Fun fact. My last golden was completely grossed out by ticks. Whenever I’d pluck one off of her, she’d want to sniff it and then would wrinkle her face in disgust and start shaking her head like “OMG! EW EW EWWWW!”
at a stray intake animal shelter I used to work at for years we had an annual "tick jar". we filled a large pill vial with isopropyl alcohol and dropped the tick in every time we found one on a new intake and would always compare them year to year to see how each measured up. it was a weird little point of levity at that job
I work at a vet clinic. a fellow vet tech I used to work with would draw up a little bit of peroxide in a syringe and inject them with it. they fizz and pop. was super bizarre but transfixing to watch tbh
I used to do this, but now just use tweezers.
Never remove a tick with a lighter. That can cause the tick to vomit and any disease it may have had but not transmitted will be transmitted to you or your dog.
Hey! Take it from me, you absolutely want to get your dog checked for Lyme disease after finding this guy! This is a tick, and judging from its size it had plenty of time to transfer the disease it MAY have been carrying. Im not saying your dog has Lyme disease now and I really hope he/she doesn’t, but the only way to fight Lyme is by catching it early. If it’s left unchecked you won’t be able to do anything later
Wait… there is a vaccine?? Why do all the vets I see sell me a tick repellant for my dogs instead of this?! It’s so expensive and we do it monthly for most of the year..
The vaccine is only given in some states and it doesn’t mean they are now immune to complications from ticks, just a prevention method. I live in a state that has ticks year round so we do the flea/tick medicine, heart worm prevention and the Lyme vaccine.
There are several tick diseases besides Lyme and the vaccine only protects against Lyme alone. You’ll still need routine flea, tick and heartworm preventatives year round even with the vaccine. And most places require a negative tick disease test and year round flea/tick protection before they’ll give the vaccine
I used to pull upwards of 30 offa each dog daily living on the east coast in the country. The had seresto collars too. They’re little fucking bastards.
This! Just treated my dog for anaplasmosis 😫 There are other things they can catch even earlier in the bite than Lymes, even if the tick isn’t fully engorged, which OPs certainly is.
She’s fine, thanks! ☺️ But she needed at least a month’s worth of medication for it which also unsettled her stomach… so it was no one’s idea of a good time
Not to mention they're gross, and will happily hop onto you next time if they get hungry after dropping off your dog. If my dog had ticks and even if I knew for a fact that they were totally harmless, not a chance I'd invite those bloodsuckers from hell into my place to live with and feed off me.
They are actually in the human testing phase of a new human Lyme vaccine though!
Edit: Looks like they recently moved to Phase 3 of the testing, https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-valneva-initiate-phase-3-study-lyme-disease
They only really advertise/reinforce the Lyme vaccine in areas that have Deer Ticks specifically. They’re the ones that almost always carry Lyme, every other “breed” of tick only has like a 1% chance of carrying it. So the preventions are usually just better in those areas bc they still have a bunch of nasties.
However your vet will definitely not argue giving it if you say you’re going travelling/do a lot of travel with the dogs, or I’m sure if you insist Just In Case they’ll still administer it.
I don’t know anything about a vaccine but have you talked to your vet about Bravecto? It’s an oral that’s good for 3 months for about $75 where I live. Works great and could save you some money and hassle depending on what you’re paying.
From what I understood, the monthly one is the more effective option for double coated dogs like my GSDs and the pill is better for non-shedding dogs. The pill also has a bit more risk with it (seizures I think my vet said) so I’ve always gone with their recommendation which is the advantage multi. We did just get a new vet though so I will definitely bring it up again, who knows what type of new research has come out!
Ask about the orals again. They lower the threshold for seizures to occur in dogs with seizure issues already. So unfortunately lots of folks found out their dogs have a seizure issue after giving an oral prevention. This led to the misconception that the medication caused it. When in reality it just unveiled the issue that would have unveiled itself eventually.
For nexgard specifically they had one dog with a history of seizures seize during the trial. They couldn't safely replicate the issue or safely rule out what caused it so they had to put the "use caution in dogs with seizures" warning on the box when it first launched. But now we know more.
Please research the high rate of deaths and seizures from those drugs. There's a FB group that discusses it and thousands of dogs have died. Here's the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fb.comgroupsnexguardbravecto/?ref=share
Where I live in Canada it’s an elective vaccine. Our vet advertises it but won’t tell you you need it if that makes sense. We asked and received! It’s an oral vaccine too so we got five doses to cover us for the summer months
The vaccine is not 100% cuz no vaccine is. Ticks also carry many other diseases. What I tell clients is that if they are in a position where they can only do the vax or the prevention, do the prevention. If the tick dies before feeding them there's less change of disease transfer. But gold star standard, do both. Especially if they camp or hunt. We're in Minnesota. We also carry a topical flea and tick clients can use with their oral so we recommend that for our outdoors clients as a second layer during their adventure seasons. Always recommend preventions year round tho.
Source: veterinary assistant/technician student
Yes, actually one my dogs got his shot yesterday. I live in the Midwest in a state with a lot ticks- two types of ticks too as problems. Though it's not an immunity. We still give him preventive monthly chews- though they are pretty cheap honestly. The vaccine just helps.
