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Found one this morning. Right in the middle of his back. First time I've seen or felt an engorged tick. I used tweezers and pulled slow, then put the tick in rubbing alcohol. Disinfected the bite area.

Has anyone had problems with infections on the animal afterward?

I have the willies now. Feeling all creepy-crawly on my skin...

My family lives on 12 or 13 acres and the dogs are de-ticked every single time they walk in the door. Several times a day. 2 of them are Old English Sheep dogs so there's a lot of hair to go through. They are given a shot at the beginning of every season so we don't worry too much about infection, but we do have to be vigilant about checking them and ourselves after we walk them. This year is bad because it was such a wet spring. I'd say we get at least two a day off of them.

During your dog's next vet check-up get him/her checked for Lymes Disease. Most times there's nothing you can do about it, but it helps to know they have the disease because sometimes it will flare up and they will have problems walking and just be "off".

Ticks....I HATEHATEHATE them!! Nasty, vile, ugly little creatures. Haven't figured out WHY they were created. I RIP them in two when I find them. It gives me great satisfaction to tear their itty, bitty heads off.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..............

k9

Have you applied Frontline on him?

Like meta said, this is a bad year for those creatures due to the wet spring ... not much you can do about spraying your lawn or bushes.

I'm sure you'll be checking him religiously now ... also check your couches, rugs, beds, etc.

K94ever, my daughter works as a vet tech and says that if you use a syringe to fill a tick with hydrogen proxide, it will bubble up and explode.

In case you get tired of ripping them in two....

Frontline and there's a vaccine for dogs. We're on a quarter acre of woods, we've been lucky so far, no ticks, but our pup gets checked pretty often!

I have lived in a rural area my entire life, my dogs always get ticks, have ticks, etc. I really dont' get too wound up about them, grab them at the base where they attach at the skin and pull upward and away in a brisk firm motion. Inspect that you have the head, this is important, because if the head is left in, they are a much higher risk of getting an infection at the site.
That's it. I dont' sanitize, I don't worry about it. We have Tick swim lessons at our house, they go in the toilet. My spouse opts to burn them when outside (ewww).

Use frontline or simialr and they will be less, and usually dead when you find them. If you do happen to find a fully gorged one, when you pick it off, make sure that you dont' have smaller ones under it, and brush the little black dots away.

I do go over my dog (down to just one now) every day to make sure there aren't any on her. Check old spots to be sure they are healing without infection or concern.

I have had many many dogs in my life, usually 3 at a time, and have only had one dog get sick from having a tick bite, and she had a rare autoimmune blood disease, but she was a shelter dog that had been abused prior to her rescue. Loaded with the buggers.

So don't get too wound up about them. but do be vigilent in monitoring them and their bites.

Yeah, this one was engorged. I came down stairs this morning and ran my hand down his back and felt this weird bump, almost like a small thick hairball from a burr. Then if felt more like a weird skin growth. Since it didn't hurt the dog when I squeezed it, I immediately thought - Tick! Gross little buggers.

I grew up on a farm, and had pets and/or farm animals most of my life. This is the first one I've ever found on an animal. We find them on us (my son and I) after some of our camping trips, especially in sage brush areas.

yuck...

Deer ticks carry Lymes; dog ticks carry Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever. If you kept the tick, you could bring it to your county extension office for them to identify (they love this but they'll do it.) However, you might want to bring him to the vet just to be sure.

I kept the tick. It's like a small grape...

Baxter is about due for a check-up anyway, so that seems like a good path to take.

We had a tick problem once... poor doggie was COVERED in them... I picked off several DOZEN ticks... Not sure where she picked them up.

We started using the monthly tick/flea protection that you put on the skin... no more ticks, no more fleas...

Gross little buggers aren't they?

ETA: Wrong word choice...

[This message edited by jrc1963 at 12:29 PM, June 27th (Thursday)]

I do Frontline, although in a suburban area, I have a mix of grass and trees in my yard...perfect tick breeding grounds.

I have found two on my pup so far, both dead and small when I pulled them out.

'Big as a grape' would be a dog tick. Here's the CDC page on RMSF in pets: http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/rockymountain.htm

It's dangerous to both humans and pets, so be careful.

[This message edited by Sad in AZ at 2:35 PM, June 27th (Thursday)]

Have you applied Frontline on him?

Please use this. It is amazing stuff.

We live on a farm. And this spring before my vaccinations and Frontline was delivered, my dogs would be covered with ticks from just one trip with me to the barn to feed horses and back to the house. At least 5 ticks on each dog. Ugh! Once I began applying the Frontline, no ticks.

I know it's chemical and a poison. But if used properly, it is far better than having their ears and skin red and sore from getting bit and risking other diseases.

*editd to add*
If your dog had one large engorged tick, there are probably more. Look over your dog closely. Look inside the ears, in between the outside flap, and down in the ear canal. Also, check behind the ears, behind the legs. Ticks start off small. Feel for any tiny bump in the skin, and then part the fur to see what it is. Chances are, it's a tick.

[This message edited by sadtoo at 3:32 PM, June 27th (Thursday)]