I think I found a tick

[Jen W]

At first I thought it was just a dry patch of skin, but after googling tick images (fun night!) I think my puppy has a tick. I've read up on how to remove it, but I really don't think I have that in me. Is this the kind of thing I can take her to the vet for? Is it okay to wait until tomorrow? I think that tick has been there for at least 2 days now.

[F, Calla & Luca]

The sooner you remove them the less chance that they transmit disease. Are you going to take the dog to the vet every time it gets a tick? It will be costly and time consuming if she gets them on occasion. I just use a tweezer as close to the skin as possible and yank. I check to see the head.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. It needs to go ASAP. 

From the Humane Society: "Even the best repellents may not prevent these parasites from latching onto your pooch. And since it can take 24 to 48 hours for an attached tick to transmit an infection to its host, it's important to promptly and properly remove these parasites."

There are good clear step by step instructions on removing the tick in the article: 

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/getting_ticks_off_do...

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Agreed. Removing it the sooner the better. If left in, it's going to continue to suck blood and engorge itself. Grab a pair of tweezers and pull. Either "pop" it to kill it ( in a tissue) or emerge in alcohol .

[Wendy and Myla]

I agree with everyone else - you have to remove it as soon as you see it!  The article Karen gave you is great!  The only thing I would add to that is to apply an antibiotic cream to her after you have removed it (we used Polysporin) and make sure you destroy the tick - they are hard to kill!  If your puppy seems lethargic  after the tick is removed then I would take her to the vet.  We have had to remove three ticks from Myla this year - scary but has to be done!  Good luck!!!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Oh, we have ticks all the time.  As soon as the rain starts, they start hatching out.  And, as soon as the rain starts, we get our dogs on Frontline Plus for ticks and fleas.  If they get a tick then, the tick dies.   I really don't like giving the dogs insecticides, but it is better than the alternative.  About removing the tick:  Attach a tweezers gently to the tick's body and pull gently away from the dog's body.  You don't want to crush the tick and you don't want to leave the head in the dog.  If you feel more comfortable about checking it out, put the tick in a small bottle and take it to the vet to be checked out.  We have lyme's disease here but if we got every tick checked out, it would be a constant process.  You will get used to it. Oh yes, and we usually just flush the ticks down the toilet.  You don't want to put them in the trash.  Washed down the sink or flushed down the toilet is the way to dispose unless you want to keep the tick to have him checked out for disease.  We have a septic system and I sometimes imagine the ticks swimming around down there.

[Katie and Sophie]

Definitely remove it. Its really a lot less freaky than it sounds. Just make sure you put it in alcohol to kill it, because those suckers are resilient.

[Jen W]

Turns out it was a scab.  I was super embarrassed until the vet told me that someone once came in to have a tick removed but the tick was actually the dog's nipple.

They only charge $7.50 for tick removal (and nothing for finding out it's not a tick) so this is something I am going to leave to the professionals.

[Wendy and Myla]

I would definitely let the vet do it for $7.50 also but it seems Myla only gets ticks when we're camping and miles away from the nearest vet!  She probably does it on purpose because she knows ticks give me the "shivers"! LOL

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

:-}

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

For $7.50 it's worth it then!  the nipple story is funny! 

I just took one off Quincy with one of those tick remover hooks the other day.  Usually I find them dead - in my bed! yuck.  But at least the Frontline is working.  

[Wendy and Myla]

How did you like the tick remover?  I just saw one the other day but haven't researched and didn't know if there were different quality ones.  Is it easier than removing with tweezers?  Worth it to have one? 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I think it is easier to use than tweezers because you get the tick from the underside and gently put pressure and pull up.  With tweezers, you have to apply pressure around the tick, and you risk squeezing too hard and breaking off the head.  The kit I have is plastic in 2 sizes-it was pretty cheap.