Removing an attached tick from your dog can be stressful, but there is an easy, effective way to do it. To remove an attached tick, use a pair of fine-tipped tweezers or special tick removal instruments. These special devices allow one to remove the tick without squeezing the tick body. This is important, as you do not want to crush the tick and force harmful bacteria to leave the tick and enter the dogs bloodstream. Once you have your tools, follow these steps to remove the tick.
Tick Removal Basics
First, grab the tick by the head or mouth parts right where they enter the skin. Then, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. Do not twist the tick as you are pulling. After removing the tick, place it in a jar of alcohol to kill it. Ticks are NOT killed by flushing them down the toilet. The fourth step is to clean the bite wound with a disinfectant. Lastly, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. You have successfully removed the tick!
Things to Remember
There are many old wives tales of other methods to remove a tick. Methods such as applying petroleum jelly, lavender oil, a hot match, or alcohol will NOT cause the tick to "back out". In fact, these irritants may cause the tick to regurgitate more disease-carrying saliva in the wound.
Please do not use your fingers to remove or dispose of the tick. Wear gloves to prevent contact with a potentially disease-carrying tick. Do NOT squash the tick with your bare fingers. The contents of the tick can transmit disease.
Once an embedded tick is manually removed, it is not uncommon for a welt and skin reaction to occur. A little hydrocortisone spray will help alleviate the irritation, but it may take a week or more for healing to take place. In some cases, the tick bite may permanently scar leaving a hairless area. This skin irritation is due to the tick's saliva. It is not due to the tick losing its head, literally. Do not be worried about the tick head staying in; it rarely happens. If the tick's mouthparts break off, the animal's body will treat it like a sliver. Inflammation will occur around the mouthparts and then the mouthparts will work themselves out of the pet's skin.