Tick'd Off

[Mystella]

Argh. When we have to go away, Jeffy stays with my inlaws. He adores them, they have an acre fenced in and they also have his best canine buddy, Bo.

 

The problem is they live in a heavy tick area.

 

When Jeffy came home on Monday I checked him over for ticks and found one and removed it right away. No problem.

 

This morning I discovered another one, on the inside of his ear.

 

So it has been there since at least Monday. Here is the problem. Jeff is crazy sensitive about his ears. He does the GSOD if anyone touches them even if they just brush over them when petting him, his ears have to be avoided or he will cry. I don't know why, the vet has checked them and there are no infections or mites or anything wrong with them.

 

The only person he happily lets rub, prod and touch his ears is me. He won't automatically holler if Craig or Faith touch them but he is more wary and will try to move and avoid having them do it. I did make a quick attempt to remove it this morning, but this one is stubborn and I didn't get it. The tick has already been there at least 48 hours and I am hesitant to yank it out and add make his ear touching neuroses worse.

 

thoughts?

 

I am itchy now just from typing this thread

 

 

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

Pull it. Yes, it will be traumatic, but it needs to go. I'd muzzle and do it as quickly as possible and follow up with cheese cheese cheese. Vivie is similar about her ears. I don't know why, but it might have something to do with the chunk missing from her right one. :/

[Roo]

Pull it. Yes, it will be traumatic, but it needs to go. I'd muzzle and do it as quickly as possible and follow up with cheese cheese cheese. Vivie is similar about her ears. I don't know why, but it might have something to do with the chunk missing from her right one. :/

 

I agree - get that nasty little thing off! Muzzle, quick yank, and then cheeese! You could even put some peanut butter in the muzzle so he has something to do while you're messing with him.

[CharlieRhea]

I agree, it has to come off. Hope this link works,nope it didn't, Wondercide, natural flea and tick repellent if you don't use Frontline or something like it. I just bought some but haven't used it yet. Someone I work with said it killed a tick on contact so maybe a dab of this on the tick for the future?

[kudzu]

Agree with others, muzzle him & pull the sucker off. Have someone else liberally apply treats to the patient during the procedure or put a huge dollop of PB on the roof of his mouth immediately before applying muzzle & then do procedure ASAP.

 

I agree, it has to come off. Hope this link works,nope it didn't, Wondercide, natural flea and tick repellent if you don't use Frontline or something like it. I just bought some but haven't used it yet. Someone I work with said it killed a tick on contact so maybe a dab of this on the tick for the future?

Please let us know how well that stuff works. Some dog (and humans) have bad skin reactions to cedar but if neither you nor your dogs have that problem then it seems worth a try.

[Guest IrskasMom]

Pull it. Yes, it will be traumatic, but it needs to go. I'd muzzle and do it as quickly as possible and follow up with cheese cheese cheese. Vivie is similar about her ears. I don't know why, but it might have something to do with the chunk missing from her right one. :/

You got to pull it . Put it on a white Tissue and see if you got the Head to.

Wanted to add, is he on Frontline or any other Flea and Tick Meds and why not?

Edited May 14, 2014 by IrskasMom

[turbotaina]

Yeah, sorry, it'll be a few seconds of trauma, but it needs to come off. The longer it stays, the longer it can transmit a disease. You'll probably want to get him tested after this anyway since it's been attached 48 hours Use a tick key - they're widely available and making removing a tick super easy. Good luck!

[greysandmollie]

Aww...poor crazy boy...I really really hate them too!!

 

Good luck on a quick removal...I am sure he will forgive with plenty of treats!

[Mystella]

Dangnabbit, I was hoping you would all say, oh just leave it alone and it will fall off (but then I guess I would have a tick lurking in my house and that would bring on a whole new level of neuroses )

 

He is on Revolution but that doesn't stop deer ticks, I already had an appointment with the vet to discuss the pros and cons of switching from revolution to advantix and heartgard. Thoughts on that anyone? He has done well on the revolution and I am always hesitant to switch to an unknown but I have heard the advantix repels ticks (as opposed to them repelling me!)