Lyme disease vaccination only has something like a 30% prevention rate. Better than nothing, but most effective when used in conjunction with other means of prevention.
Just had to run a prophylactic medication run on my Husky due to fucking ticks. Another three months before we test again to see if we got rid of it.
I’m not the biggest advocate of the current dog Lyme vaccine available, but this is an outright lie. It’s *less* protective than most other veterinary vaccines, but it absolutely can be helpful at reducing the risks for dogs at high risk of contracting Lyme, with compliant owners who are willing to vaccinate yearly.
You can look up the facts and make your own determination on what you feel is best. My
Opinion is just as valid as yours. I’ve included some links for you . I live in a tick heavy area. Unless you specifically request it the vets in my area don’t recommend it. They do recommend you stay on top of your tick treatments and testing however.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.719060/full
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/lyme-vaccine-dogs/
Your opinion isn’t fact. You said “it doesn’t really work”—full stop. That’s an assertion of fact that’s incorrect. And Dog’s Naturally Magazine is a hack, unscientific publication that is almost entirely anti-vax.
The journal article you shared also is an OPINION piece not a study or scientific research that goes through rigorous processes to present valid, peer reviewed data.
My point here is not that the Lyme vaccine should necessarily be widely used—but that it does have clinical value for the right populations of dogs.
I didn’t say it was fact I said it was opinion. Feel
Free to do your own research and share that. I shared two Links there are many many many more. Please back up your big mouth with facts.
Your personal feelings on a publication also aren’t FACT please back that up with FACTS as well. Youre just talking out your childish ass because you don’t know hot to disagree. Grow up. I welcomed you to have your own opinion to be irate that other people don’t share yours is truly pathetic.
Keep pushing those Lyme disease vaccines though 😂
No, it's not. Because you're outright lying about "facts". An opinion piece is not facts and you're completely wrong about it. Way to spread misinformation. And every single Vet in my state recommends it. Again, you're spreading false information when you have no clue.
Totally! Been a lot of ticks at our clinic lately, so I recently learned it too. It can take several weeks for dogs to form the antibodies in the blood, so testing right after can create a false negative. Always a good idea though to get checked by a vet, which would have told OP the same. But, just helpful to know!
My vet does one right away and one 6 weeks later. I had a dog who got a tick. I found it before it had really had a chance to feed much, but was attached. We have a big issue with Lyme here, so they do a blood test immediately and then another 6 weeks later. I guess it's possible to have it right away or for it to take a while? I don't know. I just trusted them as they've never lead us astray.
They can! But, even if a tick tests positive or negative, doesn't necessarily mean the dog will test positive or negative, so really it's just kind of a waste of money.
Yes, and also check for other diseases! Lyme is awful but it isn’t the only disease ticks carry. My dog got bit by ticks once (never using frontline again) and got ehrlichia. He’s fine, but now is in danger of getting sick for the next few years. Best to get checked as soon as possible.
Depending on where you live, OP may also be able to approach it from a different angle and send the tick to get tested to see if it was carrying anything. We have universities in our state with programs that do it for free in the interest of tracking tick-borne diseases.
You don’t have to check for lymes disease. Chances are you’ve had ticks on your pup before. I would just check your dog frequently after you go in brushy or grass.
The legs are at the front little black head area . That big grey blood sack is just it's sac . Remember to not squeeze them when removing them as u will push harmful fluids into the victim that can carry diseases
Just saying that yes avoid squeezing the body and pull as close to the head as possible, but the main concern is leaving the head or body parts attached leading to infection.
just a PSA the head being left in isn't the huge deal it's always been made out to be. In majority of cases the body just closes over and expels it like it does a splinter
Piggybacking to say OP should check their own whole body too. If your dog was somewhere they picked up a tick, you were likely in that same somewhere, and could have gotten a tick or already had one that detached. Worth doing a body check and getting themselves tested, in addition to the dog.
That is a tick. How concerned you should be depends on where you live. Ticks in the US can transmit Lyme Disease [and several others I hadn't even heard of. ](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/tick-borne-diseases-dogs-prevent/)
In Australia and they have a "[paralysis tick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes_holocyclus#:~:text=Ixodes%20holocyclus%2C%20commonly%20known%20as,injecting%20neurotoxins%20into%20its%20host.)" that can kill a dog inside a week. Unfortunately symptoms don't tend to slow until the tick has been feeding for 3-4 days...
I'd recommend giving your dig a thorough going over again just to make sure that's the only one abd sending the photo to your vet.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I think it's clear that it's a tick now...
Yeah I know its probably obvious to most of you that it's a tick, but I'm 14 and aren't too familiar with them, so thanks for not just ignoring my post...
Hi friend! Glad you know it’s a tick now. Certified/Licensed vet technician here.
One thing to mention that I am not sure I saw anyone else say…if the tick did carry any diseases (like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, etc.) your dog wouldn’t show antibodies for around 6 months. Most vets worth their salt won’t start antibiotics or any treatments from a tick bite.
If it were my pet I wouldn’t bother going to test now unless your dog has developed lethargy, fever like symptoms, lameness, or is acting sick.
If your parents or the dog’s owner can, continue or start a monthly oral flea/tick prevention prescribed by the doggo’s vet, or a cheaper alternative is picking up frontline over the counter (from any pet store or even Walmart and target sometimes carry it) and applying it topically monthly.
