Engorged Tick Removal Step 1: Using a pair of pointed tweezers, grasp the tick as close to your dog's skin as you can. Step 2: Once you have a good hold on it, wiggle the tweezers very gently to pull the tick out steadily. Don't twist or jerk the tweezers.
Ticks carry all kinds of diseases, and while you probably won't pick anything up from skin contact, you might as well avoid exposure. Second, never squeeze the body of an engorged tick when attached to your pet. That will cause it to regurgitate the contents of its stomach, which can infect your dog or cat.
Do not push on or squeeze the engorged tick body — focus on the tick's head, nose, and mouth. The technique for pulling to tick out is the same whether using tweezers or the tick removal tool, first twist the tick several times to loosen the reverse barbs, then pull the tick away in the same direction it went in.
If you don't remove ticks right away – or within a few hours their bodies engorge with blood they suck out of your dog's skin. An engorged tick is harder to remove. If you can catch them quickly it's much easier.
An engorged tick may be about 10 mm long. Hard ticks, such as the deer tick, have a scutum or shield covering the body.
Removing a Tick from Your Dog You should use fine-point tweezers, to avoid tearing the tick and spreading possible infections into the bite area. Spread your dog's fur, then grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Very gently, pull straight upward, in a slow, steady motion.
Using tweezers:
An engorged tick, or one that's full of blood, can have a bizarre, even grotesque appearance. In addition to their feeding behavior and appearance, ticks are disease vectors. They can carry illnesses from one animal to another. In fact, ticks are the primary disease vector in domestic animals.
Drop the tick in the Ziploc bag with some of the rubbing alcohol inside. The alcohol will kill the tick. Seal the bag and hold on to in case you need to show it to your veterinarian. Clean your dog's skin with the antiseptic.
Steps to Follow
Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull it straight out slowly and clean the area with a skin disinfectant. Seek medical attention if the tick is not completely removed. Do not apply Vaseline or heat to the tick body to remove it.
Fill a cup with undiluted, white distilled vinegar. Soak a cotton ball or cotton swab in the vinegar and touch it to the butt end of the tick. Ticks hate the smell of vinegar and most of them will back out of the skin in order to get away from it.
Use Dental Floss In a Pinch Tweezers work well for tick removal because they're easy to maneuver and even a slightly annoyed dog will stay quiet long enough for you to grab the tick. But if you don't have tweezers around, some dental floss might work as well.
Q: How long does it take for a tick become fully engorged? A: 2 – 3 days (nymphs), 4-7 days (adults).
American Dog Tick Adults are chestnut brown with white spots or streaks on their backs. Engorged females become slate gray and may expand to a length of 1/2” (10-12 mm). Larvae and nymphs feed mostly on small rodents, while adults feed on dogs, cattle, other animals, and humans.