TICK! ON MY SHIBA! ew..

edited April 2009 in General
We went hiking about a week ago, and again yesterday. This morning I was petting Kitsu (who had his rear in my face) and felt something hardish.. a tick. Sucking life out of my dog.

We use Frontline Plus, just applied it on 2/22 and 3/31. And yet this tick still lives. His [tick] legs wiggled when I touched it...

So, we applied some olive oil, let it soak and tried to tweezer it out gently like it says to do online. I got what I thought to be the whole thing, but there is still a black piece stuck in him that I CANNOT get out, presumably the head.
So now we have vaseline on the spot.

I called the e-vet, they said to reapply vaseline and try again, not an emergency, call our vet tomorrow. I called Frontline Plus's 1-800 number and they are conveniently closed on Sundays. I called my mom, a nurse, who said get antiseptic ointment and apply to the area (which is now red from me prodding at the site).

What Do I Do NOW? The head, I assume, is still in there! Any thoughts? Experience? help!!!!!

what I pulled out:
image
the spot (his thigh, rear leg)
image
image

ick.
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Comments

  • edited November -1
    omg! I dont have any experience with ticks.....but I sure hope you get that sucker out!!!!!!!
  • edited November -1
    ok first: think you dont have to worry.. your dog wont die in the next days :)

    but visiting a vet as soon as possibile is a good idea because of infections and such things

    Originally ticks were harmless, like mosquitos they only want your blood and then they go their own way again :)

    the problem with ticks is that in many regions(dunno how it is in USA, in Austrias its for the most parts "dangerous") they are contaminated and can transfer 2 illnesses : lyme disease (borreliose) and meningitis...both are really bad!! check with your vet about them

    if your dog has a tick, DONT use oil or such things..you have to get the tick out with at least as stress for it as possible... cause during his fight to live he will transfer more dangerous liquids... but letting it on your dog is also bad cause before he let go he also transfers much of this dangerous liquids..

    the best thing to do is to buy a ticktweezers at the dog shop and then take the tick and turn it around against the clockwise direction ( Im not defenitly sure which direction so check with the manual of the tweezers!!!!)if you do so you can get out the tick with his head!!

    you can also check out if you are living in a region where ticks are contaminated with these two disease.. for Austria I know there are some maps.. hope you can find some for USA

    I live in the land of ticks so dont worry :) I had several of these little beasts and my cats too...we had also pulled them out in the wrong way and I live in a contaminated region and we all are healty :)

    just visit your vet to get his head out :)

    Baba,
    Lisa
  • edited November -1
    ok just browsed a little bit in the internet...

    the informations i gave before are for Austria... It seems that there are some other kinds of ticks in North America and they should be pulled out straight not turned around.. but dunno how reliable this pages are.... ask your vet i hope he knows :)

    here some pages for you...but dont panic :)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick (general and many links for the USA)
    http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/american_dog_tick.htm
    http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/fasulo/vector/chapter_05.htm#two

    or dont you live in North America? :)
  • edited November -1
    oh i forgot :)

    for Protection i usually buy an anti-tick-collar or nowadays there is also sort of an oil which you put on your dogs neck for protecting it...I think there are also one against fleas... its something chemical but my cats didnt had any tick since putting it on :)
  • edited November -1
    thank you much for all the info! I do live in North America - pulling them straight out is the consensus of the info I've been finding, too. Not to screw them out, suffocate or burn them. Just pull straight and gently.

    well. I searched him thoroughly and found another, between his 'toes' on his front paw. I can't believe we couldn't find them... they were both pretty engorged.

    We took a hike today and came back and found two on Tsuki, none on Kitsune. I bought a "ticked off" tick remover (like a spoon with a slit) that works so well I can't believe it. One of Tsuki's was already attaching to her paw, the other was just crawling on her. The Ticked Off thing just scooped it right up, head and all. I heard a 'pop' sort of and I could see how I got the whole thing. So, the first one we found on Kitsu def. has his head still in there.
    I cannot believe how BAD ticks are ALREADY!

    I do'nt know why they weren't dead though, since he was UTD on his Frontline Plus. THey should NOT claim to kill 100% of ticks if it doesn't really work that way..

    We are going to the vet tomorrow. I don't know how long they were on Kitsu, I imagine at least 24-48hrs to be that engorged... but he hasn't had any fever, lethargy or loss of appetite so I'm staying hopeful.

