by Lilian Okado

Created on: November 28, 2008   Last Updated: December 23, 2008

A tick is a small mite that lives off the blood of larger animals and sometimes even human beings. Discovering that you, or your pet, or farm animal has a tick is one thing; removing it, is quite another. So when faced with this task, as simple as it may sound what may begin as an innocent quest to free your pet of the tiny blood sucker can very easily turn into a nightmare.

So first, here are three simple rules to keep in mind when you are trying to remove a tick from a dog.

Rule #1: Avoid using sharp tweezers or you risk breaking the poor mites head leaving its body embedded in the dog's skin

Rule #2: Do not twist or jerk out the tick forcefully. Abrupt movements only result in the tick's mouth detaching itself and remaining enmeshed in the dog's skin.

Rule #3. Squeezing, crushing, burning and any other idea you may come up with that involves perforating or piercing the tick, does more harm than good. It increases the risk of your dog contracting a bacterial infection or disease from the fluids that may gush out of the ticks body.

That out of the way, the following are the correct methods to use to get rid of that tick:

With your Hands
Place your dog on your lap, or in a comfortable position where there will be minimal movement involved. Clean the area around it gently with antiseptic and with blunt tweezers or a tick twister/hook, or even your bare hands, carefully get a hold of the tick as close as possible to the skin and pull it out in one straight direction. Tick twisters are available online. Other tools you can use is the Trix tick remover' also available online.

If you do not have any of the above you can improvise with a needle or thread by hooking these between the jaws of the tick and carefully pulling it out.

Rubbing in a circular motion
Rubbing the tick in a circular or clockwise direction continuously, may seem silly at first but the circular motion causes the tick to get woozy' and crawl out on its own within minutes and without leaving any scars.

Using cotton wool dabbed in liquid soap
Soaking a ball of cotton wool in liquid soap and placing over the tick is also very effective. After a few seconds you the tick releases its hold and comes off.

Medication
There are different medications ins the market that help remove ticks. An example is Frontline,' which when applied on your dog also causes the tick to fall off. It may take as long as 24 hours, but is efficient if your dog has multiple tick infestations. Other natural remedies like cedar oil peppermint oil and lemon juice are also good tick repellents.

Once out dispose of the tick by either burning or flushing it down the toilet. If you used your bare hands ensure that you wash them thoroughly afterwards with disinfectant. Clean the dogs bite with antiseptic not forgetting the tools used (tweezers, tick twister) which can be soaked or swabbed with hot water or alcohol. A visit with the vet would be a conclusive way to rule out possible infections. And remember prevention is better than cure. So learn longterm ways how to protect your dog from ticks.

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