Ticks are parasites of the mite family that settle on the skin to feed on the animal’s blood. Besides the fact that their presence is unpleasant. They can transmit serious diseases such as anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis. Or even Lyme disease. While it is important to know how to spot and eliminate ticks. It is also essential to act upstream to prevent them from taking up residence on your dog’s skin. Focus on the different ways to get rid of embedded fully ticks on dogs.
Where do dog ticks come from?
Ticks appreciate temperatures above 4°C as well as cool and humid climates. They are found, for example, in tall grass, brush, or bushes. Horses and dogs are particularly popular prey for tick removal. These are not transmitted directly from one animal to another. But since they fall to the ground after two to three days on the skin. This allows them to move and change victims. This is how a tick can cling to your dog’s hair after falling off a horse. Or other animal you come across on a walk.
How to spot ticks?
Ticks look like little spiders and their bodies change depending on what they eat: the more they are engorged with blood, the bigger they are. Their size can therefore vary considerably. Generally, they like to lodge near or inside the ears, around the neck, or between the fingers, but they can also be found on any part of the body.
How to eliminate them?
It is best to treat the animal from head to tail if it frequents an area infested with ticks. For this, some pipettes are poured on the dog’s back and oral tablets that will help safely protect your dog. If they are not enough or if you want to speed up the process of eradicating ticks, you can also equip yourself with a tick-pulling hook which, as its name suggests, is designed to remove parasites.
These hooks are perfect for removing the whole tick, head included. When you try to remove a tick with your fingers, the head tends to remain in the skin, causing the formation of a cyst that can become infected. It is, therefore, better to avoid removing a tick by hand, without a specific hook. You can also use a natural tick remover for cats to get the job done easily.
What to do in prevention?
If you have a garden and your dog is used to walking there, it is better to mow the grass to limit the installation of ticks. Keep hedges neatly trimmed and tidy up debris and building materials to eliminate their preferred habitats.
After a walk, if your dog walks in tall grass and the climate is cool and humid, it is recommended to inspect your dog to check that ticks have not attached themselves to his hair. Make the first inspection the same evening and renew the checks the next day, especially in the areas appreciated by ticks (ears, neck, between the fingers). Do not hesitate to apply the product to the whole of his coat once a month.
Do not let ticks exhaust your dog, if you have the slightest doubt about his health after noticing that your companion is infested with ticks, do not hesitate to consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.