    Thanks again for the info. These things are nasty little bugs!
  • edited November -1
    ew i hate ticks. i've had them bite me before -shiver- i wish there were a perfect preventative for humans and animals alike.
  • edited November -1
    I would agree that the best way to remove ticks is to simply pull them straight out with you fingers.I have removed thousands of ticks over the years and this method works well.Watch the site over the next few days and watch for any behavior signs, but the odds are your pup will will be just fine!
  • edited November -1
    Oh, nice Jen, you found the spoon! Those things are awesome. I use them at the shelter all the time to pull ticks out. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, but I'm glad you found the spoon!
  • edited November -1
    Thanks Jen for tip on the the tick off remover

    We have encountered the same issue and asked the vet as well. The comment we got, " It isn't an exact thing with the pesticide ratio and demise rate of the parasite". So putting two and two together, I took that to mean there has to be a lot of pesticide used on the dogs, so we basically decided to use more natural means. We have had the same or better results with natural means http://www.liquidfence.com/liquid-net-insect-repellent.html We use this when going hiking etc but in limited quantity (over the rump and back of the neck where the dogs can not lick it off) and groom often Shampooing with citrus based product.
    http://prostores1.carrierzone.com/servlet/xavierpetproducts_com/StoreFront.
    Neem oil is supposed to work but it smells pretty bad.

    Snf
  • edited November -1
    I live in a high tick area, it seems and my vet recommended Advantix for Tosca. It works well for us. It does feel early to have tick problems, but we had a near miss here a few weeks ago and picked up Tosca's meds the next day and all is well. I check her thoroughly every day. She enjoys the rubbing and my house and pet are free of ticks.
  • edited November -1
    I don't think frontline kills ticks instantly. I believe that once it's in and sucking blood, the frontline would eventually kill it because it is in the blood stream.

    I have not seen any ticks yet in Wisconsin, but I guess it's time to start really looking Nemo over when we come in.
  • edited November -1
    Time to check my dogs tonight! They are on Advantix, but now that we live in a more wooded area...well, they are gonna get a rub down!
  • edited November -1
    yeah this was my first exposure to an engorged tick on a dog, on my dog of all dogs. I've seen a tick crawling on me, not yet attached, and that wasn't, well, traumatic or anything.

    But the big fat tick surviving off my dog and NOT being killed off by the frontline I purchased and applied. I f'in hate that.

    But yes, the spoon works really, really nice.
  • edited November -1
    In New England I use the Preventic collar. I don't use anything like Frontline when up here, because I don't need anything for fleas. I use heartgard pills for mosquito/heartworm. The Preventic collars can cause a little depression initially, but it wears off. They last three months. They are only for ticks.
  • edited November -1
    yeah, I called Frontline, what a bunch of baloney.. ratios of coverage vs. tick fatality ratios... don't claim 100% of ticks are killed within 24-28 hrs if that doesn't actually happen. I swear, if he gets Lymes or something, I'm seeking damages.
    So, we're switching to advantix for next month to try it. I do'nt want to stop hiking, but I don't want to keep having engorged ticks on my dogs. Esp. since we live in an area with several tick born diseases prevalent.

    And we do have fleas here, in large numbers since most dog and cat owners don't prevent or control.. and as far as I know, Frontline has worked for that, we've never had any fleas.
  • edited November -1
    There is a Lyme's Desease vaccine. If you're interested maybe your vet could tell you more about it. Tosca had a not fun reaction to it for about 24hrs and then was fine.
  • edited November -1
    Both my dogs have been vaccinated for Lyme with no adverse reactions. Im still scared of the creepy crawly bugs though!
  • edited November -1
    Did you know you need to vaccinate for Lyme every year?

    http://www.marvistavet.net/html/body_lyme_disease.html
  • edited November -1
    crap. And it figures I live in one of the highest risked area for lyme transmission. My dog should not even be outside. He hasn't had his Advantix since last fall, and of course ... no one in my family can afford it right now.

    I should call my mom and tell her to buy an individual one.
  • edited April 2009
    I use K9Advantix - it says it prevents and repels fleas & TICKS. The other brands only say fleas. I haven't found a tick on Portia or Ninja and we've been hiking quite a bit lately.

    ETA: k9advantix is deadly to cats...so if you have a cat, I wouldn't use it.
  • edited November -1
    Deadly to cats? Even if they don't get it put on them?

    I have been using the K9 Advantix for years with my dogs and have always had cats. The cats were fine. I know you aren't supposed to use it ON the cats, which I never would do, but I never heard to not use it if cats were in the household.
  • edited November -1
    Do you know what kind of tick it was?

