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by JRANSOM on 16 March 2010 - 22:03
I heard that a dog should never pull a tick off of themselves. Maybe a stupid question but does anyone know what, if anything can happen with the dog if they pulled a tick off and it popped? I could find no info on this.
by hodie on 16 March 2010 - 23:03
The issue with removing a tick improperly, be it a human doing it or a dog doing it, to themselves, is that the head can be left behind and allow additional bacteria to enter the wound. You are going to be hard pressed however to make the dog understand that......

by Two Moons on 17 March 2010 - 01:03
I remember the days when our dogs had ticks and no one bothered about them at all.
Grandma would put a drop of oil on them sometimes to make them fall off and sometimes we would use a dip if there was an infestation.
But still today a lot of dogs are not treated for ticks in any way.
Depends on the dog and more the owner how you handle ticks.
Granted Lyme's was not around when I was young or maybe they just didn't know what it was.
I'm currently wondering about the use of products such as Frontline and the long term health of my dogs.
Good topic.
Moons.
Grandma would put a drop of oil on them sometimes to make them fall off and sometimes we would use a dip if there was an infestation.
But still today a lot of dogs are not treated for ticks in any way.
Depends on the dog and more the owner how you handle ticks.
Granted Lyme's was not around when I was young or maybe they just didn't know what it was.
I'm currently wondering about the use of products such as Frontline and the long term health of my dogs.
Good topic.
Moons.

by JRANSOM on 17 March 2010 - 01:03
Yes ,Moons, I do remember those days but I'm just wondering because I had heard that if a dog takes the tick off on it's own and breaks it then there is something in the tick that is harmful (besides Lyme). Anybody else heard of anything like that? I have used Frontline on my female but have not put it on since getting my male pup since they are together alot. I've been told that Advantix is better but not to use if you have cats that are around your dogs alot. I'm really not sure about the Frontline since even after putting it on my girl she still had ticks that were in and alive. Also, I had my dogs vaccinated against Lyme due to the area I live in but my female tested pos. for Lyme last year. However, she has shown no symptoms and I will get her checked again next year.

by MaggieMae on 17 March 2010 - 02:03
Do dogs get Babesiosis from the Deer Tick and Black-Legged Tick?
The summer before last my oldest son got it. He was unaware of any tick bite; he was sooooo sick. I drove him to the Emergency Room on a Friday afternoon in 90 + heat. He was shivering so bad that I had to turn off the AC in the car. Anyway, long-story short, his Labs came back so "screwed up" and he was severely dehydrated (he was trying to drink water, but kept throwing up). The Disease presents like Malaria. It took numerous Blood tests and a couple of days for the Doctors to figure out what he had. He was in the hospital for a week.
The summer before last my oldest son got it. He was unaware of any tick bite; he was sooooo sick. I drove him to the Emergency Room on a Friday afternoon in 90 + heat. He was shivering so bad that I had to turn off the AC in the car. Anyway, long-story short, his Labs came back so "screwed up" and he was severely dehydrated (he was trying to drink water, but kept throwing up). The Disease presents like Malaria. It took numerous Blood tests and a couple of days for the Doctors to figure out what he had. He was in the hospital for a week.
by hodie on 17 March 2010 - 02:03
Ticks can carry bacteria, rickettsia, viruses, and protozoa. These pathogens can be transmitted to humans and animals. In the U.S., the most common species of the hard-bodied ticks include: Ixodes pacificus, Ixodes scapularis (dammini) (Black-legged (Deer) tick), Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Brown dog tick) and Amblyomma americanum (Lone star tick), Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Boophilus annulatus and Boophilus microplus.
The black-legged (deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis) can carry Lymes disease and several other infections, including babesiosis in humans (Babesia microti is the protozoan transmitted). It requires high humidity conditions, so that limits it to the eastern US, especially in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. There are a host of other diseases transmitted, some only to dogs, others to humans and some to both. The pathogens transmitted by ticks WILL often make the organism bitten very, very ill. Some species only require 5 or so hours of feeding before the pathogen is transmitted. Tick species have a specific part of the country (or the world) that they inhabit. Many only can complete their life cycle outside, but there are other species, including one that lives in Florida (Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille (Arachnida: Acari: Ixodidae), that can complete a life cycle indoors. This means that rooms, kennels, houses etc., can be infected. They carry canine babesiosis, and canine ehrlichiosis. They are not known to pass infection to humans.
It is always a good idea to know what kind of ticks inhabit the area one lives in, and also know then what diseases they can transmit. I think many infections likely go undiagnosed for a long time, both in humans and canines.
The black-legged (deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis) can carry Lymes disease and several other infections, including babesiosis in humans (Babesia microti is the protozoan transmitted). It requires high humidity conditions, so that limits it to the eastern US, especially in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. There are a host of other diseases transmitted, some only to dogs, others to humans and some to both. The pathogens transmitted by ticks WILL often make the organism bitten very, very ill. Some species only require 5 or so hours of feeding before the pathogen is transmitted. Tick species have a specific part of the country (or the world) that they inhabit. Many only can complete their life cycle outside, but there are other species, including one that lives in Florida (Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille (Arachnida: Acari: Ixodidae), that can complete a life cycle indoors. This means that rooms, kennels, houses etc., can be infected. They carry canine babesiosis, and canine ehrlichiosis. They are not known to pass infection to humans.
It is always a good idea to know what kind of ticks inhabit the area one lives in, and also know then what diseases they can transmit. I think many infections likely go undiagnosed for a long time, both in humans and canines.

