Help! Stubborn tick.

mattydog

mattydog

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So poor Dex has picked up a tick. It's right on his eyelid. I have tried tickling it, my tick tickling technique failed. Dousing it with gin, recommended by a vet. Today I drowned it in Listerine which will kill it apparently and it will drop off. Not my tick, he is made of sterner stuff. So any ideas? I don't really want to pull at it because of where it is and have never tackled a tick and don't want to risk leaving the mouth parts in. :confused:
 
Go into the vet and see if they can do it with a tick hook or treat it with something which will make it drop off.

I used to be of the drown/smother/burn it opinion also but apparently that can make them regurgitate back into the dog, which, depending on where you are located and what they are carrying, can result in illness.
 
Many thanks for the advice. Was waiting for hubs to come home so we could tackle tick gate together! Dex just wandered in tickless. A search of the area found Mr tick dead and complete with head. Apparently Listerine does kill them!
 
mattydog said:
Many thanks for the advice. Was waiting for hubs to come home so we could tackle tick gate together! Dex just wandered in tickless. A search of the area found Mr tick dead and complete with head. Apparently Listerine does kill them!
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or nail polish (appreciate not a good idea near an eye). I just grab tweezers, put a piece of loo roll over the tick as I am squeamish, grab and twist gently and they always come off. the tweezers give me a good hold on the tick but since I have been giving mine adovcat monthly I don't have ticks on them anymore..
 
Go to the vets and buy an otom tick remover. it has a v shaped head that you
slide under the tick's mouthpart and then twist to remove the tick. That way you will not leave the mouthpart attached/burrowed in your pet's skin. This can often become infected.

Also remember that whilst attached, the tick will be sucking blood for the first 24 hours, but after 24 hours it will excrete saliva into the animal. This is the period when diseases are transmitted to your pet ( eg Lymes disease ) or even humans as we can also have ticks attach :eek::eek:
 
I lost my tick remover tool BUT...if you have long nails, you can use them as i do, just grip the tick right at the dogs skin firmly enough that you can twist it. Twist anti clockwise 360 degrees and further if you can with help and then just pull out. Have some loo roll ready to put it in and flush it down the loo.

Or...if you have an old credit card, library card or even strong business card, cut out a 3mm wedge in a corner. Should be about 5mm long into the corner of the card and about 3mm across, so what you cut out is a little triangle.

As close to this as you can get, but I don't make it so fancy, I just cut the slit...

http://www.tickremoval.co.uk/tick_card.html

Sip this around the tick, as close to the skin as you can so that it grips either side of the ticks head. Now you can use it like a tick removing tool and turn 3 x anti clockwise and the tick will just let go. Again...flush tick down loo.

Good luck.
 
Any good flea powder will get rid - I was told that by a vet some years ago, they can't say so on the packaging because they haven't done the necessary clinical trials but it does work - dust him in flea powder. Or use a spot on flea/tick treatment. Pulling it out, however carefully or in a prescribed manner always risks leaving gthe head in and the resulting septicaemia
 
JillA said:
Any good flea powder will get rid - I was told that by a vet some years ago, they can't say so on the packaging because they haven't done the necessary clinical trials but it does work - dust him in flea powder. Or use a spot on flea/tick treatment. Pulling it out, however carefully or in a prescribed manner always risks leaving gthe head in and the resulting septicaemia
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I was told this once as well. I tried it, called vet 2 days later to say it hadn't worked, only to be told it only works to prevent them, not remove them.

I'll be honest, I would rather treat an infection caused by a foreign body (leftover part of the head) than be treating lyme disease.

I should have said in previous post that it is important to check the tick before flushing it. Pop it on the paper and check it. If all head parts and legs are present, flush it, if not, flush it and clean the site, removing any remains and use medi wipes. Keep an eye and if it goes red/hot, pop to vet. I have never had to do that with the twist method though. Have always found that they just let go.
 
Henry had one near to his eye once too. We tackled it as a team - OH held his head still and I wielded the hook. I don't like them at the best of times, but that one was especially minging!:eek:
 
Best way to deal with ticks is to dab the little ******* with an ear bud soaked in neat tea tree oil. However, in the OP's case this would not be advisable as there is the risk that the oil could penetrate the eye which would cause agony - only use neat tea tree oil on non-mucous membrane skin. In the OP's case, I think removal with a tick hook would be the only way.

Tea tree oil really is the best way to treat ticks if possible because not only does the oil punch holes in the cell wall of the tick, thus killing it, it will penetrate round the tick's mouth parts and thus into your dog and prevent infection/sepsis. Added advantage is that it tastes and smells foul, so your dog will not lick the area.
 
Disgusting little ******s!

I always tweezer right at the base, twist a little and pull, firmly rather than sharply. Then I check all bits are attached as they should be. Never had a problem this way!
 
Best way to tackle ticks is not to get them in the first place! My boys now wearing Seresto flea and tick collars prescribed by my vet, which repel ticks and kill fleas and ticks for 8 months.
 
Help, have just found a tick on my dogs neck. It's the first one he has had and it wasn't there this morning. It isn't a fat one it still looks very deflated and I have just re front lined him. I was hoping it would die pretty quickly and fall off but it's been about 20min and whilst its stopped wriggling its legs it is still attached. Should I be patient or try twist it out?
 
Take it out as described above.

Would diatomaceous (sp?) earth powder work or just kill it and leave the head in?

What is the point of ticks?!
 
Thanks, got the tweezers out and twisted but was still firmly attached so bottled it but just tried again and got the sucker out (pun intended ;) )
That's the first one I've had to deal with and hope its the last, yuck!
guess I'll have to step it up with the front line to keep em off.
Am now sat here worried that he's caught something from the nasty thing, I can see myself worrying myself to paranoia. He's rather lathargic but it 21 degrees and 2 hrs past a regular bed time
 
Luci07 said:
or nail polish (appreciate not a good idea near an eye). I just grab tweezers, put a piece of loo roll over the tick as I am squeamish, grab and twist gently and they always come off. the tweezers give me a good hold on the tick but since I have been giving mine adovcat monthly I don't have ticks on them anymore..
Click to expand...

Advocat does NOT treat Ticks - neither does it even prevent them.
Frontline is one that does ensure your dog remains tick free.

They seem to be a major problem this year. My dogs are 5 yo, 4 yo and 8 months old - up until this year they have never picked up a tick. I have tickled 5 off in the last 5 weeks.:mad:
 
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