Ticks

Lengthy but very good reading about dogs and ticks-lot more than I ever knew.

http://images.images11.com//rwcode/content.asp?SID=0&Section=390558&SiteID=21597

wow - so interesting. maggie got into some ticks on our last hike... one bit her, and i was panicking about tick-borne illness. i think she's fine, i caught and removed it within half an hour. but YUCK.

thanks so much for this link!

Very good information. Our collie, Lad, was stricken with tick paralysis (talked about on that site) this past summer. It was very scary and took over 24 hours to find the problem, but he was clearly in grave trouble. The vet didn't find it, though he spent 3 hours in their care. We found the tick on the way home from the vet (Lad was losing the ability to walk. He was just collapsing in the back end. The vet was looking for spinal injury and other things like that). After pulling it off, he rapidy improved. I also should note that Lad was regularly treated with Advantix, but I still have to check him. It doesn't work 100% to keep ticks away.

Our vet suggests nailvarnish remover painted on the tick to remove / kill it, but I've never tried it??

I guess nail varnish remover may have the same effect as petroleum jelly etc. so having read that article I don't know I'd try it.

Being a paranoid owner (I freely admit this ) I'm now worried that TBD can lie dormant in the dogs spleen for months or years, as Pippin and to a lesser extent Maddie was covered in them last year. And although we kept thinking we'd found them all, we managed to bring some home from holiday with us. Ho hum one more thing to worry about!

We've always pulled them off with tweezers and then dropped them into a clear jar or 16-oz soda bottle (something with a lid or cap) that has rubbing alcohol in it (filled to about 1/4).