dog vs. wood tick -what to do?

kamloops67

kamloops67

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hello all,
after a relatively mild winter ,i am expecting the wood tick population to be large this spring starting right about...now.
we have a young siberian husky (named smith) that has fur like felt, its so thick and intertwined i have concerns that i might not be able to find the ticks that he will pick up .
how should i deal with this issue ,what do you do ?
as a note, i have personally witnessed animals both wild and domestic literally eaten alive by these hideous parasites, its a horrible sight to see a cow or deer shaking and shuddering from nerve damage they needed to be put down immediately in both cases.
i dont want them on my little buddy , and when he does pick them up, how can i get them off?
 
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Start with one of the flea and tick meds (Advantix, etc.,) for prevention. We don't have much of a tick problem here on the wet side, so ours is primarily flea protection. They do come on thick in the summer, and since we also had a mild year I'm expecting a tough time for our critters.
 
kamloops67 said:
when he does pick them up, how can i get them off?
Click to expand...

There are various treatments available for prevention - I don't know which ones work or don't work, or work better. Hopefully somebody will chime in...

As far as removing ticks, I use wooden matches and tweezers.
Light the match and let it fully ignite then blow it out and while it is still hot, touch the tick with it and hold for a few seconds.
Now, grab onto the tick as close to the host animal's skin as you can get and slowly and GENTLY pull the tick with the tweezers.

You should get the tick's head out most of the time doing this.


P.S.
If anybody has a better, easier, or more effective method of tick removal, I'm all ears - the way I do it can be a PITA.
 
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Hillbilly77 said:
Now, grab onto the tick as close to the host animal's skin as you can get and slowly and GENTLY pull the tick with the tweezers.

You should get the tick's head out most of the time doing this.
Click to expand...

I've read where you shouldn't squeeze the tick as this could cause fluids inside the tick entering the dog. They make a spoon for that it looks like a spoon with a small slit in it slide the slit under the tick and lift it gently it's suppose to not cause any fluid transfer from tick to dog. I have used them and they work most of the time you could also soak the tick with alcohol to help him release. I use advantage on my dog but she is little and doesn’t go too far off the drive way but the deer hang out there also so she does come in contact with them also same with fleas. If you have cats also you need to watch what you put on the dog as there is one that is a hazard to cats.
 
I have had Siberian Huskies most of my life. Beautiful dogs. That said, we always used Frontline and it worked quite well. We now have a GSD and have continued to use Frontline on him as well.

If you decide to buy it go to Pet Shed - Pet Supplies at Discount Prices!. It is a company in Australia and is very good. We have used them for years without any problems and they a lot cheaper.
Russ
 
I heard that any good oil will work, I was thinking on the line of castor oil something your dog won't like and want to lick off. Somebody told me that if you saturate the area around the tick with any kind of non hazardous vegetable type oil it will suffocate the tick causing it to let go and drop off, they breathe through pores on the sides of the their bodies called spiricals, cover them will a good oil and they can't breathe due to plugged airways...
 
Frontline helps, but not near 100%. I have bird dogs and I've had dogs covered in dozens of the little creeps after going thru a nest. I always do a check at the truck and get most of them before they attach, but you miss some.

The last couple of seasons I've used a Preventic collar--that's the brand name. I've been using both Frontline and the Preventic collar, and I have not had to pick an attached flea off yet. They get on the dog but don't attach. Before I started using the collar I was plucking them off the dog even with Frontline.

I highly recommend the Preventic.
 
gdnagle said:
I've read where you shouldn't squeeze the tick as this could cause fluids inside the tick entering the dog. They make a spoon for that it looks like a spoon with a small slit in it slide the slit under the tick and lift it gently it's suppose to not cause any fluid transfer from tick to dog. I have used them and they work most of the time you could also soak the tick with alcohol to help him release.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info.
I'm going to look into it.
 
Whichever flea and tick stuff you use the whole tube of stuff must go on the dogs skin. Once applied the stuff uses the dogs natural skin oil to travel all over it's body. If you give the dog a bath before the application you'll have to wait about four days for the dogs natural skin oils to be replenished before you apply the stuff. On a Husky pull the fur up between the shoulder blades and trim the fur about the size of a quarter pretty close to the skin. Put the stuff on that spot and when the fur folds back down it will cover the trimmed spot. The more you get on his skin the better. If it gets on his fur while applying it the stuff tends to rub off or evaporate .
 
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thanks guys ,we're new dog owners and i like this guy i want to do right by him .i knew about flea collars of course but i didnt know they were for ticks as well. the other meds/products i will research
last year a friends dog picked up a tick and it wasn't noticed until the dogs' motor skills started to deteriorate, even though the dog was well groomed the tick was missed because of the very thick fur on the american eskimo dog. dog is ok now.
 
JcMack said:
Whichever flea and tick stuff you use the whole tube of stuff must go on the dogs skin. Once applied the stuff uses the dogs natural skin oil to travel all over it's body. If you give the dog a bath before the application you'll have to wait about four days for the dogs natural skin oils to be replenished before you apply the stuff. On a Husky pull the fur up between the shoulder blades and trim the fur about the size of a quarter pretty close to the skin. Put the stuff on that spot and when the fur folds back down it will cover the trimmed spot. The more you get on his skin the better. If it gets on his fur while applying it the stuff tends to rub off or evaporate .
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the whole tube in a spot the size of a quarter, then it spreads its self around the body? sounds easy how long does an application last? would you use this in conjunction with a flea/tick collar?
 
He's talking about Frontline type products. Ideally you get it all in one spot on the skin, but my vet says that's not critical. On a dog with a thick coat it's almost impossible not to get some on the fur. Just do the best you can.

Get the Preventic collar. I'm a big believer and I run my dogs in some very ticky areas.

By the way, congrats on your first dog. Wonderful companions.

You know we need pictures, right?
 
Cooter Brown said:
He's talking about Frontline type products. Ideally you get it all in one spot on the skin, but my vet says that's not critical. On a dog with a thick coat it's almost impossible not to get some on the fur. Just do the best you can.

Get the Preventic collar. I'm a big believer and I run my dogs in some very ticky areas.

By the way, congrats on your first dog. Wonderful companions.

You know we need pictures, right?
Click to expand...

HA thanks, i knew that was coming ill try to get some on today. im sure my wife has a bunch of images somewhere. they are probably action shots cause he doesnt stop moving til he falls asleep .
 
diamonback68 said:
Once a month. The dosages are different for each dog's weight. Walmart sells the exact same stuff (PetArmor) as Frontline for about half the price.
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I'm pretty sure PetArmor doesn't have the anti-tick ingredient. I might be wrong but it should say on the label.
 
Frontline. Then, as a member of this forum, you presumably own a sidearm. Identify a couple of the ringleaders and make an example of them.
 
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