- Always examine your dog after hiking in tick-infested areas.
- If you find only one or two ticks, the easiest thing to do is remove them.
- Keep in mind that the blood of ticks can be dangerous to people. Therefore, do not crush or squeeze a tick with your bare fingers. Before removing the tick, put on disposable rubber or plastic gloves.
- Ticks not attached to the skin are easily removed with a pair of tweezers.
- Special tick-releasing devices are also widely available, including Ticked Off, Protick Remedy, and Tick Nipper. Once removed, the tick can be killed by putting it in rubbing alcohol.
- You must be careful if you find a tick with its head buried in the skin because the head may detach and remain behind. Grasp the tick firmly with tweezers or a tick removal device, as close to the dog’s body as possible without pinching her skin, and lift it off.
- Use the tweezers to place the tick in a jar or plastic dish with a bit of alcohol; seal it well and dispose of the container in an outdoor garbage can. Don’t flush it down the toilet because the tick will survive the trip and infect another animal. Wash the tweezers thoroughly with hot water and alcohol.
- Before you dispose of the tick, it can be a good idea to ask your veterinarian if they think it is essential to bring the tick in for identification and to see if it is carrying any disease.
- If the head or mouth parts remain embedded in the skin, redness and swelling are likely to occur at the bite site. In most cases, this reaction clears up in two to three days. A dab of antibiotic ointment will help prevent most skin infections. However, consult your veterinarian if it does not—or if the redness seems to be getting worse.
- Ticks can work their way deep into the ear canals. A veterinarian should remove these ticks.
