Ticks

[motherofaliens]

Just thought I'd share. We live in a rural area and it is not unusual for our dogs to pick up ticks now and again (vile things, shudder). We have a tick twister from the vets which is very good and we usually use. One of our dogs is a rescue greyhound, and although large and soppy we had trouble removing a tick that attached itself near his eye by his tear duct. We tried a few times, but didn't want to stress him out, so searched for other solutions. One of the solutions we discovered was to put a large blob of Vaseline over the tick, which effectively suffocates it. So we applied a big blob of Vaseline. He rubbed it off (on our bed ewwwww). We applied another blob, he rubbed it off again, this time on the sofa (vom - even worse). Then a final blob before bedtime (which no doubt ended up smeared all over his dog bed - I haven't had the stomach to look). Anyway, the result is SUCCESS! By the morning the tick reduced in size bit by bit (very quickly) until we were struggling to see it, and eventually dropped off. So a this is a recommended tick removal option for hard to get to - or sensitive areas for dogs or pets that you can't keep still enough to get the tick remover attached :)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The problem with applying Vaseline is that it causes the tick to vomit saliva into the dog's body and increases the risk of Lyme disease transmission.

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

My dd had one and the method I found recommened (we didn't have a twister) was to tie a loop in some cotton thread and loop it over the tick and round it's mouth, then pull tightly and up to remove, like the twister. It worked really well. I agree about Vaseline and the risks of Lyme disease.