ticks on puppies

Question
I live in the Pacific Islands---we have no vets here.  Our puppies are about 8 weeks old.  I pulled several ticks from the puppies, but how disgusting.  Is there any thing I can use on the puppies safely to get rid of the ticks and the fleas. They are primarily outside puppies.  They are mixed breeds- we have no purebreds here. I have flea and tick collars on them- still there are ticks.  I have flea and tick shampoo and spray but it says not to use it till 12 weeks old. Thank you.


Answer
There are many flea and tick preventions that require puppies to be 8 weeks or older. The sprays are the most potent and therefore have a 12 week old limit. If you can acclimate them to having a blow dryer put on them, it is very easy to search for ticks on their body until they are older, and removing them one-by-one is really your only other alternative.

Saturate a cotton ball with alcohol and hold it against the tick for 30 seconds. This will suffocate them and they will back out on their own.

If you are feeling a little more like touching, this is a strange technique, but have had success with it.

Rub the tick in a circular motion and pretend you're trying to make the tick dizzy. I generally stick with one direction, clockwise. It usually takes less than a minute, so if it's not working, make sure the body of the tick is moving around. Remember you can't get dizzy unless you're actually moving in a circle, quickly. I doubt the tick actually gets dizzy, but they sure don't like something about the movement and they crawl out on their own.

I would offer more suggestions, but others are vet related and you stated the lack of a vet in your area. I still highly recommend the topical applications (Frontline, etc) for tick prevention. They are usually only available from a vet (the original prescription, then you can get them mail order, if needed).

Good Luck!