Ticks are not only a bothersome pest but they are also very dangerous to your dog as they carry a large number of diseases which can be fatal. The best safety measure against ticks is to prevent them from having the chance to bite your dog. There are lots of preventative measures you can take to help protect your dog from ticks this season such as:

• Limiting outdoor time
• Conducting frequent tick checks
• Staying alert for symptoms of tick-borne disease
• Oral medications
• Special flea and tick collars
• Shampoos
• Sprays and wipes
• Yard treatments
• Pest repellent garden and house plants

Removing Tick from a Dog

Preventing a tick from biting your dog is always the best medicine but if you do find a tick already attached, remove it with a pair of tick tweezers instead of your fingers to help prevent squeezing. Squeezing the tick while removing it may also inject bodily fluids from the tick and the mouth parts might remain stuck in your dog which can lead to infections.

During tick season, it’s best to check your dog for ticks after every walk. Even if you don’t get near tall grass on your walk, your dog can pick ticks up from other animals. So before you head inside, run your hands all over your dog to feel for any bumps and part the fur down to the skin to check out all bumps. If you do find a tick, you will want to get as close to your dog’s skin as possible to secure a hold on the tick. Then pull straight in a slow, steady, and gentle motion in an effort to keep the mouth parts of the tick from coming off and to keep from squeezing the tick as you pull. If you own multiple dogs, then be sure to check all of them to keep the ticks from traveling to the other dogs.

Treatment for Tick Borne Diseases

Preventative measures are the best cure as there are some tick-borne diseases that do not have vaccines. Even worse, these diseases are often misdiagnosed as they have varied symptoms so they don’t get the right treatment. On top of that, these treatments for tick-borne diseases can be very costly if you don’t have pet insurance or if complications prolong treatments.