They are VERY common up here at certain times of year, you would have thought the hard winter would have killed them off but they seem to be thriving
The best thing to do is to the brush and comb the dog straight after a walk to take them out of the coat, and basically just to go through the coat thoroughly at least once a day. They tend to like areas with little fur - ie the belly, face, armpits etc. It takes quite a few hours for ticks to pass on any illnesses such as Lyme disease, so if you act promptly you should not have any problems. {Many of the farm collies up here are COVERED in ticks at this time of year, they don't seem to treat them but you rarely hear of any problems}.
You can buy tick hooks {like a wee crochet hook} at your vets or online - or you can do it with tweezers or your fingers. Remember to always rotate ANTI clockwise as this disengages the mouthpiece. Don't try to burn them off or smother them in vaseline etc
Some vets recommend wearing glvoes when handling ticks - but just make sure you wash your hands very thoroughly afterwards. You can kill the tick by drowning it in alcohol or putting it down the toilet - do NOT squeeze them.
We found that for some reason, an Amethsyt crystal in the water bowl seems to help the dog build up a resistance to ticks. I'm very into complementary therapies but this one seemed a step too far even for me! I had an Amethyst so thought I would try it...it takes a few months to build up, but it really does seem to work!
The dogs still have ticks in their coats but they do not attach very often - obviously you still get the odd one, but nothing like as many. I really do not like things like Frontline - I think from having had an epileptic dog in the past, and having to be so careful what I used.
The Amethyst is a very good flea deterrent too - we have wild rabbits in the garden so lots of fleas about, but the dogs rarely pick them up. The last time I used anything was Stronghold over a year ago for a rabbit mite infestation {if anyone knows anything natural to treat that which actually works, I would be very grateful!!}
I also give them a Brewers Yeast tablet and a pinch of garlic granules daily; and use the salve from
http://www.karenruggles.co.uk/index.htm {but not as often as I should!}