# Ticks



## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Seems like a type of European tick has become established in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9432000/9432605.stm

Probably a good time to check your dog :wink:


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## bktayken (Oct 11, 2008)

Good advice wakk44

Out here our dog has had a few already it makes it worse living in the countryside.

We will spray with Frontline regularly now through the summer.
The article mentions removing the properly...to do the you get hold of them between the thumb and finger and twist anticlockwise...not recommended just to pull them off as it can leave the pinchers still attached and cause infections .

Brian


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## Daedalas (Nov 12, 2009)

There is an absolutely splendid 'tick remover' on the market. It is a small plastic hook with the hook end flattened and bifurcated.

You slide the bifurcation around the tick and turn one half turn to anticlockwise and gently pull. That causes the tick to let go and you remove all the mouth parts still attached to the body.

Our vet in Barnard Castle sells them for about £3.50 a pair [a small and a large] and we've been using them for 5 years or so. Brilliantly effective.

An alternative if you have good long nails is the slip your thumb and forefinger nails under the tick and when grasped firmly, rotate half turn left and pull. My brother swore he never had a failure. I guess I must be too cack handed as I frequently nipped the body off leaving the head parts embedded.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

These are obtainable on the Internet for a few pounds.


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## dragabed (May 24, 2008)

*ticks*

the best tick remover i have found only cost 1.99 and looks like the old fassioned end piece off mens braces made of wire. 
the narrowing shape gets under the tick and lifts it out. 
you hold it in your finger put it over the tick and gently draw it back this lifts the tick cleanly away so you can treat the area with TCP. 
in france i check my dog after every walk have removed at least 50 ticks so the mandatory vet visit on return into the uk is inportent.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

>> This <<  is the one Keith and Daedalas are recommending, and I agree - they are brilliant.

The instructional video shows just how easy and effective they are, and only a few quid.

PetMeds or Amazon sell them - and lots of others I expect.

Dave


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

We've just returned from France and for the first time in his life our dog had ticks.
Thanks to this thread I had bought a device 'O'TOM TICK TWISTER' over the Internet and the plastic hooks worked a treat in removing the little blighters.
Again thanks.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Pets at Home sell tick removers for a couple of pound or so.

We found one on one of our dogs about a week after getting back from Scotland. We had been around sheep and that is where the dog will have picked it up.


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## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

The tick population in Scotland has been steadily rising for several years, probably because of the rise in deer population. Much as I don't like giving a dog lots of medication I now use Advantix (from the vet) every 6 weeks or so from about March through to November and so far it has kept her tick free - despite being a beardie who delights in romping through the undergrowth. Lyme disease (from infected ticks) is a real risk to both animals and humans up here and the diagnosis is often missed.

Chris


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Will Front Line get these Euro devils???


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## ardgour (Mar 22, 2008)

Our vet has always recommended Advantix rather than Frontline because he reckons it is more effective against ticks and apparently repels the ticks so they don't attach in the first place as well as acting as an insecticide for any that do sneak through. It is a spot on treatment that you apply every 4 - 6 weeks

Chris


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## bulawayolass (Jul 27, 2010)

If you use advantix please make sure your dog stay well AWAY from cats until it is dry as it is very toxic to them. if you have a cat that grooms the dog do NOT use advantix. 

Advantix acts as a repellent. Frontline will not stop them attaching it will kill them. You can also shove a blob of Vaseline over them they breath through their sides and suffocate leave for about 30 mins should be well dead by 10min though. 

I have only ever used fingers tried the fancy things but no use just like my fingers.


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## motormouth (Jul 3, 2010)

We had a couple of days in Kielder 2 weeks ago and our border collie was covered in the little beggars. While we found most of them, and easily got them out with the fork type tools, her hair is so thick we missed a couple which she scratched off and left the heads inside. We took her to the vets and she is now on a course of antibiotics. They recommended Frontline every month which they say will kill them as soon after they attach.


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## leseduts (Jun 3, 2008)

We use pointed nose pliers to remove them.
A word of warning for travellers to the warmer parts of France. Sad one of our German Shepherds died 9 years ago after being bitten by a tick. We knew of the problem with piroplasmosis but thought it was a only further south that the Charente Maritime where we live. Although it was too late for Sadie we now have our dogs injected yearly. It means 1 injection then a month later another one, then yearly. The vets in UK cannot do it as the vaccine is not available. ( so my vet tells me, if anyone knows different please let me know)


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