The Best Way How To Remove A Tick from A Dog Safely At Home

How to remove a tick from a dog - It’s important to check our dog for ticks regularly, especially if we live in, or we’re visiting an area known for having a high population of ticks.

They’re not always easy to see, especially on a long-haired breed, so conducting regular tick checks is advisable.

As dog owners we need to know how to quickly and safely remove ticks from our pets and off course it's a vital skill for any pet owner to learn.

But it can be difficult to determine what a tick on a dog actually looks like.

However, some ticks are just difficult to spot, so it’s worth knowing about the possible signs our dog has been bitten, although without having seen a tick it’s always very hard to know for sure.

What Does A Tick Look Like

A Ticks vary in size depending on its life stage and how recently it has fed. It can start off as small as a pin head and its size increases once It fills with blood.

image: removing a tick from a dog

In general, ticks are small, round and grey/brown in colour. They can occasionally get mistaken for skin lumps, but on closer inspection, we should be able to see the tick’s legs .

When fully engorged after feeding, the common UK dog tick is grey coloured and around 1cm in diameter.

Despite often being discussed alongside fleas and other insects, ticks are actually arachnids, just like spiders, and they even have the eight legs to prove it.

There are different types of ticks that can affect dogs, though not all are found in the UK. All ticks are able to transmit disease.

Signs To Look for If Our Dog Is Bitten by A Tick

Ticks live in grass and tall brush and are most active in the spring, summer and fall.

When our dog plays in the yard, ticks look for opportunities to attach themselves, usually close to our dog’s head, neck, feet, and ears.

When a tick infestation is severe, however, ticks can appear anywhere on our dog’s body. We need to pay close attention to our dog's head, neck, feet, and ears when checking for ticks.

image of tick bites

 Signs vary widely depending on the type of tick that bites our dog. Our dog could suffer blood loss, anemia, skin irritations, and infections. Some symptoms, however, are more serious.

A less common and more serious symptom is “tick paralysis,” a condition caused by a neurotoxin produced in the salivary glands of female ticks and released into a dog’s bloodstream while the tick is feeding.

The neurotoxin can induce a paralysis which begins in the lower extremities and gradually spreads to upper extremities.

Lyme disease is a serious bacterial infection that affects dogs, but also humans, cats, and many other mammals.

It's primarily carried by the deer tick. Dogs infected with the Lyme disease bacteria can develop depression, loss of appetite, fever, swollen lymph nodes, lameness, and renal failure.

How To Safely Remove A Tick from A Dog At Home

Once attached, ticks can be tricky to remove because they grip onto our pet’s skin, burying their strong mouthparts into our pet, and then holding on tight while they are feeding on our pet’s blood.

Ticks do drop off of their own accord after they’ve finished feeding, but that can take days so don’t be tempted to wait. The longer they stay attached, the greater the risk of infection.

We should always wear gloves when dealing with ticks because they're very effective disease carriers and some of these diseases can also infect us and our family.

Only try to remove ticks from our dog when they are calm and happily sitting or lying down because when our pet is moving around, we risk leaving part of the tick behind in our dog’s skin, which can lead to an infection.

If we've found a tick in or around our dog’s ear, we’ll need to be gentle in this sensitive area, and may need to ask our vet’s advice; especially if the tick is in the ear canal itself.

A tick twister, or tick hook, is shaped so it can get under the parasite’s body and twist it out in one go, without squeezing.

It’s not recommended to use regular tweezers as it’s difficult to grasp the tick properly, so they’re likely to squash the tick or leave part of it inside our dog.

The best way to capture and kill the tick is to drop the tick into a jar or sealable container, pour some alcohol over it, close the lid and put it in the bin outside our home.

Wipe the bite area on our pet with pet-friendly antiseptic, bin the gloves and wash our hands thoroughly.

Clean our tick hook with disinfectant and store it somewhere safely for future use.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog with Vaseline

If you want to learn how to safely remove a tick from a dog please check out the video below.

First you have to do is to find the tick on the dog's body. Use a special tool to help pull the tick off, which has a slit in the middle of it.

Now, slide the tool underneath the tick so it's in the middle. Twist the tool a couple of times and then pull the tick off from the dog's body.

After that apply some Vaseline to the ticks and it will kill them off.



Vaseline is not 100% sure to get rid of the tick, but it can’t hurt either.

Do not use tweezers. As previously said, we will only succeed in embedding the head into the dog’s skin and inject whatever diseases the tick is carrying into our dog’s bloodstream.

The best way is to get a credit card (guitar pick, butter knife) and gently push against the tick until it backs out.

Have some scotch tape ready, and simply apply the tape to the tick so we don’t have to touch it. Fold the tape and discard.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog with Tweezers

Tick removal using tweezer technique is by far the most common method for removing ticks from a dog.

