Getting a Tick Off of Your Dog

If your dog spends time outside in areas where ticks like to hang out, a tick check should be part of your daily routine.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.

Check, please!

First, run your fingers slowly over your dog's entire body. If you feel a bump or swollen area, check to see if a tick has burrowed there. Don't limit your search to your dog's torso: check between his toes, under his armpits, the insides of his ears, and around his face and chin.Don't limit tick checks to your canine family members. Dogs can't directly transmit tick-borne illnesses to people, but ticks can move from host to host. A tick may enter your home on your dog's back and move on to another pet or human, or a tick could hitch a ride on you and then move on to one of your pets. A good tick prevention strategy includes checking all family members for these parasites, especially after outdoor activities in wooded, leafy, or grassy areas.

Is it a tick?

Ticks can be black, brown, or tan, and they have eight legs. Ticks are arachnids and related to spiders, not insects. They can also be tiny—some tick species are only as large as the head of a pin—so look carefully.In some areas of the United States where there is no real winter, ticks are active all year, not just in the summer months. Even in areas where there has been a killing frost with the approach of winter, ticks can become active again if the weather turns warm for more than a day or two.

If you find a tick on your dog, don't panic! Follow these quick and easy steps to safely remove the pest.

Step 1: Get your gear

• Pair of gloves
• Clean pair of tweezers or a commercial tick remover
• Antiseptic
• Isopropyl alcohol

Step 2: Remove the tick
Wear gloves while removing the tick to avoid contact with your skin (ticks can transmit diseases to people, too).

If you're using tweezers:

• Grasp the tick as close to your dog’s skin as possible, but be gentle! Try not to pinch your dog's skin.
• Pull outward in a straight, steady motion, making sure that you’ve removed the entire tick, since anything left behind could lead to an infection.

If you're using a tick remover:

• Gently press the remover against your dog's skin near the tick.
• Slide the notch of the remover under the tick.
• Continue sliding the remover until the tick is caught in the small end of the notch and is pulled free. (The tick will remain in the bowl of the remover.)

Step 3: Store the evidence

Drop the tick into a small container that contains isopropyl alcohol (the alcohol will quickly kill the tick), and mark the date on the container. If your dog begins displaying symptoms of a tick-borne illness, your veterinarian may want to identify or test the tick