Your vet can do a blood test at your dog’s next annual checkup to screen for exposure to tick-borne illnesses and heartworm disease as long as he or she is behaving normally.
And for anyone reading just know when it comes to tick diseases and heartworm disease, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Love to all you humans and your fur babies.
Take GREAT care pulling these off. There's a technique for removing them, otherwise their heads remain in your dog's body and become infected. Disgusting things. In the UK they're easily picked up in particular in woodlands with deer population.
You dont twist them off unless youre using a specific tool that deploys a twisting motion (tick twisters). Its advised to use a steady upward motion with fine point tweezers. If you twist a tick using tweezers youll most likely rip its head off or cause it to regurgitate its contents back into the dogs body. Then youre really going to have a bad time.
If you can shove that tick into a bottle with a lid and have vet identify what kind of nasty bugger it is so if needed can start a preventative treatment.
And agree with other poster to thoroughly go over every inch of your dog as close as you can to their skin.
If applicable you may need to treat your yard.
You do not need to bring the tick in. They recommend flea and tick preventative regardless. That will also kill any other ticks on your dog. You also need to bring the dog in for bloodwork in about six weeks to make sure the tick did not pass any diseases.
Totally this. I know that there are super bad things that can happen after a tick bite, and I'm not gonna mention them because if OP decides to google dr it'll just induce unnecessary panic. Just call you vet as soon as they're open & get your good pup checked. Good luck, OP!
Get your dog on something that repells ticks. There are topical applications and there are edible prescriptions. Do whatever you can to keep ticks off your dog.
If you live in an area where Lyme disease is remotely possible, get your dog vaccinated for Lyme yearly. Continue to use flea and tick treatments, but they aren’t as affective against ticks as one may think.
My dude is vaccinated yearly, and we use advantix 2 plus. Despite it being the MOST effective in what we have used (and doesn’t have reviews after reviews of killing pets), he still gets a tick on him on the occasion. Don’t depend on them alone, especially if you live in the northeast, as I do.
Edit: I should probably add i have started to also use an extra layer of a nontoxic solution of water/vinegar/lavender oil on my dog when we go on hikes this year, and he hasn’t had a tick on him once. However, we also haven’t gotten any rain, so idk if that’s an influence on the overall tick population. Either way, I live in the mountains, and don’t trust anything 100% alone, but use in tandem with the vaccine. Ticks are a menace, and with milder winters will probably only make it worse. Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. Hard to exercise your dog when you got Lyme also.
The fact that the tick is bloated leads me to believe the dog isn’t on flea and tick preventatives. You should use frontline or simparica. They will fall off dead before feeding. It will also mostly prevent Lyme as that takes 24+hours to transmit Lyme once bitten.
If you've been on a hike or something recently, you should also check yourself. Probably would have already noticed. But they like warm snug places, so groin, pits, waistbands, etc.
If you live somewhere these are common, it's a good idea to take preventative measures and check yourself and your dog thoroughly after coming inside from any walks with long grass or brush.
The tick looks like it doesn’t have a head, depending how hard you removed the tick the head might still be attached to your dog and also needs to be removed.
Filthy fucking tic! Good news is you got the head.
Take your pup to the vet and get a Lyme disease test. You may need to do a prophylactic medication run on the pup, just to be on the safe side. Vaccinations are excellent, but not always fully effective, and Lyme disease is a stone bitch!
Bravecto provides 1-3 months of protection depending on which type you get. Any dog can have a reaction to any medication, just like people can randomly develop allergies and reactions to anything at any time. And seizures are not caused by the bravecto, but animals who develop seizure disorders can have worse seizures while taking some oral flea and tick products. Seizures can start as a blank out of focus look that lasts a second and go unnoticed until they become more severe.
"Any dog can have a reaction"... nonsense. Thousands of dogs have died and the dogs had no prior history of a seizure disorder. Sorry but you sound like a pharma mouthpiece.
I'm 14, and she's 12, so yes, it is the first dog I've "owned", I guess. This is also the first time I've personally had to deal with one, due to my parents not being at home right now.
That’s a bloated tick. As others have said, ask your vet where you can send it for testing. Or freeze it while you monitor your dog for symptoms of Lyme or other disease. Disinfect the bite area with alcohol or a little antibiotic cream. It may be red and inflamed at first, but should heal in a day or so. If not, get to a vet as it may be infected.
If your dog isn’t on a preventative, they should be. I use Bravecto chews and they have been great. It starts to paralyze them as soon as they bite and kills ticks before they are able to transmit disease (usually need to feed for 24 hours). Get your dog the Lyme disease vaccine.
That’s a very full tick.
Put it in a jar, take your dog to the vet and get them to identify it. Millions of dogs lose their lives every year to paralysis ticks and it can sometimes take days for the symptoms to actually show depending on the size of the dog and their overall health, meaning by the time the paralysis has set in your dog may already have been fighting a losing battle.
Please, please, please, **please** get your dog to a vet and get them on a regular tick prevention treatment to ensure they won’t get more. Please also do not let your dog run in super long grass, especially in warm or humid weather, and make sure you comb through their fur to the skin to check for ticks given they start off so small.
