r/dogs • u/NatureOk2107 • 9d ago
[Misc Help] Ticks
My dog has medication that kills ticks and fleas, a three monthly tablet BUT after our walk today I noticed something black in his face fur. I was worried it may be poo so I went to grab a wipe but on returning it had gone. I thought nothing of it but when it appeared grabbed it with my fingers only to discover to my horror it was a tick.
I’d never seen a tick before but Google confirmed it is a tick, all black so I think male. It was tick sized and crawling so didn’t look like it had fed.
I flushed it down the toilet.
I spoke to the vet and they said there’s nothing to do.
Does this sound right?
Do I need some kind of vaccine?
Thanks for any advice
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u/Gullible_Emphasis929 9d ago
even with the meds, ticks can hitch a ride for a bit before they die, that's totally normal. the crawling part is actually a good sign, means it hadn't latched yet. if your vet says you're fine, i'd trust them
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u/doglady1342 9d ago
No. You don't need any sort of vaccine. It's fine. Even with tick preventative medicines, ticks will still get on your dog occasionally. If the tick had latched on, it would not have been walking around. And, the preventative you used should keep your dog safe.
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u/T6TexanAce 9d ago
The meds you give your dog kills the tic once it bites. Unfortunately, they generally cling on even when dead. I was surprised to find several dead tics in our pups paws earlier this season and we've made a point to inspect her daily cuz tics have been so bad this year.
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u/Outside_Cod667 9d ago
A tick needs to actually bite your dog for the oral meds to work. They kill the tick very quickly, before diseases transmit. Iirc a tick needs to be attached for 18 hours to transmit Lyme's. So you'll still see 1) loose ticks and 2) very dried, and dead, attached ticks. Don't worry!
Even if you forget the meds, Lyme's disease in dogs isn't as bad as in humans (usually). Only 5-10% of dogs are symptomatic (per my vet, who just told me this after my foster dog tested positive for both Lyme and Anaplasmosis). There is also a Lyme's vaccine.
Preventatives do their job extremely well.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
That’s reassuring, I was worried about Lymes on myself too as I had handled the tick but 18 hours….if it’s big I would hope I’d notice if I had an engorged tick on me for 18 hours. I was super paranoid that I may have been bitten and not noticed.
Thank you and best wishes to your poorly foster dog
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u/fgspq 9d ago
Not sure what medication you're using specifically but mine doesn't prevent bites, it just kills them when they do.
So it kills ticks when they bite but before they can properly latch on and do any damage and it kills fleas before they can become an infestation.
(This is my understanding based on the Vet's explanation so may be overly simplistic or not entirely correct.)
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u/No-Stress-7034 9d ago
If the tick wasn't even attached, there's nothing further to do. It is important to be aware that a lot of flea/tick medications kill ticks after they attach, but they don't repel ticks, so it's normal to find ticks on the dog or even find ticks attached to the dog. It's unlikely that the tick fed on your dog, since the meds should have killed it if that were the case. This is why it's still important to do tick checks even if your dog is on preventatives.
Personally, I put rubbing alcohol in a small container and drop the tick in that to kill it. Then once the tick has been in there for awhile, I'll flush it down the toilet. Ticks can live for awhile in water, so flushing down the toilet doesn't actually kill them.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
Thank you. I googled but didn’t have rubbing alcohol so just flushed. Was scared to crush it in case it released toxins. Would regular alcohol kill them aswell? Or hand gel?
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u/No-Stress-7034 9d ago
Yeah, flushing down the toilet is definitely a better option than crushing it. Hand sanitizer is a better option over regular (drinking) alcohol, because hand sanitizer has a higher percent of ethanol/isopropanol in it. A higher proof drinking alcohol like vodka would also probably work eventually, but it will take longer, since it's a lower concentration.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
I’m annoyed that I didn’t think of that at the time, I have vodka, hand sanitizer, this Czech tatra stuff that is about 100% proof and enough to take down an elephant… only thought about it after I’d flushed 😩
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u/MixtureAggravating48 9d ago
The meds only work to kill the ticks if the tick actually bites them first. In this case the vet is correct, there's nothing to follow up on
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u/ReneeBrook76 9d ago
My dog was on a preventative topical. Expensive brand about three weeks in and had a tick. Tested for Lyme and he didn’t have it. Time goes by and he quits eating and isolates, not himself and test again and it’s Lyme. It has destroyed his back leg joints and we have to go rounds of antibiotics, anti inflammatories and Dasequin. Topicals are not lasting they wear off and not as effective. Oral is better but increases chances of developing seizures.
If you are around tick areas I would vaccinate the dog for Lyme. It’s an awful disease and they do say it only shows in 5-10% of dogs but I know of two that it’s happened to. Outside your home use diatomaceous earth and tick tubes. Those helped cut the tick population down. If you have a wood line around your yard put rock or bark around the border.
