Mary Allen
Hardly any dog is spared from ticks, at least in the summer months. For the owners, the little bloodsuckers are above all annoying, for the dog they are dangerous. There are a number of myths surrounding tick removal today.
Home remedies such as oil and butter are used again and again. But all the home remedies often do not help and only increase the risk of infections. Instead, special tools such as tick lasso, tick card, and tweezers should be used.
The tick has to get out as soon as possible
If owners discover a tick on their dog, they shouldn’t think twice about removing it. The fact is: the tick has to get out as soon as possible, because the longer it stays in, the higher the risk that it will transmit pathogens. To reduce the transmission of pathogens, they should avoid using oil and alcohol. As a result, the tick would suffer from poisoning, which in turn would lead to vomiting. When vomiting, large amounts of possible pathogens are passed on to the host within a very short time.
One goal – different possibilities
To remove the tick from the dog, there are three basic ways. On the one hand, the tick lasso can be used. With the tick lasso, the tick is pulled out of the skin with a small loop. What sounds very easy at the beginning is difficult, especially with the dog. It takes a bit of practice to put the loop around the tick correctly. It takes a bit of practice to put the loop around the tick correctly. In addition, the tick can only be properly removed from the skin if the dog owner pulls the lasso vertically upwards, but also applies slight pressure. Otherwise, the risk of the head tearing off is too great. A tick lasso is certainly an option in an emergency, but it may not be the best choice for most dog owners.
The second variant is the use of a so-called tick card. These cards are quite compact and easy to carry in your pocket. Handling is easy even for inexperienced users. The tick card is brought to the tick from the side. It is important that the tick sits sideways in the slit. Now the tick card only has to be moved in the same direction. The tick is removed from the bite site and can be disposed of. Dogs should also be checked for behavioral problems after they have been removed. In this case, a visit to the veterinarian is advisable.
Most dog owners have tweezers in their pockets because they are particularly small and handy. A little practice is required when using the tweezers as well as with the tick lasso. The tweezers are always used in such a way that they enclose the tick but do not squeeze it. The tick can now be detached from the skin by pulling vertically. Of course, despite all caution, it can happen that parts of the ticks get stuck in the skin. That’s not bad, because the body rejects these parts over time.
Conclusion: tick card is the best choice
There are numerous ways on the market to declare war on ticks in the fur of the animal. Ticks can be removed quickly and safely with a tick card. This procedure is also considered to be particularly safe for the dog because the distance is often lightning fast. In most cases, dog hair is not removed from the body.