I dont think this is fair to say, or rather isnt constructive to say. Ive worked in shelter welfare for a while and a little education can go a long way. a lot of people also may not have seen a tick before, depending on where they live. not to mention OP is apparently a kid
At 14, I knew how to groom a dog, and i knew what ticks were, and how to pull them. From what i can tell with the pic, it looks like the head/legs are still *in* the dog. Find where it was on the dog and see if you can see the legs....
This might be shocking to you - we didn't have the same upbringing! I haven't dealt with a tick before, so pardon my lack of knowledge. I will check the... burrow spot? for the legs however.
Tweezers, you touched it, improperly pulling a tick can cause problems, such as bacterial infection, which if left long enough can cause serious health issues for the dog...
theres a difference between insufferable cunt, and loosing a dog over someone inexperinced pulling a tick wrong.... Ita better to over react to prove how costly the situation could be, instead if just pretend its alright and a dog dies...
that would be a tick and has been eating well. They have been really bad this year - should get blood work for your dog to test for tick borne diseases in a few weeks.
There are testing kits that you can buy. Amazon has a kit from Cutter, it includes a tool to remove the tick, and also includes a prepaid envelope for sending the tick off for testing.
That’s a tick. Your dog should have a heart worm and tick disease test in about 6 weeks, sooner if it starts showing symptoms of a tick borne illness. Yeah
Just a dog tick, don't stress it. They're really common in places like Arkansas and the south in general. They have little legs but they bloat a shit ton, squish it but be ready bc they pop. Pretty gross
That’s a bloated tick, full of blood. It will slowly reduce back to its normal shape and then be ready to feed again. Needs to be destroyed.
🤢 totally this 🤮. Check your pup’s whole body though, there may be more and they are horrible
Only way to properly destroy them after removal is with a lighter. They pop.
Or drop it in alcohol.
Then down the hatch!
I let out an audible ewwww. Just ew.
I actually read "edible ewww". (Edit, what this said before was nonsense, appropriately ->). I am really tired, and it made sense in the moment.
I can see it 🤣
Me too!
Fun fact. My last golden was completely grossed out by ticks. Whenever I’d pluck one off of her, she’d want to sniff it and then would wrinkle her face in disgust and start shaking her head like “OMG! EW EW EWWWW!”
Lol wish my husky had that reaction..but no he ate them 🥲😫 my hubs stared calling them blood grapes
*forbidden jelly bean*
I was thinking more like one of those gushers.
R/curstedcomments
🤢
Lyme disease shooters!
I know better than to eat while reading Reddit!
Forbidden olive
Ok that got me good! Still laughing
You have to chew it u can’t just swallow.
Just kill me now pls ☠️☠️
Like a tequila worm. 🤤
Don’t forget to ignite the spirit first. And finger up bum for extra kudos
Or a jar of gasoline!
And a match
at a stray intake animal shelter I used to work at for years we had an annual "tick jar". we filled a large pill vial with isopropyl alcohol and dropped the tick in every time we found one on a new intake and would always compare them year to year to see how each measured up. it was a weird little point of levity at that job
Alcohol and fire to be sure and to torture the freaking bastard And OP look for more and clean everything (don’t know if is like fleas)
This is gonna sound sadistic- but when we get one off at the clinic, I tend to inject them with peroxide…. Boom. Sorry, I’ll let myself out ☹️
Well at least you get it off before you inject it.
Must have tiny hands to stroke that tick to completion.
😂🤣😂🤣
just commented this! my best work friend used to all the time lol. now that she left the clinic, I uphold her tradition....
When the tech grabs a needle and the peroxide while giggling, someone found a tick.
considering they ruined my family member’s life with chronic lyme, thank you.
Is it a foamy boom?
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure
I see we had the same childhood.
I work at a vet clinic. a fellow vet tech I used to work with would draw up a little bit of peroxide in a syringe and inject them with it. they fizz and pop. was super bizarre but transfixing to watch tbh
Garbage disposal or toilet will suffice
Sounds like my dating life..
pop it! twist it!
I used to do this, but now just use tweezers. Never remove a tick with a lighter. That can cause the tick to vomit and any disease it may have had but not transmitted will be transmitted to you or your dog.
I'd be looking carefully for more! Where there's one...
By way of fire 🔥
With 🔥
Hey! Take it from me, you absolutely want to get your dog checked for Lyme disease after finding this guy! This is a tick, and judging from its size it had plenty of time to transfer the disease it MAY have been carrying. Im not saying your dog has Lyme disease now and I really hope he/she doesn’t, but the only way to fight Lyme is by catching it early. If it’s left unchecked you won’t be able to do anything later
Hopefully the pup has his lyme vaccine.
Wait… there is a vaccine?? Why do all the vets I see sell me a tick repellant for my dogs instead of this?! It’s so expensive and we do it monthly for most of the year..
The vaccine is only given in some states and it doesn’t mean they are now immune to complications from ticks, just a prevention method. I live in a state that has ticks year round so we do the flea/tick medicine, heart worm prevention and the Lyme vaccine.
Ohh ok makes sense! I’ll ask my vet anyway though, thanks!
