SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Dog Care
Fleas, Ticks & Bugs
How
To Properly Remove Ticks From Your Dog
Ticks are nasty little bloodsuckers (literally)
that are commonly found living and eating on the outside of
your dog's body. These creatures are responsible for carrying
highly infectious diseases, especially throughout the United
States. Some of these diseases are not just limited to being
spread from dog to dog. They can also infect people. Some examples
of these infectious diseases include Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis,
and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
The life of a tick
Most dog ticks are categorized as a 3-host tick. What this
means is that the larvae, the nymphs, and the adults all feed
from the blood of dogs. Once your pet has been bitten by a
tick, this single bit is enough to induce irritation around
that area on your dog's skin.
The tick will begin to pass through several stages during
its lifetime. The first stage is where the six legged larvae
feeds on the dog for two to three days and then drops off,
molting into an eight legged nymph. These nymphs will feed
on the dog for seven to ten days until they to too drop off,
and molt into adults (male or female).
Female ticks are then fertilized while on the dog and will
feed for up to three more weeks. These females become engorged
with an incredible amount of blood before they are ultimately
dropped to the ground and lay their eggs soon after. These
female ticks are typically what you see when you find one attached
to your dog. They are highly noticeable due to their size and
because of their growth from eating so much blood, it is easy
to note their appearance.
Removing a tick is very simple
If you notice that your dog is playing host to an uninvited
tick gorging on his blood, remove the parasite as soon as possible.
However, do not make the mistake of trying to pull the tick
off with your fingers or by attempting to scrape it away. Doing
so will probably get rid of the body, but the head of the tick
may still be embedded in your dog's skin. You need to use a
pair of tweezers or some similar tool in order to pinch the
base of the tick's head. Then gently pull the tweezer and the
entire tick should remove quite easily. Look over the bite
area and do your best to remove all of the parts of the tick's
mouth and head because if left behind, these tick parts can
cause the area to stay inflamed and irritated. #
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2009
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