How to remove a tick from a dog thats embedded

After any outdoor activity, it’s always a great idea to get in the routine of checking your dog for ticks. This is because ticks can transmit diseases in as little as 24 hours after attachment.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

Tools You’ll Need to Remove a Tick
Steps for Removing Ticks From Dogs
Using Tweezers to Remove Ticks
Using a Tick Removal Tool
What to Do If the Head of the Tick Gets Stuck in Your Dog’s Skin
How to Kill a Tick
Disinfecting the Skin
Preventing Tick Bites
Ticks Are More Than an Annoyance
Avoid These Risky Methods!
Items Needed to Remove a Tick
What if the Tick's Head Remains Embedded?
Preventing Future Encounters

Ticks like to hide on your dog, especially in these spots:

Around their face
Around their neck
Inside their ears
Under their arms and legs
Between their toes

If you do find a tick on your dog, it’s important to know how to safely get ticks off dogs. Follow this guide to learn how to remove a tick from a dog and dispose of it properly.

Tools You’ll Need to Remove a Tick

To remove a tick safely, you’ll need these supplies:

Latex or rubber gloves
Extra lighting and a magnifying glass
Tweezers or a tick removal tool (my personal favorites are the Tick Tornado and the Tick Twister)
Isopropyl alcohol
Jar or small container with a lid
Triple antibiotic ointment
Treats!

Steps for Removing Ticks From Dogs

Use caution when trying to remove ticks that are attached near your dog's eyes, around their mouth, and inside their ears. If the tick is in an area that seems uncomfortable for your dog, don’t be afraid to call your veterinarian and ask for assistance.

Use the treats as distractions and rewards for your dog during the tick removal process. Here’s how to get ticks off dogs using tweezers or a tick removal tool.

Using Tweezers to Remove Ticks

If you are using tweezers to remove a tick, follow these steps:

Try to grab the base of the tick as close to your dog’s skin as possible. Try not to pinch your dog! Also make sure you are not squeezing the tick too tightly, as it may crush the tick and make it more difficult to remove.
Slowly begin to pull the tick out from your dog’s skin in a steady motion. Do not twist or jerk your hand while pulling the tick out. The goal is to pull the head of the tick out of your dog’s skin while it is still attached to its body.
Once the tick has been removed, examine it to make sure all body parts have been removed from your dog’s skin.

Using a Tick Removal Tool

If you are using a tick removal tool—like the Tick Twister—follow these steps:

Gently “hook” the body of the tick in the notch of the tool.
Rotate the tool clockwise or counterclockwise until the tick detaches from the skin (do not pull on the tick while it is still attached).
Once the tick has detached, lift the tick away from the skin.
Examine the tick to make sure all body parts have been removed from your dog’s skin.

What to Do If the Head of the Tick Gets Stuck in Your Dog’s Skin

If the head of the tick is still embedded in your dog’s skin after the body has been removed, there’s no need to panic.

Do not try to dig the head of the tick out of your dog’s skin. This will cause more irritation and inflammation and will open the skin to infection.

Instead, take your dog to the veterinarian to remove any remaining embedded pieces of the tick.

How to Kill a Tick

Once the tick has safely been removed, place it in a jar or small container that is filled with isopropyl alcohol and put the lid on the jar. The isopropyl alcohol will kill the tick.

Many veterinarians recommend keeping the tick in the container in case your dog starts to show any signs of illness. Different types of ticks can carry different diseases, so having your veterinarian identify the tick may help with a diagnosis.

Disinfecting the Skin

After disposing of the tick, you can tend to the tick bite area.

Gently clean the site of tick attachment with soap and water. Vetericyn Plus Antimicrobial Hydrogel spray can be applied to the area as well.

Continue to watch the area where the tick was attached. If you notice any redness or inflammation, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Preventing Tick Bites

Keep your dog on flea and tick prevention year-round.

There are very effective oral prescription products available, including Nexgard and Bravecto, that will provide great protection against fleas and ticks.

For over-the-counter flea and tick prevention, consider Frontline Plus or a Seresto collar for continued prevention.

Featured Image: iStock.com/happyborder

Even with the careful removal of a tick, it is very common for a mouth part (or even entire head) to remain when a tick is extracted.

While we want to avoid having the tick’s mouth left in the skin, it is sometimes unavoidable. When the mouth is left in, it’s hardly the end of the world. The potential for disease transmission at this point is minimal. The body will wall off the foreign material and, in a few days, it will dissolve. The only other problem that might occur is the foreign body reaction that could also occur from a thorn or splinter. Although the embedded head does not always increase risk of infections, one must treat it in the same way, as one would a splinter.

What not to do if a tick’s head gets stuck in your dog

Perhaps just as important as what to do if a tick’s head gets stuck in your dog is what not to do. This advice is very similar to what may be recommended for people, according to tickbites.net. Never dig around in the skin to remove the remainder of the tick, as this can actually increase the risk of skin infections. Instead, it’s best to let nature take its course. Your dog’s body will expel the tick out naturally by itself.

How to prevent infection

To avoid the possibility of infection, apply an antibiotic ointment, as directed.

How will I know if there’s a problem?

Remember to watch the area for the development of a rash or irritation and be sure to see your veterinarian right away if a rash develops at the site.

If you’re concerned about the possibility of tick-borne disease, follow these links to learn more about the symptoms of:

Also, see the common tick diseases in your area.

Preventing future ticks

If you’ve just pulled a tick off of your dog, you might be wondering how you can avoid it in the future. While nothing can be 100% effective, The Companion Animal Parasite Council says, the most important thing to do to prevent ticks is to use a combination flea and tick control agent, according to your veterinarian’s instructions, all year round.