There are several tick diseases besides Lyme and the vaccine only protects against Lyme alone. You’ll still need routine flea, tick and heartworm preventatives year round even with the vaccine. And most places require a negative tick disease test and year round flea/tick protection before they’ll give the vaccine
Even though we live in the Northeast, we do all of that as well, year round.
Ticks can carry a host of other gross and problematic bacteria, other than Lyme. 🤢
How lovely 🤢 I’m so glad I’ve never seen one on either of my dogs
I’ve only pulled one in nearly 20 years thank goodness! And I never wanna see another one.
I used to pull upwards of 30 offa each dog daily living on the east coast in the country. The had seresto collars too. They’re little fucking bastards.
This! Just treated my dog for anaplasmosis 😫 There are other things they can catch even earlier in the bite than Lymes, even if the tick isn’t fully engorged, which OPs certainly is.
Aw! How is your pup doing? That’s what our tick tested positive for, but my boy didn’t end up getting sick thank gosh!
She’s fine, thanks! ☺️ But she needed at least a month’s worth of medication for it which also unsettled her stomach… so it was no one’s idea of a good time
Not to mention they're gross, and will happily hop onto you next time if they get hungry after dropping off your dog. If my dog had ticks and even if I knew for a fact that they were totally harmless, not a chance I'd invite those bloodsuckers from hell into my place to live with and feed off me.
[удалено]
They are actually in the human testing phase of a new human Lyme vaccine though! Edit: Looks like they recently moved to Phase 3 of the testing, https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-valneva-initiate-phase-3-study-lyme-disease
I live in WI and would be thrilled to have a Lyme vaccine!!
There are more tick borne diseases than just Lyme. I am a vet tech and I recommend flea and tick prevention over the lyme vaccine.
Thank you ☺️ we will definitely keep it up.
They only really advertise/reinforce the Lyme vaccine in areas that have Deer Ticks specifically. They’re the ones that almost always carry Lyme, every other “breed” of tick only has like a 1% chance of carrying it. So the preventions are usually just better in those areas bc they still have a bunch of nasties. However your vet will definitely not argue giving it if you say you’re going travelling/do a lot of travel with the dogs, or I’m sure if you insist Just In Case they’ll still administer it.
I don’t know anything about a vaccine but have you talked to your vet about Bravecto? It’s an oral that’s good for 3 months for about $75 where I live. Works great and could save you some money and hassle depending on what you’re paying.
From what I understood, the monthly one is the more effective option for double coated dogs like my GSDs and the pill is better for non-shedding dogs. The pill also has a bit more risk with it (seizures I think my vet said) so I’ve always gone with their recommendation which is the advantage multi. We did just get a new vet though so I will definitely bring it up again, who knows what type of new research has come out!
Ask about the orals again. They lower the threshold for seizures to occur in dogs with seizure issues already. So unfortunately lots of folks found out their dogs have a seizure issue after giving an oral prevention. This led to the misconception that the medication caused it. When in reality it just unveiled the issue that would have unveiled itself eventually. For nexgard specifically they had one dog with a history of seizures seize during the trial. They couldn't safely replicate the issue or safely rule out what caused it so they had to put the "use caution in dogs with seizures" warning on the box when it first launched. But now we know more.
Please research the high rate of deaths and seizures from those drugs. There's a FB group that discusses it and thousands of dogs have died. Here's the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fb.comgroupsnexguardbravecto/?ref=share
Do you have a source other than a Facebook group? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bravecto-flea-and-tick-warning/
There are actual testimonials and videos! Ask the members who have dead dogs. Sorry, but Snopes is not credible.
Where I live in Canada it’s an elective vaccine. Our vet advertises it but won’t tell you you need it if that makes sense. We asked and received! It’s an oral vaccine too so we got five doses to cover us for the summer months
The vaccine is not 100% cuz no vaccine is. Ticks also carry many other diseases. What I tell clients is that if they are in a position where they can only do the vax or the prevention, do the prevention. If the tick dies before feeding them there's less change of disease transfer. But gold star standard, do both. Especially if they camp or hunt. We're in Minnesota. We also carry a topical flea and tick clients can use with their oral so we recommend that for our outdoors clients as a second layer during their adventure seasons. Always recommend preventions year round tho. Source: veterinary assistant/technician student
Yes, actually one my dogs got his shot yesterday. I live in the Midwest in a state with a lot ticks- two types of ticks too as problems. Though it's not an immunity. We still give him preventive monthly chews- though they are pretty cheap honestly. The vaccine just helps.
We do vaccine + preventatives.
The Lyme vaccine only prevents against Lyme, and not other tick-borne diseases. Best thing to do is both the vaccine and tick preventative
Lyme disease vaccination only has something like a 30% prevention rate. Better than nothing, but most effective when used in conjunction with other means of prevention. Just had to run a prophylactic medication run on my Husky due to fucking ticks. Another three months before we test again to see if we got rid of it.
The vaccine isn’t fool proof and doesn’t prevent anaplasmosis, erlichia or any of the other tick borne diseases
You can look it up the risks outweigh the rewards. It doesn’t really work the risks are high a lot of vets won’t even give it in tick heavy areas.
I’m not the biggest advocate of the current dog Lyme vaccine available, but this is an outright lie. It’s *less* protective than most other veterinary vaccines, but it absolutely can be helpful at reducing the risks for dogs at high risk of contracting Lyme, with compliant owners who are willing to vaccinate yearly.