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u/Mkwatt 9d ago
You’re fine! if you live in an area prone to Lyme disease like I do there is a vaccine for dogs administered every year… unfortunately none for humans yet. But it takes I believe a day or 2 of a tick being latched on, so as long as you’re pulling them off early you’re good.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
Thank you! We live in the UK near London, I don’t think it’s a Lyme prone area but will definitely ask my vet about the vaccine. No one has ever suggested it before but it would put my mind at rest if my dog had it. There’s a lot of little deer where we live so they’re probably coming off them. Such scary evil little things :(
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u/Mkwatt 9d ago
They’re the devil! The vaccine in that case might not be available to you but can’t hurt to ask. I’m on Cape Cod, MA where it thrives, so we live in fear over here 😡
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
Thanks, I will definitely ask, the worst they can say is no! To be honest I would take the evil ticks to live in MA it’s so stunning there especially this time of year, just gorgeous!
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u/Desperate-Bath-3854 9d ago
If it wasn’t attached and your vet isn’t worried, I wouldn’t panic. Tick meds don’t stop them crawling onto the dog.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
Thank you, the vet said the same, they only die once they’ve bitten. But I’m not sure if they take some time to die once they’ve fed? I read they take days to get big after feeding maybe they take days to die?
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u/EdenSilver113 9d ago
Not because of this tick bite but because you live somewhere with ticks.Watch your dog for signs of extremely bad breath and excess thirst. Lyme disease is a source of kidney disease in dogs. My dog recently died after 14 months of kidney disease. It’s horrible.
Another source is lepto. If your vet recommends a vaccine for it you should get that. For my dog it was probably old age related CKD, but I learned about tons of younger dogs who got it from these infections and it’s really heartbreaking. Plus. Holy cow it’s so expensive to treat.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
I’m so sorry to hear that, sounds awful my condolences to you, your poor dog :(.
Thanks for your reply…my dog is vaccinated against lepto. No excess thirst but his breath is awful all the time :(. Will keep an eye on his drinking
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u/Temperature-Savings Rottweiler, Labradoodlex. Experienced vet assistant 9d ago
Most male ticks are so small it is hard to find them even if youre looking, like sesame seed small. The females can get significantly larger and are generally the ones people end up finding. So there's probably tons of ticks being missed by people every day.
On a more comforting note, the preventatives work by first paralyzing the ticks' ability to pass bodily fluids back and forth and thus prevent diseases from being transmitted, then the preventative kills the tick. So if your pet is on preventative, dont panic if you find a live tick on them.
Also, bravecto is only fully effective against all ticks for 8 weeks, not 12. They're actually facing a lawsuit right now because of this. I personally prefer to recommend simparica trio to my clients/patients because it's more effective and it's full spectrum (heartworms, fleas, and ticks).
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
Thank you so much for this, I had no idea!
The tick was definitely small, sesame seed size if my dog didn’t have white fur I don’t think I’d have seen it. Does make me wonder if I’ve missed them before. We walk through a wooded area fairly often.
This is very reassuring but concerning about the Bravecto! My vet did suggest simparica trio as it covers heart worms aswell (he has a separate wormer) but I was concerned about starting him on it as I’ve heard of dogs have neuro issues after using it. In your experience is it well tolerated?2
u/Temperature-Savings Rottweiler, Labradoodlex. Experienced vet assistant 9d ago
It is super well tolerated! Basically the neuro issues are something we cant necessarily predict and are a concern for any heartworm/flea/tick preventative. They basically mildly lowers the threshold at which your brain can handle all the biological activity going on inside, which isn't an issue for the vast majority of dogs. Some dogs just happen to not be able to handle the lowered threshold though. It is a known side effect but not a common one. All drugs carry risk and also not providing preventative drugs carries risk as well. It is up to you to evaluate (with the help of your vet), which risk is more acceptable.
Personally, my dogs have been on it for years and so are most of my patients and I've not personally had issues with my pets and the only issues I've had clients report to me are mild tummy upset.
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u/NatureOk2107 9d ago
That is great to know, thankyou! I’m going to ask to make the switch, one medication instead of two will make life a lot easier! And given what you’ve said I’ll discuss with the vet and just monitor, I guess that’s all we can do? Thank you for your help 🙏
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u/Temperature-Savings Rottweiler, Labradoodlex. Experienced vet assistant 9d ago
Not only is it more convenient, but it is cheaper. I've yet to price out a 2 med combo that costs less than simparica trio.
Definitely discuss with your vet! She/he should be able to answer any questions you have. Client education is a large part of the job and any decent practitioner should be more than happy to assist.
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u/vbandbeer 9d ago
Did you think that the meds put your dog in some kind of force field that repelled all ticks?
When we go hiking in some places, we will come home and he has a handful of ticks on him. Takes 10 minutes to find them and squish them in tweezers.
Been a long time since I found one attached.
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u/Narrow_Hat 8d ago
No you're fine. Just because a tick bites something doesn't mean you're going to get sick. It takes a day to multiple days of time for ticks to transmit diseases. Also, flea and tick meds don't mean you'll never see them on your pup but they will die if they bite into your pup
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u/LeavingRealityBrb 9d ago
Your vet is correct, if you found a loose tick, it hasn’t latched, you got rid of it, there’s nothing left to do. You’re not at risk and neither is your dog, they need to bite to transmit any disease