Removing Ticks from Your Dog

If you're wondering about how to remove a tick from your dog, I'm going to describe the process of effective tick removal here:

Place the tips of tweezers or edges of other removal devices around the area where the mouthparts and head of the tick enter the skin. With a steady, slow, motion, pull the tick away from the skin or slide the removal device along the skin, pulling the tick away as you do so.

There are specific tick removal tools.  If using one of these, then of course, follow the directions carefully.

You may hear wild tales of burning ticks off - don't do it.  Keep match heads, whether burning, or not, right away from your dog.  It does not work to remove the tick, and you may cause a nasty injury to your poor dog.

Be careful not to jerk, crush, squeeze or punctre the tick as your remove it.  Next, disinfect the area around the bite site using a good disinfectant from your pet first aid kit.  A solution of colloidal silver is good for applying to the tick bite area, followed by tea tree oil.  Or use tea tree oil alone if you don't have colloidal silver at hand.

If you live in an area where Lyme Disease is known*, then it is best to place the removed tick into a sealable container and place it in the refrigerator for later tick identification in case you notice symptoms of lyme disease appear later - symptoms do not always occur immediately following the tick bite, so be aware of that.


* Lyme Disease in dogs occurs in many areas of the world - primarily in parts of the U.S. including most of the Northeastern states, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon and Northern California, as well as many areas of Australia, parts of Europe, China and Japan.