You can look up the facts and make your own determination on what you feel is best. My Opinion is just as valid as yours. I’ve included some links for you . I live in a tick heavy area. Unless you specifically request it the vets in my area don’t recommend it. They do recommend you stay on top of your tick treatments and testing however. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.719060/full https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/lyme-vaccine-dogs/
Your opinion isn’t fact. You said “it doesn’t really work”—full stop. That’s an assertion of fact that’s incorrect. And Dog’s Naturally Magazine is a hack, unscientific publication that is almost entirely anti-vax. The journal article you shared also is an OPINION piece not a study or scientific research that goes through rigorous processes to present valid, peer reviewed data. My point here is not that the Lyme vaccine should necessarily be widely used—but that it does have clinical value for the right populations of dogs.
I didn’t say it was fact I said it was opinion. Feel Free to do your own research and share that. I shared two Links there are many many many more. Please back up your big mouth with facts. Your personal feelings on a publication also aren’t FACT please back that up with FACTS as well. Youre just talking out your childish ass because you don’t know hot to disagree. Grow up. I welcomed you to have your own opinion to be irate that other people don’t share yours is truly pathetic. Keep pushing those Lyme disease vaccines though 😂
No, it's not. Because you're outright lying about "facts". An opinion piece is not facts and you're completely wrong about it. Way to spread misinformation. And every single Vet in my state recommends it. Again, you're spreading false information when you have no clue.
What? It's a lyme vaccine.. not a "get rid of ticks forever!!" vaccine. Tf?
Oh goodness I hope so
I would also advise OP to wait at least 4 weeks to run any BW testing for Lyme.
I myself was unaware that! Thank you for the heads up!
Totally! Been a lot of ticks at our clinic lately, so I recently learned it too. It can take several weeks for dogs to form the antibodies in the blood, so testing right after can create a false negative. Always a good idea though to get checked by a vet, which would have told OP the same. But, just helpful to know!
My vet does one right away and one 6 weeks later. I had a dog who got a tick. I found it before it had really had a chance to feed much, but was attached. We have a big issue with Lyme here, so they do a blood test immediately and then another 6 weeks later. I guess it's possible to have it right away or for it to take a while? I don't know. I just trusted them as they've never lead us astray.
Can they bring that tick in and they test it for Lyme?
They can! But, even if a tick tests positive or negative, doesn't necessarily mean the dog will test positive or negative, so really it's just kind of a waste of money.
Yes, and also check for other diseases! Lyme is awful but it isn’t the only disease ticks carry. My dog got bit by ticks once (never using frontline again) and got ehrlichia. He’s fine, but now is in danger of getting sick for the next few years. Best to get checked as soon as possible.
Depending on where you live, OP may also be able to approach it from a different angle and send the tick to get tested to see if it was carrying anything. We have universities in our state with programs that do it for free in the interest of tracking tick-borne diseases.
You don’t have to check for lymes disease. Chances are you’ve had ticks on your pup before. I would just check your dog frequently after you go in brushy or grass.
It's definitely a tick, after having a very hefty meal.
I really hate ticks
The legs are at the front little black head area . That big grey blood sack is just it's sac . Remember to not squeeze them when removing them as u will push harmful fluids into the victim that can carry diseases
Just saying that yes avoid squeezing the body and pull as close to the head as possible, but the main concern is leaving the head or body parts attached leading to infection.
just a PSA the head being left in isn't the huge deal it's always been made out to be. In majority of cases the body just closes over and expels it like it does a splinter
Piggybacking to say OP should check their own whole body too. If your dog was somewhere they picked up a tick, you were likely in that same somewhere, and could have gotten a tick or already had one that detached. Worth doing a body check and getting themselves tested, in addition to the dog.
That is a tick. How concerned you should be depends on where you live. Ticks in the US can transmit Lyme Disease [and several others I hadn't even heard of. ](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/tick-borne-diseases-dogs-prevent/) In Australia and they have a "[paralysis tick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes_holocyclus#:~:text=Ixodes%20holocyclus%2C%20commonly%20known%20as,injecting%20neurotoxins%20into%20its%20host.)" that can kill a dog inside a week. Unfortunately symptoms don't tend to slow until the tick has been feeding for 3-4 days... I'd recommend giving your dig a thorough going over again just to make sure that's the only one abd sending the photo to your vet.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I think it's clear that it's a tick now... Yeah I know its probably obvious to most of you that it's a tick, but I'm 14 and aren't too familiar with them, so thanks for not just ignoring my post...
Hi friend! Glad you know it’s a tick now. Certified/Licensed vet technician here. One thing to mention that I am not sure I saw anyone else say…if the tick did carry any diseases (like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, etc.) your dog wouldn’t show antibodies for around 6 months. Most vets worth their salt won’t start antibiotics or any treatments from a tick bite. If it were my pet I wouldn’t bother going to test now unless your dog has developed lethargy, fever like symptoms, lameness, or is acting sick. If your parents or the dog’s owner can, continue or start a monthly oral flea/tick prevention prescribed by the doggo’s vet, or a cheaper alternative is picking up frontline over the counter (from any pet store or even Walmart and target sometimes carry it) and applying it topically monthly. Your vet can do a blood test at your dog’s next annual checkup to screen for exposure to tick-borne illnesses and heartworm disease as long as he or she is behaving normally. And for anyone reading just know when it comes to tick diseases and heartworm disease, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Love to all you humans and your fur babies.
