap
  • Warm water
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Cotton balls
  • A sealed container
  • A veterinarian
  • A sturdy table or counter
  • A towel
  • A sealable plastic baggie
How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Wash tweezers

Step 1: Wash tweezers

Before starting, wash the tweezers thoroughly in soapy water, or wipe them carefully with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. If you do find a tick, you’ll want to be ready to remove it right away.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Sit dog down

Step 2: Sit dog down

Sit your dog down.

If you have a small dog, it may be easier to put him on a sturdy counter or table with a towel under him.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Run hands through hair

Step 3: Run hands through hair

Run your hands over the dog’s body gently but thoroughly, beginning with the face and ears and moving back toward the tail.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Check entire body

Step 4: Check entire body

Check the dog’s chest, stomach, legs, and feet. Be sure to examine between the toes, in the “armpits,” and inside the ears. Remember—some ticks are as small as the head of a pin!

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Examine bumps

Step 5: Examine bumps

If you feel any bumps beneath the skin, separate the fur to examine the area more closely.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Grasp with tweezers

Step 6: Grasp with tweezers

If you find a tick, it may have already formed a protective sac around itself. Use the clean tweezers to grasp the sac as closely as possible to the dog’s skin. Try to avoid crushing the tick’s body. This may be difficult with very small ticks, but do your best.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Remove from skin

Step 7: Remove from skin

Pull the sac away from the dog’s skin. If the tick’s mouthparts are left behind, don’t be concerned—once the body is removed, it can no longer transmit bacteria.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Place in container

Step 8: Place in container

Do not prick, crush, or burn the tick. Instead, place it in a sealable container, such as a lidded jar, with a little bit of rubbing alcohol. Seal the container and throw it away.

If you don’t have a lidded jar, place the tick in a sealable plastic baggie and throw it away.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Clean area

Step 9: Clean area

Clean the bitten area with rubbing alcohol.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Wash hands

Step 10: Wash hands

Wash your hands thoroughly.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Keep an eye on spot

Step 11: Keep an eye on spot

Over the next few weeks, check the spot where you pulled the tick. Some dogs may have a red spot or slight swelling in the area for several days. If serious redness, swelling, or tenderness occurs, contact your veterinarian.

How To Check a Dog For Ticks and Remove Any You Find: Talk to your vet

Step 12: Talk to your vet

Talk to your vet about whether your dog might benefit from collars, pills, or topical applications that protect against fleas and ticks.

The most common symptom of Lyme disease in dogs is lameness and painful swelling of the joints.

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Comments (1)

Arnar_Thorsson

What happens if i crush the ticks?

over 3 years ago by Arnar_Thorsson

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