PIG'S PLIGHT

[John Oddy]

For some obscure reason my dog, Pig, has, on our walks in the woods, started collecting his own pets.... Ticks! In the five years we’ve had him he may have had one or two but this year its gone absolutely silly, he must have at least 6 clinging to him!
We’ve tried the usual treatments flea/tick collar, the stuff you put on the neck and base of the tail, we’ve tried covering them in Vaseline, nail polish and nail polish remover (alcohol) We’ve managed to pull out a couple using tweezers and used some stuff that the pet shop sold us but the majority of the tricky little buggers refuse to shift.
Pig’s a resilient little fella but he’s a tad pi**ed off at me yanking these little blighters out of various parts of his body and we both decided it might be for the better if I left the one near his bum hole for just a little while longer!
So....if anyone has any helpful hints or tips Pig would be mighty grateful and if any of you are contemplating tackling the one near his bum I must warn you...the other end has a lot of teeth! 

[Ian]

John:  this site:

http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/

may be what you're looking for.

[Nemesis]

Frizzy had one last year just above his eye. Because of the position of it I took him to the vet, where they removed it, but sold me a handy gadget specially for the job.
Don't know if I can advertise, but the vet is in Craig-y Don.

[Merddin Emrys]

You need to be very careful with ticks! A couple of years ago I noticed a tick on my side and very, very carefully removed it, I later found a second one and removed it. I also researched on the net and learnt about Lyme disease and knew the symptoms to watch for. Two weeks later a rash with a strange feeling developed where the tick had been, I went to the doctor who was not too convinced and he gave me antibiotics and also took a blood sample. A few days later the phone rang and yes I had Lyme disease . The dose of antibiotics were doubled and all was well!  Now when I go up in the hills I will tuck the bottom of jeans into my socks if I am near bracken / sheep, you can not be too carefully with ticks!  You cannot feel them on you either as they have an anaesthetic in their saliva.

[Nemesis]

This was why I didn't want to meddle too much with the thing, particularly with it being so near his eye, normally I would probably have removed it myself.
Must keep an eye open as Frizz goes on the Orme regularly. I'll dig out my Frontline !

[mull]

I dont like dosing my dogs with chemicals to attack the tick problem.
Been an on going problem on Isle of Mull for years especially through Bracken and long grass.

Best and safest way to remove them is by a tick extractor. It removes them without leaving the mouthparts of the tick in the skin.
They are quick and painless to use, and without sqeezing the tick ( risk of infection ).

Usually sold at the vets up here.

Have a look on  www.otom.com

[John Oddy]

Thanks Ian,
I have just bought the O'Tom Tick Twister, I'll let you all know the results.

[Nemesis]

Looks very similar to mine only mine is made of metal and came with a small magnifying glass. Good Luck !

[Yorkie]

Frizzy had one last year just above his eye. Because of the position of it I took him to the vet, where they removed it, but sold me a handy gadget specially for the job.
Don't know if I can advertise, but the vet is in Craig-y Don.

Do you mean Chris Cater?  Excellent chap.  Also can recommend Barton's at West End, Colwyn Bay, who even attended to my old cat at 8.00 a.m. on Christmas Day!    ZXZ

[Nemesis]

Yes I do