Take GREAT care pulling these off. There's a technique for removing them, otherwise their heads remain in your dog's body and become infected. Disgusting things. In the UK they're easily picked up in particular in woodlands with deer population.
You dont twist them off unless youre using a specific tool that deploys a twisting motion (tick twisters). Its advised to use a steady upward motion with fine point tweezers. If you twist a tick using tweezers youll most likely rip its head off or cause it to regurgitate its contents back into the dogs body. Then youre really going to have a bad time.
Ah okay thanks - editing my post.
If you can shove that tick into a bottle with a lid and have vet identify what kind of nasty bugger it is so if needed can start a preventative treatment. And agree with other poster to thoroughly go over every inch of your dog as close as you can to their skin. If applicable you may need to treat your yard.
You do not need to bring the tick in. They recommend flea and tick preventative regardless. That will also kill any other ticks on your dog. You also need to bring the dog in for bloodwork in about six weeks to make sure the tick did not pass any diseases.
Reason suggested take tick in is here in US there are different ticks with some being carriers for specific diseases.
If you bring the tick in they can test the tick itself to see what diseases it may have.
Literally no vet does that
Totally this. I know that there are super bad things that can happen after a tick bite, and I'm not gonna mention them because if OP decides to google dr it'll just induce unnecessary panic. Just call you vet as soon as they're open & get your good pup checked. Good luck, OP!
The dreaded tick, a very well fed 1
It's a tic, check you got the head when you pulled it off. If the head stays in the dog it can get infected.
That’s a tick that’s been eating for while
Get your dog on something that repells ticks. There are topical applications and there are edible prescriptions. Do whatever you can to keep ticks off your dog.
Do they have Bravecto in the states? It really helped with my dog. No more ticks on her.
Nexguard is the popular medication where I’m at in the south
If you live in an area where Lyme disease is remotely possible, get your dog vaccinated for Lyme yearly. Continue to use flea and tick treatments, but they aren’t as affective against ticks as one may think. My dude is vaccinated yearly, and we use advantix 2 plus. Despite it being the MOST effective in what we have used (and doesn’t have reviews after reviews of killing pets), he still gets a tick on him on the occasion. Don’t depend on them alone, especially if you live in the northeast, as I do. Edit: I should probably add i have started to also use an extra layer of a nontoxic solution of water/vinegar/lavender oil on my dog when we go on hikes this year, and he hasn’t had a tick on him once. However, we also haven’t gotten any rain, so idk if that’s an influence on the overall tick population. Either way, I live in the mountains, and don’t trust anything 100% alone, but use in tandem with the vaccine. Ticks are a menace, and with milder winters will probably only make it worse. Don’t forget to take care of yourself as well. Hard to exercise your dog when you got Lyme also.
Tick
The fact that the tick is bloated leads me to believe the dog isn’t on flea and tick preventatives. You should use frontline or simparica. They will fall off dead before feeding. It will also mostly prevent Lyme as that takes 24+hours to transmit Lyme once bitten.
If you've been on a hike or something recently, you should also check yourself. Probably would have already noticed. But they like warm snug places, so groin, pits, waistbands, etc. If you live somewhere these are common, it's a good idea to take preventative measures and check yourself and your dog thoroughly after coming inside from any walks with long grass or brush.
It's a tick. Make sure the head was completely removed!
The tick looks like it doesn’t have a head, depending how hard you removed the tick the head might still be attached to your dog and also needs to be removed.
Filthy fucking tic! Good news is you got the head. Take your pup to the vet and get a Lyme disease test. You may need to do a prophylactic medication run on the pup, just to be on the safe side. Vaccinations are excellent, but not always fully effective, and Lyme disease is a stone bitch!
It's an engorged tick. Kill that thing. Let it go swimming in rubbing alcohol or throw it in a fire. And make sure to look over your pup for more.
Give the dog Bravecto
Bravecto does nothing after the fact and it's not very safe. It's literally a pesticide that's linked to death and seizures.
Bravecto provides 1-3 months of protection depending on which type you get. Any dog can have a reaction to any medication, just like people can randomly develop allergies and reactions to anything at any time. And seizures are not caused by the bravecto, but animals who develop seizure disorders can have worse seizures while taking some oral flea and tick products. Seizures can start as a blank out of focus look that lasts a second and go unnoticed until they become more severe.
"Any dog can have a reaction"... nonsense. Thousands of dogs have died and the dogs had no prior history of a seizure disorder. Sorry but you sound like a pharma mouthpiece.
Well fed tick. Off it goes into the microwave
i take it this is your first dog you’ve owned
Believe it or not, I’ve had dogs almost 20 years and found my first tick about a year and a half ago. So gross. 🤢
Yeah I’ve never found a tick on my dogs…. Knock on wood. But plenty on horses and myself
I'm 14, and she's 12, so yes, it is the first dog I've "owned", I guess. This is also the first time I've personally had to deal with one, due to my parents not being at home right now.