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian -- they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.

Adrienne is a certified dog trainer and former veterinarian assistant who partners with some of the best veterinarians worldwide.

This article will cover how to remove ticks from your dog.

Borislav Dopudja, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ticks Are More Than an Annoyance

Ticks are not only annoying blood-sucking bugs, but they are also vectors of a variety of diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis, to name a few. For this very reason, if you live in the country or often take your dog on hikes in areas with high vegetation, you will want to inspect your dog for ticks.

Ticks may not be initially easy to detect; they can be as small as poppy seeds. However, once they are engorged with blood, they can be the size of a corn kernel. Ticks are commonly found in wooded areas, but they can also be found near lakes, ponds, in parks, and even city backyards. They are very hardy and can be found in just about every state and climate.

They usually linger around grass, patiently awaiting their next meal. Once they find a dog, they will attach their mouthparts through the dog's skin and feed on their blood. They usually settle in areas out of the dog's reach. When inspecting a dog for ticks, make sure to look inside their ears, between their toes, in their armpit areas, and on their underbelly.

Should you find a tick, you must be very careful on how you remove it. There are particular guidelines you must follow to avoid leaving a tick's head embedded in your dog.

It is important to remove the tick as soon as possible. It usually takes between 24 to 48 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted, so you want to always inspect your dog carefully and act swiftly. This article is a guide on how to safely remove an embedded tick from your dog.

Avoid These Risky Methods!

Should you find an embedded tick on your dog, you must know how to properly remove it. There are a lot of methods suggested, but many do not work or are simply dangerous.

You might have heard of using a match, a cigarette, petroleum jelly, lighter fluid, nail polish, or alcohol. These methods have caused serious burns to dogs and even major skin irritations due to the application of chemicals.

Such methods may even encourage the tick to regurgitate more infectious fluids, exposing your dog to more pathogens.

It's also important to protect yourself from dangerous secretions, so wearing gloves is a must. In order to effectively remove a tick, read on for some guidelines.

Items Needed to Remove a Tick

Rubber gloves
Tweezers
Jar with alcohol
Neosporin
Dog's favorite treats

Wear some latex gloves and arm yourself with the tweezers. Bring your pet to a well lit area where you can see clearly. Part the dog's hair and, with the help of the tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as you can. Pull the tick firmly straight up. You are aiming to grasp the tick's head to prevent the head and body from separating.
Do not twist the tick. Twisting may stress the tick and expose your pet to more pathogens. You may cause the mouthparts to break. Simply pull straight up until the tick removes its grasp. Your goal is to remove the tick alive so that it doesn't secrete pathogens. You should remove the whole tick. Don't forget to praise your dog and give him a tasty treat!
Do not flush the tick down the toilet, it will survive the trip and look for another meal soon. Instead, place the tick in a jar with rubbing alcohol in it. Label the jar with the date collected. Should your dog ever develop potential signs of a tick-borne disease, you will have a specimen that can evaluated by a vet. They can determine whether it may have transmitted a tick-borne disease to your dog. Usually, a dog starts showing signs of Lyme disease within 2-5 months.
After removal, clean the skin where the tick was embedded with soap and water. Plain Neosporin can be applied on the area where the tick was attached. This medication is safe if your dog tries lick it off (but try to avoid it).

Think of a tick as a little germ-filled balloon. Squeeze it too hard on its back end, and all the germs get pushed to the front end.

— DVM360

What if the Tick's Head Remains Embedded?

If the body of the tick separates and the head still remains embedded (you can often see it as a dot of black in the center of the wound), you can try to treat the area just like if the dog had a splinter. Try to remove it carefully with the tweezers. If you are still having difficulty, avoid stressing the skin too much. You may ultimately be causing more damage than the tick's head may be.

At this point you may decide to have your vet attempt to remove the tick's embedded head. Your vet may numb the skin using a topical anesthetic and then gently scrape it off using a surgical blade.

Alternatively, you may watch the area for a few days for signs of infection. The tick's head will be naturally expelled by the dog's skin days later.

It is normal for a sore to form days after the tick has been removed. It may take up to a week or two for the sore to disappear, according to veterinarian Dr. Wade.

If the tick head is still embedded your dog will be likely to develop a local pustule where the head is and it will cause a sore and then should resolve after a week or two.

— Dr. Wade DVM

Preventing Future Encounters

Ticks are nasty disease carriers. And new studies have found that they tend to stick around even in cold weather. For this reason, using special products that repel them can be a lifesaver. These products may need to be used year-round.

If you use Advantix, please be aware that such products can be toxic for cats. Also, try to stay away from cheap over-the-counter products that have been known to cause toxicity in some cases.

A good tick prevention product is important. Preventic is a brand that produces a collar that should repel ticks. It may help safeguard yourself and your beloved dog from these annoying parasites. It can provide priceless peace of mind.

Treating the yard with a tick preventive can also help keep these pesky parasites away. Removing clutter avoids giving ticks a place to hide. Clearing all tall grasses and brush around the home and yard can also help a lot.

On top of that, consider vaccinating your dog against Lyme disease. Lyme disease has been confirmed in dogs in all 48 continental states. However, the disease is more widespread in the Northeast, such as areas from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, and along the upper Midwest, in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The biggest thing to hit on when it comes to ticks is the importance for year-round tick prevention. People sometimes think if it's not spring or summer, ticks aren't out and that's not true.

— Dr. Richard Gerhold, DVM

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.