Beware of ticks: what to do if your dog is bitten by a tick

With the warm spring weather comes ticks, which can often be found on your pet after a walk. Such a finding is not only unpleasant but also dangerous, as some types of ticks can be fatal to a dog. UaPortal has collected useful tips for dog owners on how to protect their pets from ticks.

Why ticks are dangerous

Ticks carry bacterial and viral infections, as well as parasitic diseases. The most common disease that a dog can catch from a tick is Piroplasma canis or piroplasmosis, which is caused by Ixodes ticks. This disease destroys red blood cells, which leads to oxygen deprivation, anemia, and inflammation. This disease affects the internal organs and can lead to the death of the animal.

Therefore, if you find a tick on your dog, you need to act quickly.

How do you know if a tick has gotten a hold of your dog?

If your dog starts scratching more often during or after a walk, or licks places he usually doesn't pay attention to, examine him carefully.

A tick does not get attached to a dog immediately but in 2 to 3 hours. All this time, it is looking for the most convenient place for itself. Therefore, check your dog every two hours while walking.

How to remove a tick

If a tick has managed to get a hold of your dog, do the following:

1. Kill the tick.

To kill a tick, pour vegetable oil or alcohol over it. Wait for 20 minutes.

2. Prepare a container to put the insect in, gloves, surgical clamp, or curved medical tweezers. If no medical instruments are available, cosmetic tweezers will do. If you don't have gloves, treat your hands with an antiseptic or wash them well.

Read also: How to get rid of slugs in the garden.

3. Make sure that the tick is dead (it does not move its legs when you try to pull it out), grab it with the tool as close as possible to the bite site, pinch its proboscis, and turn it counterclockwise while pulling it up. After removing the insect, treat the wound with an antiseptic.

4. Put the tick in a prepared container and close the lid. The insect will need to be taken to a laboratory to be tested for toxoplasmosis and other diseases that may have been transmitted to the dog.

Further steps:

Observe your dog for 10 days after the bite. If your dog has a fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, darkened urine, and yellowed whites of the eyes, consult a doctor immediately.

As a reminder, we have already written about methods of repelling mosquitoes from the house.

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