Dog ticks

[StJon]

Wanted to share this product with dog lovers, no connection with the company etc…
Donatella, my French Bulldog is the first dog I’ve owned and is great at getting me out into the woods and exploring the flora and fauna here in Tuscany.



A couple of days ago, I noticed what I thought was a cyst on her and on taking her to the vet yesterday, he told me it was a tick and explained that as we had a very mild winter here they hadn’t been killed off and we have a real problem with them now it is coming into summer.
He showed me how to remove it with a product called, “Frontline”, a small spray, leave for a couple of minutes and the tick could be pulled away from the skin easily, wee dab of iodine, job over.
As she is so close to the ground, there will be no more walks through the long grass, and we will need to watch were we walk in the forest.
I’d known about checking myself for ticks back in Scotland, and had carried pin nose tweezers in my FAK for their removal but had never found one so didn’t really know what they looked like
Hope this helps other dog lovers, and any tips you have for me would be great…

 

[Goatboy]

Cute doggy. I found the chemical route made my JRT pretty unwell. So found manual removal the best. A lot of the tick removers out there are pretty pants as they can squish the tick making it regurgitate it's blood meal with it's pathogens back into the host. About the quickest and best (especially if the dogs a wriggler) is the "Tom-O-Tick" remover. You get two in a pack, look like little green plastic crowbars. Just slide into place and gently pull while rotating. This way the mouthparts come out and no backflow.
Things like ice, heat, Vasline are all no-no's as they stress the tick into regurgitation.
I know of some folks who add a little Marmite to their dogs food in summer months as the smell coming through pores is supposed to put ticks off like it can in humans. Though as dogs don't sweat I'm not sold on the efficacy of it. Though the dog gets a treat out of it as most like Marmite.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[cranmere]

I vote for the mechanical removal too. I've seen some trials data and Marmite doesn't seem to have any useful effect in repelling any of the ticks and biters, nor does garlic.

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Though the dog gets a treat out of it as most like Marmite..

My rescue Staffy loves it, it may not be any good for ticks, but she loves the stuff....should see the faces she pulls trying to lick out the jar....... keeps her occupied for ages

And yes +1 here on the tom o tick.....cheap on ebay 3.33 delivered!

 

[mrcharly]

Tom tick remover, never ever use the tweezers.

Dogs can get lymes too.

 

[Macaroon]

I used to twist three or four ticks a day from my Spaniel, but since using a product called Advantix she's never had one on her, takes care of fleas and mites as well. Never take a tick off yourself or any animal other than with a proper tick remover (tom o'tick for me, too), as stated above they just regurgitate which is exactly the opposite of what you want.

 

[Goatboy]

I pulled the first tick of the year off of a mate the other day after I'd had his dog out. Luckily it hadn't bit in yet. I have an aversion to the little blighters as they were nearly the end of me due to not catching the lymes in time. There is a trick to removing ticks gently if you don't have a tool on to. Very gently using the tip of a finger rotate it around the ticks rear anti-clockwise just touching it. After about 8 - 12 turns the tick just lets go without regurgitation.
Personaly I've found the vitamin B-12 patches work on me - though the Marmite smell gives me the boak.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[xylaria]

I use fibronil on the ferrets and tick o toms. De-ticking ferrets is a nightmare. They are good boys, very well handled but they are unbelievably strong and wriggly. The cat however gets feline hyperaestea ( twitchy cat syndrome) if we use a chemical spray on him. The only tick he has got he got from a fight with a fox. He doesn't get fleas , I use neem on him.

For dog owners, I remember the dog I had as teenager got ticks when we were on holiday in swanage. I was the only one my family that could stomach romoving them from his tackle and anus. When you check a dog remember the genitals.

 

[KayakFisherFinland]

There are between 3 to 7 dogs in my house daily, so I go the chemical way. We use collars, the Scalibor ones, lucky for me my dogs have never got any side effects from them, as the other brand is 4 times the price.
Removed 4 ticks this spring before getting the collars on.

 

[Jack Bounder]

I got a tick the other day in Forest. Not sure how, with wellies and my socks tucked in my trousers. I removed with tweezers but yes, far from ideal. When I lived and worked up I Scotland I was constantly getting them.....big ones too. To make removal easier, I've bought two packs of O Tom Tick Twisters (one pack for home, one pack for my FAK).

