How to Remove Ticks from Dogs?

Jul 1

Finding a tick on your dog is scary! Especially when the animal is already big and bloated. They can cause diseases in dogs that could potentially end fatal. Keep reading to learn about ticks, removal tools and steps to remove a tick from your dog.

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What is a tick and are they dangerous?

A tick is surprisingly not considered an insect. It belongs to the arachnid family, like spiders and scorpios.

Especially during spring and summer season, your dog might get bitten more often. There are different types of ticks, all of them have different colors and might transmit diseases. The most common ticks are paralysis tick, deer tick and the brown dog tick. All of the ticks cause skin irritation.

The Paralysis Tick, as the name says, can cause paralysis in dogs.
The Deer Tick can transmit Lyme disease, which might be fatal for your dog.
The Brown Dog Tick transmits bacteria like Ehrlichia Canis, that potentially end fatal.

There are many other ticks around, but these are the most common ones. If your dog gets bitten by a tick he also might have the following symptoms: vomiting, loss of appetite, heavy breathing or wobbly back legs. Your dog might not show any symptoms at all, which is why it is important to check your dog after walks in high grass, forests and parks.

What tool should I use to remove a tick?

There are many tool options to remove a tick. Not all options might work well for you and your dog. When I initially got my dog I tried multiple different ways to remove a tick. Here are the most common ways to remove a tick from your dog:

Pro Tip

Always rotate the tick, never pull it straight out of your dog’s skin!

1. Tweezers

Many resources recommend using tweezers. Most people have tweezers at home which makes it easy to remove the tick right away. I personally did not like using tweezers because it felt like squeezing the inside of the tick back into my dog. Even though that is not what’s happening, I still did not like the thought of it. I also found it hard to grab the tick with the tweezers. Whenever my dog would move a little, I had to find the tick again because the tweezers were somewhat slippery.

2. Tick Key

Tick Key removes ticks from dogs or humans

This tool is convenient because it can be attached to your keychain, so it's always handy. While I haven't personally tried it, it should work well, especially for those who are outdoorsy and go on hikes often.

The tick key is super easy to use. Place it flat against the fur with the tick in the opening, then pull the tool sideways, allowing the narrow side to remove the tick.

I don't use this tool myself because I prefer to grab and rotate the tick out to ensure all body parts are removed to avoid potential infections.

3. Tick Grabber Tool

tick grabber is a tool to remove ticks from dogs

This has been my go-to tool for removing ticks from my dog.

Pressing the top of the tool opens the bottom, making it easy to grab the tick close to your dog's skin. When you release the top button, it tightly closes around the tick. Then, rotate the tool to automatically pull the tick out. Easy peasy!

How to remove a tick safely?

Step by Step Removal

Once you chose a tool to grab the tick, follow the below steps to remove the tick from your dog.

Wear gloves! Very important since you do not want to touch the tick directly. Most importantly: You do not want to touch the bite area. Your skin might contract bacteria to the wound, causing an infection.
Spray disinfectant on the tick and around the bite area. Grab your tick removal tool and find the tick on your dog’s skin. Make sure to not pinch your pet’s skin.
Grab the tick by its head. (The head is where the tick is biting your dog.) Then start rotating the tick until it becomes loose. If you are using the Tick Key Tool, center the key slot over the tick, apply pressure and slide it to the side in order to pull out the tick. Make sure that you were able to remove the entire tick, including mouthparts. If you still see some mouthparts remain in your dog’s skin, grab a warm soak towel to allow the skin to repel them naturally.
It is very hard to kill a tick since they are so small. Place the tick in a glass of alcohol or trap it in a tightly sealed bag. Do not try to squeeze them, since they might repel infectious fluids.
Disinfect your removal tool by putting in into alcohol, or (if you are using a metal tweezer) hold it over a flame.

Remember that the best medicine for the removal of a tick is prevention. Talk to your vet about possible tick treatment to prevent the bite in the first place.

Stay Healthy!