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tic
by Erin
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I Think my baby, might have a tic, under his chin. Can't hold him still long enough to see, so will have to wait till his daddy, comes home,to make sure. What is the best way to remove one??? Is their something you can put on him to make them lossen up, from his skin? From what I can see it is in the skin. By the time I get his hair out of the way, he moves, so can;t pin point it. We sure could use some help.
DISCUSSION:
First, you will have to get this huge, ferocious dog under control. After your husband comes home, hold the dog down and verify that it is a tick. If it is, light a match and blow it out. Immediately put the hot tip on the tick. This will cause the tick to loosen its hold on the dog. (You want to get the entire tick and not leave its pincers attached to the dog.) You should be able to easily remove the tick. Disinfect the bite area. You might want to call the vet and check whether your area is prone to certain tick carrying diseases. Good luck.
DB
Erin, the vet told me to put vaseline all around it so it cant breathe then it will have to back out, then you can easily remove it. If you try to pull it out with tweezers, you may only get the body, leaving the head imbedded in the skin.
Sandy, Puff & Trevor
Erin,If it's tick, you must be very careful to remove the entire tick, especially the head which might be imbedded into the skin. Use tweezers and very gently grab the tick by the head and pull out slowly. You don't want the head to break off. If the tick is swollen with blood, I use vaseline and cover the tick liberally. This helps the tick release its hold (lack of oxygen) and then it should be very easy to remove. Make sure you kill the tick and not just toss it, or you'll end up with the same problem again. Wash your hands with soap and water, and soak the tweezers in alcohol, then put some alcohol on your furbabys chin to cleanse the area. Good Luck!
Gail
Be really careful about using any matches, even just smoldering ones, around your dog, especially around his face. There's always the chance of the hair catching fire, especially if you have used any hair products or tick/flea sprays on the dog prior to using the match, that might render the hair MORE flammable than usual! I tech at a vet clinic and I saw a dog who came in with horrible burns because the owners did the tick/match procedure after they had used Adam's Spray on the dog (nothing wrong with Adam's, it just happened that was the product) and POOF! Well, you can imagine what happened and I can tell you it wasn't pretty. As a result the dog had to endure painful debriding and a long treatment schedule. The dog is alive today, though disfigured. The owners were sick over it. They had heard about the match method and just didn't even think about what was on the dog's coat. I know, as a Maltese owner, there are a lot of coat products around and some of you probably use them, so watch those matches! Personally, I'll stick with the petroleum jelly or just tweezing them out. A lot of people have goo luck with "Frontline Topspot" and I've heard "Preventic" collars actually work. And incase anyone was wondering, the dog I mentioned was not a Maltese.
Chris M.
DO not use a hot match!!!!! Use the vaseline or oil, either one will smother the tick and you can remove it easily. Wipe the area clean and place a bit of antibiotic cream to the area. Call your vet in the morning and check any follow up. Let us know how you did!
Robin M. & Taffy
I personally have used vegetable oil in the past. The tick can't breathe and will start to let go. As everyone mentioned, make sure you get the whole tick out. After it's removed and you are away from the dog, while still held in the tweezers I take a lighter or a match and burn the tick. Put a little peroxide or alcohol on the site and watch it for a couple of days to make sure there is no infection. Look around your house to see if you find any more ticks. Remember, ticks don't live in the carpet but up on the ceiling or cracks in the wall. If you find more than just the one then start to treat your dog with front-line or bio-spot. And treat your house as well. I don't mean to scare you and don't know where you live, but one of my Goldens had ticks a couple of years ago. After we finally got rid of them she seemed fine. 3 months later she developed a fever, lost her appetite and became disoriented. She is vaccinated for lymes disease and the vet was puzzled. After running extensive tests and $800.00 later we found out it was indeed another tick disease called Ehrlichia Canis. Once on the right kind of antibiotic she was much better after 48 hours is fine now. So don't ever take ticks lightly. Good luck.
Claudia
You need to determine if it is a tick right away as they can be extremely harmful. If it is a tick, please do not try the match
routine. In all due respect, the hot match will probably burn your baby and leave the tick in place. A few years back my in-
laws had a problem with a tick on their dog and the vet recommended either vaseline or baby oil around the area.
Kathy
HI I followed your advise, and put vaseline on his chin and managed to get it all over him.At first, nothing happened, as we checked him,every 10 minutes or so. But the next day we couldn't find anything. We don't know what it was! NOW. I have washed him, and washed, but can't get the grease look completely,off him.Is thei somrthing. special to use??
ERIN
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Please bear in mind when reading topics pertaining to health issues, that most of these questions were answered by helpful Maltese owners with no formal education in veterinary medicine. When in doubt seek a professionals advice.