Removing a Tick From Your Dog to Prevent Lyme Disease

Knowing all about Lyme Disease in your dog and its ramifications, it is important to know how to remove a tick from your dog. Ticks are the carriers of Lyme Disease. Dogs are highly susceptible to Lyme Disease and without proper treatment they can suffer devastating effects to their health. Humans can also become infected with Lyme Disease with equally serious and sometimes irreversible effects. Pets do not directly infect humans, but the ticks that they carry can. Ticks can move from the dog to family members and can bite and infect humans with disease.

So it is very important to locate and remove ticks on your dog. First, stay calm and don’t rush. Moving too quickly could create more serious problems for both of you.

To search for ticks on your dog, run your hands over their body. Pay close attention to skin folds and crevices especially the ears. Make sure you are in a well-lighted area so you can closely examine anything that feels suspicious. There are many different types, sizes and colors of ticks, depending upon the species and life stage. Ticks will navigate the body virtually undetected until they attach to your dog and begin to feed on their blood and begin to swell. Some ticks such as the deer tick which transmits Lyme Disease are very tiny, about as small as a pencil point depending upon how engorged it is.

Do’s and Don’ts of Tick Removal in Your Dog

Do:

- Use latex gloves to protect yourself and avoid contact with the tick
- Use tweezers or a specifically designed tick removal tool to remove the tick
- Use a tick prevention product or tick collar on your dog

Don’t:

- Grab the tick with your bare hands
- Squeeze the body of the tick when you remove it
- Twist or wiggle or jerk the tick
- Try to smoother the tick with alcohol or Vaseline
- Attempt to kill the tick by using a match or another device for burning it off

The Correct Way to Remove the Tick From Your Dog

1) Put some rubbing alcohol in a screw topped jar. You will want to put the tick in here in case you wish to have your veterinarian examine it.

2) Put on latex or rubber gloves to protect yourself from the tick and its infective agents. It may also be helpful to have another person help hold and soothe your pet.

3) Firmly grasp the tick as close to your dog’s skin as possible using your fine tipped tweezers or tick removal tool. With steady, gentle pressure, pull the tick straight out of the skin and place it in your screw topped jar. Do not use too much pressure or a twisting motion or jerk the tick or you may inject more of the tick’s saliva and toxins back into your dog.

4) Occasionally, the mouth-parts of the tick may remain. If so, try to remove as much as possible using your tweezers. But don’t worry if you can’t remove it all. Your dog’s immune system will try to dislodge it over time by creating a site of infection or even a small abscess which you should disinfect as below and monitor.

5) Disinfect the bite site with a cotton swab socked in rubbing alcohol. Then clean with soap and water. Also clean your tweezers or tick removal tool with alcohol.

6) Closely monitor the bite site as well as the health of your dog over the next few weeks. If either becomes a concern, contact your veterinarian for assistance and take your tick with you for identification.

With the above knowledge you can safely protect your dog, your family and yourself from the dangers of all tick-borne diseases, especially Lyme Disease. Remember to do regular checks and remove ticks immediately to safeguard against potential illness in your dog.