How to safely remove ticks from dogs at home

Ticks are likely to be a problem for you at some time in your life if you are a dog owner. These tiny spiders are 1mm to 1cm long. They live in woods, meadows, heaths, and regions with deer and sheep.

If you discover one of these unpleasant parasites on your dog, do you what to do for safe at-home tick removal? 

Tweezers are the most popular and efficient instrument for removing ticks. But not all tweezers work. The tips of most home tweezers are sharp. Use fine-point tweezers to remove ticks without spreading diseases.

First, spread the fur on your dog’s body, and then grab the tick as close to the skin. Pull up in a vertically upward direction very softly and slowly yet steadily. Using a tick removal hook is still another method and one that is much less difficult to pick up.

Following the steps in this article, you will learn how to correctly remove a tick from a dog and dispose of it.

Spotting ticks on dogs

Ticks can’t fly or leap; they drop on your dog as they walk by, which is why they’re most abundant under dense vegetation.

The ideal time to inspect your dog for ticks is immediately after returning from regular walks. Be cautious to check for lumps and bumps, as ticks feel like little bumps. The head, neck, ears, and feet are the most important places to check for ticks since these are the locations where they are most frequently detected.

Ticks may transmit diseases in as little as 24 hours, so removing them as quickly as possible is crucial.

Removing ticks from a dog can be challenging since its mouthparts could cause an infection if left behind. If you can’t remove the tick, take your dog to the vet.

Dried dead ticks are often found and not recognized. If you spot a dried tick, use this helpful guide that covers finding them and the procedure to remove them. It’s slightly different than the procedure mentioned above, but it comes in handy!

Safely remove a tick from a dog at home

The first step is to remove ticks from your dog quickly. Remove the tick between 24 and 36 hours after it bites.

Ticks like to reside between his toes, in his crotch, and at or around his ears. In addition to that, they appreciate the region next to the anus, tail, and eyelids.

It’s crucial to examine your dog’s coat every day and remove ticks asap you detect them. Here is how to proceed safely.

Collect supplies

First, you need some instrument to remove ticks from your pup correctly. Either take your dog to the vet clinic or remove the tick yourself.

Always protect your hands/fingers by using gloves when handling ticks. It is because some zoonotic diseases can also damage you if transmitted by ticks on your dog.

Keep your dog calm to remove a tick

Make sure your pup is quiet before you try to remove a tick from him. Wait until your canine companion is calm.

Then use the specially designed tick removing instrument and get a firm grip on the tick to remove it. If you pull too rapidly, you risk leaving part of the tick in your dog’s skin, which might cause disease. If your dog remains calm, you will have an easier time removing the tick without breaking it into several pieces.

Don’t use tweezers unless designed to remove ticks. If you use traditional tweezers, you risk pinching the tick and leaving a piece of it on your dog’s coat.

Be sure to use your tick-removing instrument following the directions provided. In most cases, the stages are as follows:

• Place the tool’s hook along the tick on your dog’s skin.
• Move the tool under the tick to capture it in the hook.
• Twist the instrument away from the dog’s fur to remove the tick.

Clean the area

Use rubbing alcohol, iodine, soap, and water to clean the area around the bite and your hands.

Get rid of all ticks

Kill the tick with alcohol or tape and flush it down the toilet. If you are worried that the tick may carry disease, you should preserve it in alcohol for testing.

Disinfect the area

After removing the tick from your dog, disinfect the area and check it. It may be infected if it’s red, puffy, or dripping pus or fluid.

Keep an eye on your dog

After removing the tick from your dog, continue monitoring the dog’s behavior for the next week or two to ensure that they do not exhibit any symptoms associated with Lyme disease.

Watch for symptoms including lethargy, fever, swollen or stiff joints, trouble breathing, or loss of appetite. Take your dog to the veterinarian if you have any concerns about its health.

Keep your dog tick-free

You can do different things to keep ticks from attaching to your dog’s skin. Protect your dog against ticks with these suggestions.

• Remove old boxes, newspapers, and firewood from your home and yard.
• Maintain a modest cutting height for the grass in your yard. (Ticks like long grass.)
• Limit your dog’s access to forested areas, woodpiles, stone fences, and underbrush.
• Before you enter your home, check yourself and your dog for ticks.
• Use a monthly topical treatment, oral medications, and flea/tick collars.   Only a few of these products are effective against all types of ticks.
• Ask your vet about your dog’s Lyme disease vaccination and tick-borne disease testing.
• Using the correct tick prevention equipment helps keep your dog safe. 
• Consult your veterinarian for dog health information.

Follow at-home tick removal tips

Now that you know how to safely remove ticks, you can use these at-home tick removal tips to keep your furry friends healthy and tick-free.

Dr. Thomas P. Doyne (DVM)(MS) is a professional licensed veterinarian in the United Kingdom and Taiwan. He’s also a veterinary content writer who has worked in the industry since 2012 and currently publishes with  Cutepetcare.