 

He has an appt (which was for next week but I just moved to 6 weeks out) for his heartworm and tick panel, which we do every two years because we live in a lyme endemic area. I have a tick tool and have dealt with them before, it was simply the fact that it is on his inner ear that I was worried about as he is so sensitive about them.

 

At lunch I walked over to my vets (next to my office, conveniently) to reschedule the testing. I am fairly familiar with the little gross things so I told my vet I am pretty sure it is an adult male deer tick. What I didn't realize and she told me is that if I am correct on that, the good news of that is that they don't feed, engorge or transmit lyme. The bad news is that they just settle themselves in, attach and stay there their whole life waiting for a mate to come along.

 

Ugh I hate bugs.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Mystella

[turbotaina]

Hubby walked the dog around the local community center and came back with at least two ticks on him (hubby not dog!). 'Tis the season *shudder*

 

Re: Advantix - I'm not a fan of it because it contains permethrin. That being said, most greyhounds do just fine with permethrin, I'm just neurotic . Note: it should not be used around cats. Not sure how it affects chinchillas, but Oscar likely wouldn't come into contact with it anyway We use Frontline and have not had any issues. You can use a tick collar - Preventix - that's safe for greyhounds. Not sure if it's available in Canada or not.

Edited May 14, 2014 by turbotaina

[krissy]

He is on Revolution but that doesn't stop deer ticks, I already had an appointment with the vet to discuss the pros and cons of switching from revolution to advantix and heartgard. Thoughts on that anyone? He has done well on the revolution and I am always hesitant to switch to an unknown but I have heard the advantix repels ticks (as opposed to them repelling me!)

 

 

You can use Advantix in addition to Revolution. Just space them 2 weeks apart. If you switch to Heartgard you'll lose your internal parasite protection (which is fine if you're okay with that).

 

Personally, I use Advanage Multi for Summit and only add Advantix if we travel somewhere with a greater risk level than where we live. For Kili I use Trifexis and Advantix because she cavorts in long grass and I don't want a permanent grease slick on her back all summer.

 

You can use a tick collar - Preventix - that's safe for greyhounds. Not sure if it's available in Canada or not.

It is not. The only tick product in Ontario is Advantix. Collar is supposed to be coming in 2015 according to Bayer.

[tbhounds]

Regarding Revolution-it's not labeled for tick prevention. It's also my understanding that all ticks carry Lyme disease amongst other tbd's now. I'm happy with activyl tick plus-a bit oily but, it's safe for use with ghs and it works! Tossed frontline to the curb as it's no longer effective.

Edited to add--no kitties with activyl!

Edited May 14, 2014 by tbhounds

[Mystella]

We have Preventic, my vet offered it when I was there at lunch, I told her I had to come back and Google first

 

Revolution is labeled (at least mine is ?) but only for some latin name that my vet says means American Dog Tick, but it is deer ticks that we always seem to get.

 

I don't have any cats (just the really old chilla as Meredith mentioned) but my inlaws have 3 cats and it is when visiting/staying with them that the ticks find Jeff, is the collar unsafe around cats?

[NeylasMom]

Why not use Frontline plus for flea/tick preventative? You can get it from deadfleaz in Australia at a good price.

[OwnedBySummer]

I use Advantix along with Heartgard. I have not had any trouble with it, other than the greasy back. I apply in many spots to reduce the slick and it does help. After a bunch of days, I give her a bath -- I haven't found any other way to remove the slick and, with her therapy dog work, I can't just leave it there.

Krissy, you were going to confirm with Bayer if Advantix II is safe for greyhounds or not? Did you get any information on that?

[Guest sireltonsmom]

We found a couple of ticks on our kids who weren't on any preventative because we haven't had ticks or fleas in our hood in the 12 years we've lived here. The vet recommended Frontline Tritak and we do have them on Heartgard for heart worm preventative. The Ticks disappeared with one treatment. We're happy. Our vet also said a good way to kill the little beasties is to put it in a lidded dish that has alcohol in it. We had a collection of 12 ticks before we sent the concoction on a Mediterranean cruise. Good luck.

