Tons of ticks!

[Harper]

Help!  We went on a hike with Harper and came home with at least 50 ticks on her. 
We are trying to get them off as best we can but she has long dark hair so it is hard. Vet said her Frontline kills ticks but she is due in a week for her next dose. We bathed her before calling the  vet and vet said we should give her Frontline again but have to wait two days since her last bath. 

Anyone ever deal with a horrible tick problem before and have suggestions?

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am so glad he is okay.... Geeze to be on vacation to boot... I hope everything goes smoothly and that all the ticks are dead!!!

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

OMD how scary!!!  I am so glad Harper seems okay and you got them off!!  Keep us posted when you get back!! 

[Stella]

Yuk!!  Over 100 ticks, that is just gross.  I can't believe you had to deal with that!!  Chase had a tick on him last year and I almost died trying to get it off him - I was gagging the whole time!  I used tweezers and peroxide, but I have seen special tick removing tools that you can buy that reduce the risk of squeezing their heads (the tick, not the dog!!).  We have so many deer on our property that I always worry about the dogs getting ticks on them, we start using Revolution next month and it can't come soon enough!!

[Harper]

We weren't hiking in the woods, but were instead hiking on a path through fields with long grass and some cows.  I am beginning to think that the cows are the usual hosts for these ticks and that's why there were so many.  

 

The whole thing is very disgusting, but after 50 ticks or so you almost stop being quite so grossed out by them.  Desensitization or something.  Harper was a pretty good girl about the whole thing.  She didn't exactly sit still at first but we have had several very long tick-pulling sessions so she got pretty used to it.  

 

Things seem to be going pretty well today.  We find occasional dead ticks on the floor now, but I only found one or two (dead) ticks on Harper today.  

 

We return home tomorrow and hopefully this whole thing will be behind us!

[shelly]

So glad she is doing well!  (And YOU too) I know what you mean by 'desensitizing"  guess after a while you just go thru the motions and do what needs to be done! Hope your vet gives you the last piece of peace you need and this can just be one of those things you talk about for years!

[Jacqui and RosyNose]

hi- hope Harper is doing well and showing no signs of illness- you're probably home by now...don't forget to check your own scalp.  Ticks are notorious for hiding in clothing so you may find a stray one or two in your home or car after a day or so.

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

A foolproff way to get ticks off your dog:  put vaseline all over their bodies.  They breathe through the carapce of their body and if you smother the body in vaseline, they back right out.

It takes awhile because you have to do them one-at-a-time, but it is better than perhaps leaving tick heads in the dog.

[Lori]

SO SORRY to hear about Harper!!!  I thought we were having a bad tick year with 13 showing up so far!! You are very brave - and I do know what you mean about becoming desensitized! The 1st one I found this year was on the floor & it was fully engorged - I had no idea what it was so I picked it up!!! After about 5 min. of poking & squeezing the thing I showed it to my husband...that's when it's disgusting little legs gave the slightest hint of movement! Well I screamed loud & long...lost my voice for a week. Fast forward a few weeks to finding one on my son's nether regions - no screaming - praying of course!!! And then 2 weeks after that a tick on my ankle & one between that same son's fingers...(all the while ticks turning up here & there through the weeks) I unfortunately through my own fear & revulsion have passed my initial responses on to my children. Anyway, I am glad Harper is tick free now - my husband works at a hospital that has a tick lab in it & they gave us info on the best way to remove ticks - with a tweezer, get as close to the head as possible & pull straight out. They stated that if the tick is removed with in 24 hours, even if it is a lyme disease carrying tick the chances of getting the disease are greatly reduced. Always make sure the head comes out - the mouthparts carry the disease...wasn't fun getting the mouthparts out of my poor 5 year old when some helpful lady scratched the ticks body off of his hand when we were camping!!! Good Luck & keep us posted!!!

[Harper]

Harper is doing well and we are back home and haven't seen a tick in 3 days (I hope I don't jinx us).  I am hoping to get her groomed for the first time this weekend so that it will be easier to look for ticks in the future.  And going forward I am planning to use products that prevent ticks (K9 Advantix and perhaps some apple cider vinegar in her water if we are going somewhere with ticks).

[shelly]

YUCK LORI!  I HATE these TICKS!  I'm so afraid to use advantix or frontline on Tori.. I have eucalyptus/lemon spray we use on us when we go camping in Montauk.  It's supposed to repel Ticks and mosquitoes safely.  I think I may spray tori from time to time....and keep her off the grass!  (where does DH work- Stony Brook???)

[Pat and Traveler]

OMG!  You must have been horrified!  Hope the whole thing is over now.  Sure makes you think twice before taking your dog on what would seem to be just another walk.  I don't think Trav has gotten any ticks (yet), though we go into woods and fields whenever we get the chance.  He has long, dark hair too--so hope there's no ticks in there that I just never found.  Yuk!

[shelly]

I KNOW!  I too, can join the grossed out over ticks crowd!  Tori had one clinging tightly to her hair at the back of her neck - by her collar...She's got long dark hair too... I don't understand it!  She NEVER goes in the grass/trees, etc.  She goes on the patio, potty area and in... I'm hoping it was brought inside by my MIL who was doing yardwork and it just fell off her and crawled onto Tori.... I'm so afraid to use any chemicals on her... She too gets a shorter cut this weekend.