If executed properly, the tweezer method can be a simple, safe and effective process for tick removal.

illustration: removing a tick from a dog with tweezer

How to do:

• Stay calm and gently pull back any hair from around the tick, exposing the skin near the tick/bite.
• Locate the head of the tick, grasp it as close to the skin as possible using fine-tipped tweezers and gently squeeze. Do not grab the tick’s body, as this can increase the chance of injecting the tick’s blood into the skin.
• Pull outward in a straight motion until the pressure pulls out the head of the tick. Don't twist or wiggle the tick, as that may tear the head off, leaving it lodged in the skin.
• Once removed, thoroughly clean the bite area and our hands with soap and water. we can also use rubbing alcohol or an iodine scrub.
• Ticks should then be flushed down a toilet or wrapped tightly in tissue before disposing in a closed receptacle. Do not try and crush them. Saving the tick for testing is generally not recommended, as ticks are rarely tested for specific diseases. However, testing a tick is an effective way to identify the species and any related disease risks. For instance, the dog tick  looks nothing like the deer tick, and while the latter transmit Lyme disease, the dog tick does not. On the other hand the dog tick can transmit other infections such as tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• If we develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see our doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about our recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where we most likely acquired the tick. If we have saved the tick, be sure to bring it to show the doctor.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog without Tweezers

If we have access to liquid soap, take a cotton ball/swab, cloth or kleenex, place a dab of liquid soap directly on the tick and cover with the cloth/swab. Wait for a minute and apparently the tick is supposed to remove it's head from the skin in reaction to the soap.

You can then safely remove it with the swab/cloth, kill it and dispose of it. we can kill it by crushing with a fingernail or burning it if we have a lighter on hand.

If we don't have tweezers, then take our dog to the vet for proper tick removal. Also invest in a “tick-twister” device for future use! They're very low cost and really handy, fast and effective.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog with A Match

Before we reach for a match to remove a tick, however, we need to consider if this is the smart thing to do, or just an old wives tale.

Someone may have told we to slather the tick with Vaseline or scare it out with a hot match.

In theory; take a lit match, let it burn for a moment, blow it out and then quickly touch the hot part to the tick’s backside.

The tick, not at all happy to be having its bottom burned, will back out of its feed bag to escape, at which point we can safely pluck it off and dispose of it.

Scoles says one of the reasons removing a tick with a match technique doesn't work is that the tick has very little control.

After it bites, it secretes a cement-like protein to keep its mouth in place. Tick saliva contains compounds that numb the skin and anti-coagulants to keep our blood flowing. It also contains immunosuppressants that prevent our body from responding.

Take a pair of fine forceps or fine-tipped tweezers, grab the tick as close to the skin as possible, and without squeezing the tick, gently pull it straight up.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog Safely

Removing a tick from a dog safely will ensure that our dog is at minimal risk of illness.

illustration: removing a tick from a dog

Here, we go through the simple steps to safely pull that tick from our dog’s skin to make the process as easy as possible.

If we haven’t got a tick-removing tool to hand, no worries – tweezers are just as effective although not as easy to use.

Use the tweezers to grip the creature’s head as near to the skin as we can the pull slowly and with steady pressure.

If we tear too quickly, we could find that the tick’s head remains behind in the skin, and that could leave our pet at risk of infection.

Once we’ve removed the tick, flush it down the toilet, drown it in a cup of water, or put it in a sealed container in the trash.

We don’t want it getting loose and getting back onto our pet.

We can either use an alcohol cleansing wipe, or even just soap and water to clean the wound site. This will help to guard against infections.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog without A Tool

It depends on the type of tick. Dog ticks with their turkey baster shaped bodies are easy to remove.

When I was a kid my cousins would put a cigarette or burned match against the butt of the tick and it would drop off.

This technique doesn’t work for deer ticks however which are smaller and flatter, and cement themselves to the skin.

A tweezers should be used for these both on dogs and on humans.

You can easily remove tick with the help of a stick and some drop of alcohol. But we should know tick lay many eggs in a single day.

There are chances that they will return in a day or two. I would suggest we to get perfect flea and tick treatment for canines.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog with Cotton Ball

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when we lift it away.

This technique has worked every time I’ve used it (and that was frequently), and it’s much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.

illustration: cotton ball

Ticks are tiny parasitic mites that bite and live on the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and they also carry pathogens that can cause several diseases, including fever, rashes and illness.

So ticks must be removed at the earliest. There have been many alternative, folklore ways used for tick removal, like by using various substances.

How To Remove A Tick from A Dog Naturally

It's best that we stick to the natural ways to remove ticks.

Here are some natural home remedies that we can try out to remove a tick from a dog;

1. Neem Oil

Take a few drops of neem oil and gently rub it along the places we feel are most susceptible to ticks.

In case our pet has sensitive skin, we can dilute the oil to prevent any irritation. we can also mix other oils with neem such as vegetable oil, cinnamon oil, eucalyptus extracts for better results.

Neem oil when mixed with liquid soap and water can also be used a rather effective spray solution that yields quicker results.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is another anti-bacterial solution that is great for eradicating ticks. Rich in vitamin C and other minerals, the mixture when diluted can be either be directly massaged on to the skin or be sprayed on the infected area.

To make the apple cider vinegar spray we need mix one cup of apple cider vinegar in four ounces of warm water. Add some salt and baking soda to the solution and pour it in a spray bottle.

Shake well before using it. Apple cider vinegar can also be used with lavender oil. Mix ¼ cup of ACV with 15 drops of lavender extracts and apply it directly on the dog’s fur.

3. Garlic

Garlic works wonders when it comes to removing ticks. The powerful smell and anti-bacterial properties of garlic successfully repel fleas and ticks.

We can include small doses of garlic to our dog’s diet. The garlic-induced secretions then prevent the infestation.

Contrary to what people think garlic is not toxic to dogs. It can be a nutritional health supplement when consumed in the right amount.

Add about 1/3 tsp of freshly chopped garlic for every 10lbs of our dog’s body weight.

Ticks fever in dogs is a common problem that can be very painful for both we and our furry friend.

Opting for medicated treatments is a fast way to cure the tick bites and kill them for good.