Dog tick removal
AKA how to correctly remove a tick from your dog
There is nothing better than snuggling with your dog after a long day… until you discover a suspicious bump somewhere in your dog’s fur. Is it a nasty tick?!
We’ll explain, how you can remove tick, nasty little creature, from your dog with 3 easy steps. And if you do them right, then you’ll be guaranteed that the tick comes fully out with no trouble.
Step by step video
Tools
Before you start panicking, take a breather - you got this!
If your dog has luck in finding all the ticks from around the block, then this tick removal tool will be your best friend. It looks like a tiny nail remover and it works like a charm, if you know how to use it correctly.
The “twist, don’t yank” technique
Now after getting the tools, this is the important part - removing the tick from your dog.
Common mistake people make when removing ticks is that they go in with full force and just start yanking and pulling the tick. Since ticks have barbed mouthparts, they stick to the skin very strongly, witch makes it difficult to just yank them out.
So, instead of raw force, slide the removal tool gently under the tick, then twist slowly and make quite a few circles with the tool. No pulling, no squeezing!
This way the tick should stay intact and prevent it from leaving the head part under your dog’s skin.
Don’t forget to…
After you have successfully removed that nasty thick tick from your dog, do not forget to clean up. Flush the tick down the toilet, wash your hands with soap and water.
This helps to remove any bacteria that might have come into contact with your skin, while removing the tick. It also wouldn’t hurt to disinfect the bite area on your dog’s skin, just to be safe.
Precautions
During spring, summer and fall time the possibility of your dog finding that nasty tick from the garden or while on a walk is pretty high. So we highly recommend you to look into some tick prevention products.
Luckily nowadays there are different ones to choose from, starting from more natural (some essential oils, sprays with lemongrass, peppermint), tick collars, repellent drops etc.
If you are not sure what to use or how to use them, then definitely consult with a vet to be sure, that it is safe for your dog. Especially with essential oils, you want to make sure they are not harmful for your dog.
For years we have tested a few different tick repellent drops and for our dog these have worked very well. So find out what works for your dog, considering also the environment you’re living in.
When to call the vet?
Even if you got the tick out completely, it is always good to keep an eye on the area. If you notice some redness, the area where the tick was, has swollen up or is irritated - it is safe to check in with the vet.
Tick-borne diseases can be sneaky, so better to be safe than sorry.
Other than that, if you got the tick out wholly and the area looks great, then everything went well and you can proudly call yourself the tick removing master.
Haven’t heard about Pocket Puppy School before?
Pocket Puppy School is a completely free dog training app. Our mission is to make information about raising dogs accessible to everyone in the world.
But in addition to our app, we have a blog (that you are currently reading 🤓) where we talk all things about dogs.
We post some informational and fun content to our Instagram page and believe it or not, we even have a merch store. 🥹 In the store you can get a t-shirt or a hoodie with your own dogs’ picture that we will make into an awesome design.
Feel free to check out all of our channels, and if you have any questions, leave a comment down below.
Thank you!