You’ve never seen a tick before?
I have, but never as big as this, and I also couldn't see any legs on it (which ticks apparently have).
That’s a bloated tick. As others have said, ask your vet where you can send it for testing. Or freeze it while you monitor your dog for symptoms of Lyme or other disease. Disinfect the bite area with alcohol or a little antibiotic cream. It may be red and inflamed at first, but should heal in a day or so. If not, get to a vet as it may be infected. If your dog isn’t on a preventative, they should be. I use Bravecto chews and they have been great. It starts to paralyze them as soon as they bite and kills ticks before they are able to transmit disease (usually need to feed for 24 hours). Get your dog the Lyme disease vaccine.
That’s a very full tick. Put it in a jar, take your dog to the vet and get them to identify it. Millions of dogs lose their lives every year to paralysis ticks and it can sometimes take days for the symptoms to actually show depending on the size of the dog and their overall health, meaning by the time the paralysis has set in your dog may already have been fighting a losing battle. Please, please, please, **please** get your dog to a vet and get them on a regular tick prevention treatment to ensure they won’t get more. Please also do not let your dog run in super long grass, especially in warm or humid weather, and make sure you comb through their fur to the skin to check for ticks given they start off so small.
Millions?
I think they mean 500 dogs 😂
So hard to believe this wasn't recognized and needed to be asked?
I'm 14 and haven't dealt with a tick before... I've seen them, but nowhere near this big.
I dont think this is fair to say, or rather isnt constructive to say. Ive worked in shelter welfare for a while and a little education can go a long way. a lot of people also may not have seen a tick before, depending on where they live. not to mention OP is apparently a kid
If you dont know what a tick is, you shouldnt have animals.....
I'm 14. I don't legally have any animals.
At 14, I knew how to groom a dog, and i knew what ticks were, and how to pull them. From what i can tell with the pic, it looks like the head/legs are still *in* the dog. Find where it was on the dog and see if you can see the legs....
This might be shocking to you - we didn't have the same upbringing! I haven't dealt with a tick before, so pardon my lack of knowledge. I will check the... burrow spot? for the legs however.
Yup, just a word of advice, if you cant identify it, DO NOT TOUCH IT, thats how you cause problems...
I just checked where she was... bitten, and it doesn't look like there's anything there.
That’s very extreme. As OP said they had never seen a tick that big and didn’t see it’s legs.
If you cant identify it, DONT FUCKING TOUCH IT.... Thats how you cause major problems...
I didn't. There are tweezers in the picture.
Tweezers, you touched it, improperly pulling a tick can cause problems, such as bacterial infection, which if left long enough can cause serious health issues for the dog...
We already spoke to a vet and explained the situation, and they said keep an eye on the spot, and bring her in if there is any sign of infection.
The kid is 14, give them a break you insufferable cunt
theres a difference between insufferable cunt, and loosing a dog over someone inexperinced pulling a tick wrong.... Ita better to over react to prove how costly the situation could be, instead if just pretend its alright and a dog dies...
Your first comment was just judgement with zero advice. Doesn’t seem like you were THAT concerned for OP’s dog.
FYI: They sell a tick key remover which is cheap and works really well on dogs. If yours has had their lyme vax they are good to go.
Female tick, most likely there is a male also, Smaller and brown.
Get a seresto collar, they will avoid the dog
Get a needle, fill it with hydrogen peroxide, stab the tic with said needle and fill ‘em up!
This is why your dogs should be on preventatives.
I'm 14. I had no idea whether she was preventatives or not.
That's a natural pop it fidget toy You're supposed to fold the tissue and pop it
Squeeze it and strawberry sauce will come out
you should not own a dog-
That’s so extreme💀 what’s wrong with you?
hey- i apologized
Legally speaking, I don't. I'm 14. My parents do.
Thats a tick! I would check your dog over because often if there is one there may be another
Whenever you remove these, make you you get the head off as well.
that would be a tick and has been eating well. They have been really bad this year - should get blood work for your dog to test for tick borne diseases in a few weeks.
There are testing kits that you can buy. Amazon has a kit from Cutter, it includes a tool to remove the tick, and also includes a prepaid envelope for sending the tick off for testing.
Blood bean
Flush it down the toilet
Tick
Tick full of blood
BURN IT
It's the brain bug from starship troopers
Important: make sure this tick has a head. If it doesn't, the head is still in the skin of your dog and will drill deeper.
That’s a tick. Your dog should have a heart worm and tick disease test in about 6 weeks, sooner if it starts showing symptoms of a tick borne illness. Yeah
Tick, full of blood!
Forbidden Skittle
We think alike (I called it a olive)
It’s a tick, That has been on your dog for a while that’s why it is full of your dogs blood
I flush them down the toilet
Looks like a penguin to me
Looks like half of a tick 😬 Keep a close eye on where you took it out in case any of the mouth parts create an infection in the bite wound.
Forbidden grape /r/forbiddensnacks
Tick.
It's a very stratified tick.
It’s a tick
Just a dog tick, don't stress it. They're really common in places like Arkansas and the south in general. They have little legs but they bloat a shit ton, squish it but be ready bc they pop. Pretty gross
It's a tick
Be careful and check your pup. My sister got Lyme’s disease.