 

[Dave]

I dont think id see them on my chocolate brown lab. He's got a thick coat. I use a very fine comb, a furminator, which i think would pull them off if they were on him. Plus, before I go, I use the stuff the vet recommended, effipro verbac for large dogs. I think that works very well. Plus I spray him with a mixture of citronella oil and water, same as horse owners do. I also spray the inside of my tarp with the stuff, and the midges are soon off.

 

[mjojom]

soo, heres the riddle:
two boxers, one white one brindle. both on the same diet both boys. brown one gets all the ticks, white one none. on the white one you can actually see them crawling on the coat and either fall off or fall on the brindle boy while they playing. white one did not get any bites. brindle one, its a literally daily task to remove the ticks ***.
any ideas?

 

[xylaria]

soo, heres the riddle:
two boxers, one white one brindle. both on the same diet both boys. brown one gets all the ticks, white one none. on the white one you can actually see them crawling on the coat and either fall off or fall on the brindle boy while they playing. white one did not get any bites. brindle one, its a literally daily task to remove the ticks ***.
any ideas?

Wierd. When testing repellents a white cloth is dragged through an infested field. Ticks are not interested in smells so diet hormones etc arent the reason. They respond to movement and warm, maybe the white one has thicker skin or colder skin. I presume the dog isnt a rescue from animal research and doesnt have a tobacco habit.

 

[mjojom]

Wierd. When testing repellents a white cloth is dragged through an infested field. Ticks are not interested in smells so diet hormones etc arent the reason. They respond to movement and warm, maybe the white one has thicker skin or colder skin. I presume the dog isnt a rescue from animal research and doesnt have a tobacco habit.

soo, all the repellents eg: neem or lavender oil are crap? i read they are attracted to CO2.
what you actually written could have a point, white dogs are naturally colder i guess same like people with super pale skin, they always feel cold and are cold to touch. hm..

 

[santaman2000]

soo, all the repellents eg: neem or lavender oil are crap? ......

Not all; but most. Permethrin works to a good degree but it's also pretty toxic if you use it every day.

Slow start so far this year for us. I've only found a couple of ticks so far. Year before last I would get a dozen or so off each dog per day.

 

[StJon]

Thanks guys, some good info for a new dog owner...

 

[xylaria]

soo, all the repellents eg: neem or lavender oil are crap? i read they are attracted to CO2.
what you actually written could have a point, white dogs are naturally colder i guess same like people with super pale skin, they always feel cold and are cold to touch. hm..

Neem, quassia bark and citral and some members of the daisy family have chemicals they wont put their mouth parts through or are toxic to them. So there is natural compounds that work, it is just the mite group (ticks, spider mite, chiggers) dont use smell the way midges do. Permethrin works very on clothes, but looses effectiveness when on skin. Neem is what is in organic sheep dip, and is used extensively in agriculture to kill off red spider mite on crops. The leaves are added to wells in india to keep the mosquito from breeding in them . It is why I use it in the bug oil I make. I hate ticks.

I made a load of neem soap yesterday, dreadful smelling stuff the neat oil. Strangely the soap smells alright.

 

[Mesquite]

Took the first tick of the season off one of my dogs the other day.

I used one of the tick keys I got last year as a group buy for a few people on here. Worked really well

 

[Stevie777]

I have slept out in the open, In Heather, In fields, on grass, Never had a tick in my life...Maybe i smell..? Found one in a ex GF house after we got back from camping North west coast Scotland...Must have fallen of her Dog...Horrible little creature. Upon applying pressure it burst like a grape. It had feasted well....Yeeeeeuuuuugh

 

[Goatboy]

soo, heres the riddle:
two boxers, one white one brindle. both on the same diet both boys. brown one gets all the ticks, white one none. on the white one you can actually see them crawling on the coat and either fall off or fall on the brindle boy while they playing. white one did not get any bites. brindle one, its a literally daily task to remove the ticks ***.
any ideas?

I think that certain types of dog coat work better as a defence against ticks. My last dog Snoop was a smooth coated Jack Russell. Being an earth dog smooth slightly oiled coat was bread not to pick up dirt, indeed he could run across a muddy field and be clean at the other side where as other dogs he was with were really clarty. Found very few ticks on him in the 10 years I had him. Most seemed to be having trouble moving over his coat as it was so shiny and you could watch them falling off of him.