[GeorgeofNE]

Doesn't anyone read the inserts in flea and tick treatments?

 

None of them, except K9 Advantix, repel ticks!

 

The topicals will EVENTUALLY kill a tick that is sucking on your dog, but I believe it takes up to 24 hours.

 

Preventic collars work very well, but not all dogs can tolerate them (my mixed breed was projectile vomiting within 30 minutes of having one put on).

[Mystella]

I picked up the Preventic collar on the way home. I told DH I would put it on Jeff before he removed the tick as Jeffy would likely avoid us after. I opened the package, stretched it, whacked the tick with it and told it to 'warn your friends you are going down', put the collar on Jeff and cut off the excess. Called DH to come remove the tick. Flipped over Jeff's ear and no tick!!

 

After some neurotic itching and not finding the tick on Jeff's bed, I noticed it crawling across my foot!!!!

 

Much cursing ensued and I am now in LOVE with preventic.

 

For some reason I always had it in my head that greyhounds couldn't use them.

 

 

[Guest OPointyDog]

Glad the tick has been removed - in the future, it's a good idea to remove ticks as soon as you find them. Bacteria that are passed from the tick to the host typically are time-dependent, and if you can get the tick off within 24 hours of attachment, you've greatly reduced the risk of infection.

 

 

It's also my understanding that all ticks carry Lyme disease amongst other tbd's now.

 

It depends on where you are - the infection rate is extremely high where you are in NJ. But much lower in Ontario where the OP is from. Here's a map that shows the incidence of Lyme Disease in the United States. Where I live in Western NY, the incidence is fairly low and few ticks are infected. The disease tends to run in cycles, too - depending on the size of crops of acorns from the previous year. The main carrier and primary host is actually the field mouse, and so when there's more acorns, there's more mice, which means more hosts, which means more ticks are infected. It's a complex and fascinating system - I teach it in my Ecology class based on the work of Richard Ostfeld.

[LadyGrey]

I have had her on K9 Advantix II. I still check her every time she comes in from the yard because everyonce in a while, a tick still seems to get on her. Every once in a while I will find one. I remove it quickly. I am so used to it that I just pick them off with my fingers (I wear gloves). I put them in a white tissue to make sure I got the head and that the legs are still kicking. Then I flush them down the toilet. I always check inside her ears as well. Between the toes tool.

Edited May 15, 2014 by LadyGrey

[Mystella]

Thanks everyone. My inlaws actually are in a lyme endemic area in SW Ontario near lake erie, however this was an adult male deer tick, which means though attached it was not taking a blood meal. I learned about that last spring when my daughter played outside at her grandparents and ended up with 2 on her scalp, discovered two days later

 

I know it is important to remove them quickly but as I mentioned I knew it had already been on there at least 48 hours so I figured another 8 while I sought advice on any less traumatic choices would be okay.

 

We don't have Frontline here, according to my vet the options were Advantix, Preventic or Trifexor (I may have that wrong).

 

[KF_in_Georgia]

For some reason I always had it in my head that greyhounds couldn't use them.

 

 

 

It's flea collars that greyhounds can't use. Different ingredients. But Preventic collars generally are fine.

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

 

It's flea collars that greyhounds can't use. Different ingredients. But Preventic collars generally are fine.

 

I'm glad I read this right now. I bought some but hadn't resorted to using them yet. THANK YOU!

[Neighsayer]

I have used the preventic collars for years...love them! I found four ticks on me last night, because I'm not wearing a collar! Nothing on the dogs!

[krissy]

SummersMom - Yes, called the Bayer rep. No contraindication, especially since it never becomes systemic, it's just incorporated into the fat layer of the skin.

 

For some reason I thought Preventic was Bayer's collar that is coming out next spring, but it's made by Virbac. I don't have a tonne of experience with it. I guess mostly because instead of having a collar around my dog's neck 24/7 I can just apply a topical once a month and I like that better.