http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/parasites/ht/HT_removetick.htm?nl=1

I've always heard many different ways of removing ticks. I think the most popular is to burn it off....well according to the article above its not such a good idea to smother or burn a tick off a pet (or yourself) because it might cause it to inject more saliva into the wound. The complications of the latter is that many tick borne illnesses are transmitted precisely through the saliva of the tick.

Here are some steps author suggest when it comes to tick removal:

Tip: Always use latex gloves and good lighting to find ticks. Make sure you are checking your pet daily for these parasites, particularly around the abdomen, ears, face and legs.

Ticks can be the size of a seasme seed and as big as the size of a fingernail (when filled with blood).

1. Using tweezers grasp the part of the tick closest to the skin.

2. With a steady and firm grip gently pull the tick outward.

3. Do not squeeze while pulling (especially the body of the tick) as this may cause it to inject more saliva into the wound.

4. Once it comes out clean the bite area with water and mild soap. Should the tick break off or not come out completely try to get it out as you would a splinter.

5. Put the tick in a jar with alcohol in case the dog shows some sort of sickness in the future.

Thanks for posting this up! good stuff to know especially since warmer weather is upon us and more ticks will be out! they are a bunch of unnecessary lil buggers!

Yes definitely good to know now. I'm sure there are plenty of ticks around here but I've never seen Junior with one thankfully!

I've also heard (and used) that applying heat (heating the tweaser with a lighter) will make the tick back out. If you use this method, be careful notto touch the dog's skin as it may cause up to a 2nd degree burn.

I always use hydrogen peroxide to clean the area afterward.

Betterdog4u wrote:

I've also heard (and used) that applying heat (heating the tweaser with a lighter) will make the tick back out. If you use this method, be careful notto touch the dog's skin as it may cause up to a 2nd degree burn.

I always use hydrogen peroxide to clean the area afterward.

Yeah this is the more common one I hear, but since there is a chance of burning (and some dog's don't sit still) I guess its not always advisable unless you know what you are doing.

Steven_L wrote:

Yeah this is the more common one I hear, but since there is a chance of burning (and some dog's don't sit still) I guess its not always advisable unless you know what you are doing.

I've been lucky that all of my dog's will sit still for me, so the heated tweezers have worked well for me. In fact, I used them again over the weekend with Neka!!!

Betterdog4u wrote:

Steven_L wrote:

Yeah this is the more common one I hear, but since there is a chance of burning (and some dog's don't sit still) I guess its not always advisable unless you know what you are doing.

I've been lucky that all of my dog's will sit still for me, so the heated tweezers have worked well for me. In fact, I used them again over the weekend with Neka!!!

Oh man, not letting up are they??

Steven_L wrote:

Oh man, not letting up are they??

Nope, wood ticks are about as common as flys around here. They started early this year b/c we got 4 very warm days in March. I usually get 1 or 2 per month thru Sept.

Betterdog4u wrote:

Steven_L wrote:

Oh man, not letting up are they??

Nope, wood ticks are about as common as flys around here. They started early this year b/c we got 4 very warm days in March. I usually get 1 or 2 per month thru Sept.

Oh man, that really stinks....I'm not sure what it is about here (probably too hot?) But ticks aren't really such a big problem, fleas are sometimes though. And well we can always be positive about things, least we don't have to deal with paralysis ticks like in Aussie!

Steven_L wrote:

... well we can always be positive about things, least we don't have to deal with paralysis ticks like in Aussie!

Thats for sure!!!

I think the problem around here comes from the fact that we have SO much woods and grass lands. It also has to do with the LARGE deer population in this area. At any given time we have 20-30 deer in the area.

I had never seen a tick before and about a month ago one of my dogs had one on her ear. I took a pair of tweesers and got it at the base and slowly removed it .. for about a week I put achool on her ear where the tick had been. They have to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen. This week I took one of my dogs to the vet to get her annual shot and I saw the neatest tick remover tool .. its got a slit that you can just slide under between the tick and your dog and you just gently pull ... so no danger of bursting the tick and getting that poison back into your animal .. I thought it was quite neat and not that expensive !

Betterdog4u wrote:

Thats for sure!!!

I think the problem around here comes from the fact that we have SO much woods and grass lands. It also has to do with the LARGE deer population in this area. At any given time we have 20-30 deer in the area.

Yes that would certainly aggrivate the problem, here is the countless bunnies and squirrels...

bootscar1 wrote:

I had never seen a tick before and about a month ago one of my dogs had one on her ear. I took a pair of tweesers and got it at the base and slowly removed it .. for about a week I put achool on her ear where the tick had been. They have to be the ugliest thing I have ever seen. This week I took one of my dogs to the vet to get her annual shot and I saw the neatest tick remover tool .. its got a slit that you can just slide under between the tick and your dog and you just gently pull ... so no danger of bursting the tick and getting that poison back into your animal .. I thought it was quite neat and not that expensive !

Never seen on of those, but decided to google "tick removing tool" and seem to have found what you are talking about! They even have a little one you can put as a key chain so you have one handy all the time, would be something useful to have if you live in heavily infested areas!