[Beka]

Good morning all -
On Tuesday night my husband asked me if I'd seen the "bump" on Jasmine's head... he said he'd noticed it on Monday but forgot to tell me about it.  I had no idea what it was (looked like a human mole - the kind you see usually on the neck area but skin colored, almost like a light brown color).  Well the puppies had an appointment to get their 3rd shot series today (Thursday) so I called the vet and asked if I could bring them in a day earlier.  

To make a long story short... it was a tick.  I've never seen a tick before much less know how to remove one correctly so I asked the vet not to take her in the back to remove it but to show me how to do it myself in case I ever had to do it again.  

Here is my question (sorry if this post is a little long) the vet removed the tick using forceps and my step-mother (she is from an area in Argentina where there is lots of farm land and is used to dealing w/ ticks on her dogs b/c they have lots of deer) said you should never used forceps/tweezers b/c the tick's "pinchers" for lack of a better word, will remain inside the dog and cause an infection.  She recommended using a match or a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol to suffocate the tick and make it back out of the dog.  Seems to me like these methods make sense but why would the vet just yank it out then?

Any advice would be appreciated... Poor Jasmine has a bald patch on her head where fur was ripped out in the process of removing the tick.  Oh and Damien has an ear infection! Not a very good 2nd trip to the vet  

Rebeka

 

[Leanne]

My husband is a hunter and his job also takes him in the woods often. Anyway, the way they get the ticks off each other is the burning method. Im not sure why the vet did what they did. I would watch that spot for a few days. Sorry about the bad vet trip.

 

[AbbyandBrady]

You should NEVER burn a tick off...you are risking hurting your dog...what if you accidentally touch the match to the dog, or if the dog spooks or jumps. I know some blow the match out and use the smoke, but that is still a risk. Suffocating I have heard may cause the tick to essentially vomit into the skin, which can als cause an infection.  We use tweezers every time, grab the tick lightly with the tweezers and gently wiggle it out. I had a rough one about a month ago and the head was left in the skin...It did cause a pretty ugly sore but I talked to the vet and they said there would be a sore, then a scab which should take about 4 weeks to go away. In the meantime, they said to use antibiotic cream to prevent infection. You should always use antibiotic cream anyways after removing a tick.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

I have seen tools for removing ticks, they might have one at your pet store but I am not sure how well they work.

 

[JeepKuntry]

Matches, cotton balls with alcohol, all are the improper ways to remove a tick!  I'm a hunter/trapper/fisherman.  Country boy here that's used to spending time in the woods.  Correct procedure is to use tweezers or forceps.  You are to get around the head as deep as possible.  The key is to remove slowly, if you tug the tick may break in half.  If your gentle, the ticks generally will loosen there grip and the entire tick will come out.  You can soak it in alcohol or put in a jar if your afraid of lymes disease.  Sadie has a bump on her head, I shaved it and it almost looks like a scab.  Ticks will engorge and then actually drop off after a couple of days.  I was worried it was a tick but nothing has changed on the size, shape, etc in over a week.

 

[Beka]

Thanks for the advice!

So by chance if any part of the tick is left in the dog all I have to do it put antibiotic cream on it and it will go away in time??  The vet recommended putting Neosporin on the area 2x a day... So far that is what I'm doing--- any advice on what I should be looking for that is abnormal?  So far the area looks scabby...

 

[JeepKuntry]

Not sure about what to do if part of the tick is left behind.  I'm speaking on me personally, I had a tick bite in a not so good area, that happened labor day weekend.  I put neosporin on it 1 to 2 times a day for quite some time, the swelling didn't fully subside until a couple of weeks ago.  The tick wasn't even sunk into my skin.  What color was the tick and size?  Deer ticks are bad news here in Tennessee, scratch that, there bad news for the whole South!

 

[sharonL]

Well you have already got the best advice....And yes the way your vet did it was the correct way...Using forceps or tweezers....If the head remains it will make a sore and it will go away within a week or so.  You can put neosporin on it a couple of times a day, but they seldom get infected.  An infection would be a red lump like a small abscess or a big old pimple .....The alcohol and match ways are kind of (tall tales) but many people do that because that was what someone told them or they have seen it done before.....

 

[Beka]

Thanks everyone for the great advice!

 

[sully]

Ticks are scary stuff.  Lyme disease is rampant up here.  I just got the lyme disease vaccine for Oggie because I don't want to have to worry.  If I found a tick on him I'd probably freak out and rip it in half in haste.  I have read somewhere before that you can put vaseline(?) or some lubricant on the area first before extracting the tick so it slides out easier.  Any truth to that?

 

[CrazieKC]

Earlier this year we had quite an issue with Ticks on Milo and Kaci...we even found one each on ourselves (talk about FREAKING OUT). We just moved out to a newer (more woody) area and I guess a more tick infested area. We had the exterminatior come up and started using frontline and, vwala, no more ticks.

 

[JeepKuntry]

sully, do not use vasoline, I promise you tweezers or forceps.  Search it on yahoo or google and they'll all say the same thing!

 

[Mom2BoNLaila]

I've always heard to use tweezers.... I do dip them in alcohol before and after though.

 

[sharonL]

[quote="sully\";p=\"56638":303g3gsk] put vaseline(?) or some lubricant on the area first before extracting the tick so it slides out easier.