In addition to prevention, whenever you take your pet on an outing in wooded or grassy areas, you need to take the time to thoroughly inspect it from head to tail as soon as possible. To prevent ticks from doing their damage, they should be removed as soon as they are observed.
Because contact with ticks can be risky for humans as their body fluids can transmit disease, it’s best to wear gloves and use forceps or tweezers to remove them. Grab hold of the tick where the head is right near its body, as close to the skin as possible, and pull with one quick motion. Try not to jerk or twist as you pull. Place the tick in a jar with alcohol and cap it. If you suspect the tick to be a species that can carry disease, bring it with you to the vet hospital when you have your pet examined. Afterward, observe the tick to make sure the head is still attached and was removed with the body. If the head is still in your pet’s skin, call your vet and bring your pet in for an inspection of the area. Either way, you should keep a close eye on the affected area for a few days to make sure the skin heals properly. It’s normal for a small welt to appear in the skin where the tick was removed. Sometimes, patterns will develop around the tick bite that may alert you to a more serious disease transmitted by the tick bite; if this occurs, take your pet to the vet right away.
