How to Remove a Tick

There’s a strong arsenal of products available to control fleas and ticks, but if a tick should become attached to you or your dog, remove it as soon as possible. The quicker you get the tick off, the greater your chances of preventing the tick from transmitting a disease to your dog.

Although various methods are used to remove ticks, many of these are not recommended because they can promote passage of pathogens into the feeding site. Dousing the tick with alcohol, covering it with Vaseline, or applying a recently extinguished match to the body of ' the tick will not force the tick to release and back out of the animal. The mouth parts only release once the tick has taken a meal.

Always wear rubber gloves when removing ticks from your dog and avoid touching ticks or tick secretions with bare hands. You don’t want the little beast touching your pooch and you don’t want it touching you either.

Move carefully and use the tweezers to grab the tick close to the surface, where the tick’s mouth attaches to your dog’s skin.

Use steady pressure to pull the tick out straight. Do not twist or rip the tick out. Your goal is to remove the entire tick; yanking it out without paying attention could leave part still attached.

After removing a tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water.

Once the tick is out, you can safely dispose of it by placing the tick in a small container of flea and tick spray.

Hard as we try to keep ticks from finding our animals, it isn’t an uncommon occurrence when they do. With the proper steps and careful attention, though, they’ll be just fine.