Our first tick!

Tinkerbee

Tinkerbee

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BLERGH! I was stroking Tink last night and found a lump...cue a moment of panic..but no, just the fattest tick I've ever seen! :eek:

Not sure if she picked it up here or Ireland (only been back a day), no deers in Ireland but we do have them around here.

Tweezered it out and I *think* I got it all... Had it really close to the skin and it looked intact when I looked at it :o

Would there be a visible lump if I hadn't got it all out? I've had a feel/look but I've never come across ticks before so not sure if you can tell?

No wonder she was zonked out last night :o poor thing had lost about a litre of blood (well, not quite but it was big!) :o
 
There might be a little lump where the head is if its left in, and infection may occur. Apparently (I'm not sure this is true..) but they can grow back if the head is left in! :eek: not sure if that is possible though!!
Put a little antiseptic cream on and keep an eye on it, it should be fine :)
K x
 
We took the fifth:eek: tick of the year off Bear this morning. It was a relatively tiny one - probably picked up on his walk yesterday evening. I hold the Bear still while OH uses a specially dedicated metal tick remover to lift the nasty little blighter. I find that the smaller the tick the larger the lump left behind, and the lump this time is quite big. But I've found that's how things are, so I'm not overly worried, though I always, always keep an eye on these things for several days afterwards.

I also check Bear at least twice a day once the tick 'season' is underway. Luckily due to his newly stripped jacket, and his lovely, scrummy, squidgy 'newness' (he's just over a year old:D), it's not difficult to find a lump that wasn't there yesterday, so to speak.

Ticks? Eurgh! Horrid, horrid, horrid.........:mad:
 
We have had loads! Mostly on the dog but one in my son's arm - eek! I use a tick removal tool that i bought at the vets - it is green plastic. There are 2 sizes and it is excellent for getting out the whole tick, it was very cheap too. There are lots of deer around here and unless I just walk the streets we get a tick most days.
 
Ticks, providing that there is not an infestation of them, generally do no harm to the dog, and they generally fall off, in their own good time. The problem with that though, is that they are as you say Tinks, a bit BLURGH!! So we remove them.

Tick removal isn't difficult, though it does call for a certain technique. If the tick is simply pulled off, then the risk of a nasty infection is high. It's vital that the head be removed at the same time as the body. Simply pulling the body off, will invariably leave the head in place, and therein lies the risk.

The tick removal tools, which we have, are made of plastic, and we have 2 sizes which came in a little plastic pouch, and came, if I remember rightly, from our vet, and cost about £2.

The technique is important. If you use the tool, then you need to hold it between your thumb and forefinger, and rotate it. Rotating the tool will make the tick loose it's grip, and the head will come away at the same time. I always used to do it with my finger nails, but it's a bit fiddly, and the correct tool is much easier. It sounds a bit complicated, but it really isn't, it's simplicity itself!! I've probably made it sound more complicated by rather going round the houses with the explanation!!

Alec.
 
The biggest tick I have found on one of my dogs was over 10mm across!
It fell off before I could pluck it out with the tick comb, so I squashed it on the floor outside, great big splat like a huge zit,blood everywhere!
Best to get any ticks out in the early stages if possible as some ticks (very few) can carry Lyme disease

http://ticks-on-dogs.net/lyme-disease-in-dogs/

Oz
 
In some parts of the country, tick species native to mainland Europe have now been found. They can carry encephalitis, which you most certainly do not want, either yourself, or for your dog.

Also, note this:

There is concern that the European species could spread infections that do not currently occur in the UK, including tick-borne encephalitis.

"The longer the tick is on, the higher the chance of a tick-borne disease," said Miss Smith [from the University of Bristol] .

"Ticks don't actually start to transmit infections until 24-48 hours post attachment.

"So the sooner it is removed cleanly, the smaller the risk of getting a disease it might be carrying."
Click to expand...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9432000/9432605.stm
 
We once found sixteen ticks on the pug after walking him in a forest up in Connecticut. Many, many yucks to that!

Obviously, over here, there is significant concern about Lyme, so we switch to walks on the beach over summer. Ticks do thrive year round, but they've never been a concern for us outside the warmer months.
 
Thanks everyone :)
Doesn't appear to be a lump so think I got it all.

Kept meaning to invest in a tick remover but had gone 10 years without seeing one so didn't see the need!

16! Blimey!

I did think you could just leave it to drop off, but didnt fancy it landing in the carpet and being stood on :o :D

Thanks everyone :)
 
You can get tick removal tools? :eek: blimey, only ever seen anyone singe them off with the end of a roll-up! lol I'm sure it's not the best way, but always seems to have worked...:rolleyes: :o
 
sazzle44 said:
You can get tick removal tools? :eek: blimey, only ever seen anyone singe them off with the end of a roll-up! lol I'm sure it's not the best way, but always seems to have worked...:rolleyes: :o
Click to expand...

lol, CC on here nearly sent her dog up in flames trying that:eek: (no harm done I hasten to add):D:D
 
FLAMBE! Yes, using a match and some whiskey on my dog's head was not the best idea I have ever had.

B also picked up one right between his eyes when tracking in fields previously occupied by a dairy herd...managed to ignore it for about a week and then had it out with the little bugger, was tired of looking at it and he wouldn't have tolerated a vet nurse with a tick hook so I put the gloves on and indulged in a spot of wrestling :o

**goes off to projectile vomit**
 
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