# Checking for ticks



## Our3dogs (Apr 3, 2008)

What I do with our guys is to start at the tip of their nose and start feeling every inch. I first check over their entire head/neck. Feel for any little bump and check it out. Think of like a search party walking side by side leaving no square inch unchecked. If you do find a tick attached, one method that works to remove it, is to take your index finger and rub in a circular motion ontop of it. I think I have done both directions and it works. It losens up the tick and you can take it off without leaving part of it behind. Good luck.


----------



## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

I usually give Cookie a good brushing to see what comes up. Then I check her all over, especially her feet and head. After that, I find that the best way to catch any ticks that may have become attached is to take my fingertips and rub her all over. I can feel ticks that I would never have seen with a visual inspection. 

If any are embedded, this is the best tool I've found for getting them out:

Protick remedy


----------



## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

Great question. Thanks for asking.

Now I'm wondering how y'all make your dogs stay still while you start checking them? I have given him antlers and toys to keep him busy. But I guess he's one exception that doesn't like massages. He just wants to start wrestling :doh:


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

When we first got Bridget, my husband started giving her a massage every morning after her breakfast.
She will actually nudge him, and fall dead to get her massage....

She sure misses him, he's at camp......
Actually for all the Jumping biting grabbing, when she's overexcited, she's pretty laid back.


----------



## frankie001 (Mar 11, 2012)

When we first got Champ he had a TON of ticks on him, wandering around and attached. We noticed that with his coat you had to go over every inch oh him and pull back his fur/coat and get to his skin to make sure you could feel and see the tick. If we used our hands and just lightly went over him we only found the very big ones and couldn't just comb through his coat with our fingers cause we missed them that way too.

One thing my friend does who hunt trains his dogs in the tall grass fields and pulls 3-6 ticks off his dog everyday is use his kids since their eyes are better.


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Here's an interesting article I thought I'd share:

A nurse discovered a safe, easy way to remove ticks where
they automatically withdraw themselves when you follow her
simple instructions. Read this one as it could save you from
some major problems. 

Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing their heads.
Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, 
or your pets. Give it a try. 

A School Nurse has written the info below--good enough 
to share--and it really works! 

"I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best
way to remove a tick. This is great because it works in 
those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with
tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of 
dark hair, etc." 

"Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick
with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few
seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be
stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. 

This technique has worked every time I've used it 
(and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic 
for the patient and easier for me.." 

Also, if you just pull a tick off, their heads sometimes break off
and are left under the skin so this is much safer. Be aware

also that a tick with a white speck on its back is a Deer 
Tick, these can cause Tick Fever so check yourself and 
your family good if you see any of these!

"Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this
would be damaging in any way. 
Please pass on. Everyone needs this helpful hint.​


----------



## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

mooselips said:


> Here's an interesting article I thought I'd share:
> 
> A nurse discovered a safe, easy way to remove ticks where
> they automatically withdraw themselves when you follow her
> ...


I would advise you to NOT do that. It can actually make things worse. Applying soap or nail polish remover (another "home remedy") will make the tick regurgitate its stomach contents or release saliva into the animal's body. In other words, the tick is going to puke inside the dog, because the soap or nail polish remover make it sick. It might actually kill the tick or remove it, but chances are the tick is gonna throw up before it detaches itself. And you do not want that to happen, because that will just release the pathogens into the dog's body. 

The best thing to do is to remove the tick as soon as possible rather than wait for it to detach itself.


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Thank you, I didn't know that.


----------

