Tick Prevention and Removal: A Practical Guide
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
As you probably already know, we recommend using a natural, layered approach to parasite prevention with various things used in different ways to protect our dogs from parasites.
However, if your dog is like mine and loves to investigate the undergrowth, inevitably a few of these horrible little critters will break through the defences. Our final line of defence is therefore getting ticks off our dogs as quickly as possible. This is quite easy to do if you use the right tool, a tick twister or tick key.
See video demonstration below ⬇️
You should never attempt to remove a tick by smothering it with vaseline, alcohol or anything else. If you do this, the tick will become stressed and may release saliva back into your dogs blood stream before detaching, significantly increasing the chances of it passing on any diseases it may be carrying. If the head is not completely removed it can can cause infection, irritation and lead to an abscess.
Once you have removed the tick from your dog clean the area thoroughly with an antiseptic such as leucillin or colloidal silver. Keep an eye on the area for a few days to check for any signs of swelling or infection. Wash your hands thoroughly.
As a precaution Homeopathic Ledum 200c can be given every 3 hours for the first day, followed up with twice daily doses for a week. Continue with twice weekly doses for a month, then once per day for another month.
For further information about how to remove and dispose of ticks please read this article from the Lyme Disease UK
At the end of the day, there is no fail-safe way of protecting our dogs from ticks, but we can, through preventative and precautionary measures, give our faithful friends the best chance possible. Read our advice regarding this here:
© Elizabeth Wass, written for NO BULL Just Natural Health for Dogs.