    I grew up on Long Island in New York (LOTS of ticks) and my family dog, Lily, used to get ticks every once and a while (she's old now so we don't do as much hiking as we use to) but they were mostly dog ticks which are gross and annoying but never freaked us out too much. They can carry Rock Mountain Spotted Fever, but that’s not too prevalent.

    Deer ticks are another story though. Lyme disease is a big concern in the North East and LI seems to be a hot spot. I think Lily got a deer tick on her once or twice which we immediately brought in to get tested.

    http://www.tickbegone.com/ticks.php
    this website has a description of the two different kinds
  • edited November -1
    K9 Advantix has permethrin, which is fatal to cats. I was told that, of course - to never use it ON cats (hence the name K9 advantix). Since it's a topical treatment, I have heard some dangers with applying k9 advantix to dogs who live with cats. Some precautions to take - If your cat likes to groom your dog, make sure the dog and cat have no interaction until it dries completely. Wash your hands immediately before handling your cat, so that the residue will not be absorbed into your cats skin while you're petting/touching.
  • edited November -1
    Since Nyx is always playing with Kuma and biting at him, We decided not to apply Advantix. Not worth the chance.
    We use Frontline on both, never had any issues so far (knocking on wood). Kuma also wears the anti-mosquito collar (because of Leishmaniosis) and that says it protects against fleas and ticks too.
  • edited November -1
    Hmmm, thanks for that info. My cat doesn't really groom or play with the dogs, other than a swat here and there, but I will think about it. The only reason I like the Advantix is it kills and repels fleas, ticks and mosquito.

    Like I said we have been using it for a while and the cat just gets frontline and there haven't been any problems, but it is good to know!
  • edited November -1
    Hey Melissa,
    THanks for the link.. from what I could tell, they were all deer ticks, the two on my male were second stage engorged females (probably on there about 2-3 days), the ones on my female were new and small, I would assume nymphs? But definitely deer ticks. We hike where deer are very prevalent. Unfortunately, I guess.

    We are going to have our male tested for Lymes in about a month, as the disease incubates before showing up on tests. Its unfortunate, what I know now about Frontline Plus, that it does not repel nor does it kill the tick until 24-48 hrs in the first 2-3 weeks after application, giving them the chance to still pass on disease. His TWO ticks were most definitely still alive when we pulled them off. So I can either assume the Fronline Plus doesn't work and/or ticks in this area are becoming immune.

    I called Frontline, and it was a bunch of baloney. We're *definitely* switching to advantix next month (we have no cats). It's better to repel what you cannot control.
  • edited November -1
    That sucks about Frontline. Sorry to have to find out this way-I hope the doggies are clear. Can you test the tick itself? I thought it was possible to send the possibly infected ticks directly to the lab for definitive testing, maybe I'm thinking of something else.
  • edited April 2009
    That would have been smart. I was savign them so the vet could ID them when we went, but the one that we got out with its head and all was still alive, legs tryign to crawl in the plastic bag... it freaked the hubby out. So I went bonkers on them and crushed the living crap out of them. And then took pictures.
    What is wrong with me?!?

    They are still in that plastic bag in my garbage though... I wonder if the vet would do that? I'm gonna call!

    *Lindsay, the vet tech I got on the phone said they don't know of anywhere that does that sort of testing, and it might not be accurate anyway because it transmits but doesn't carry? Which sounds, well, backwards. Does your vet do that sort of testing?
  • edited April 2009
    That sounds a little backwards, how can it transmit something it doesn't already carry? I guess I don't know much about ticks. I thought I remembered sending out live ticks before (but it's been a really long time), we used Pheonix Lab. Maybe they stopped doing it for those reasons?
  • edited November -1
    I think we used to use K9 advantix, but when we went to the new vet they put our dogs on frontline plus which Bella gets ticks all the time walking in our fields we stay away from the forest area during and after every walk I have to check everyone for ticks Bella is easiest to spot since she's all white most the ticks I've got luckily were still crawling not attached only found 3 attached which I pulled out right away. Bella is doing fine, but reading this makes me want to switch back to advantix I guess the vet likes frontline the best I dunno, but if my parent's don't want to I'll just get advantix for my shiba inu when I get her because I rather repel & prevent fleas and ticks then just kill them..

    We go hiking which has a small stream through the forest so Bella's feet and belly sometimes get wet Is K9 advantix water proof?

    I might have to look into those collars too and that tick remover thing looks nice I'll have to get a couple to try it out since it takes it out with head and everything.
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