by Two Moons on 17 March 2010 - 02:03
As far as the dog scratching off ticks I know there are things (be it viral or bacterial) on the tick, not in the tick, that can cause problems, but I've never seen any of my dogs, even years ago, get infected from any part of a tick left in the skin.
I've heard of parasites in the tick but not sure if that was correct.
Perhaps it boils down the the dogs own immune system.
Possibly there are problems that exist now that did not exist back then.
When I remove them from myself I prefer to use my fingers as opposed to tweezers because I think i can do it without breaking, tearing, or squeezing the tick as much as with tweezers.
I've used alcohol, camphor, bleach and plain old gasoline on the tiny turkey ticks we have, some call them lice, others nits.
I have bad reactions to tick bites myself.
Took the shots once for fear of Lyme's, don't think the doctor even knew what it was back then.
Plenty of spotted fever here too over the years.
But never hear much about the dogs, only in humans.
I've heard of parasites in the tick but not sure if that was correct.
Perhaps it boils down the the dogs own immune system.
Possibly there are problems that exist now that did not exist back then.
When I remove them from myself I prefer to use my fingers as opposed to tweezers because I think i can do it without breaking, tearing, or squeezing the tick as much as with tweezers.
I've used alcohol, camphor, bleach and plain old gasoline on the tiny turkey ticks we have, some call them lice, others nits.
I have bad reactions to tick bites myself.
Took the shots once for fear of Lyme's, don't think the doctor even knew what it was back then.
Plenty of spotted fever here too over the years.
But never hear much about the dogs, only in humans.

by JRANSOM on 17 March 2010 - 02:03
Thank you for your responses. I will keep watch on both my dogs for anything irregular. Just good to know now what are some names of things to check out and look for if since they bit into it.
Thanks for all the info!
Jen
Thanks for all the info!
Jen
by hodie on 17 March 2010 - 02:03
Moons,
The pathogens are in the tick, not on the exterior. Of course, it is possible to be bitten by a tick that is not carrying such a pathogen, but I would not bet on that. And doing whatever one can to get the tick off, on its own accord, is the best practice, and doing that as quickly as possible is important. Better yet, making sure one does not get a chance to attach is the best prevention.
The pathogens are in the tick, not on the exterior. Of course, it is possible to be bitten by a tick that is not carrying such a pathogen, but I would not bet on that. And doing whatever one can to get the tick off, on its own accord, is the best practice, and doing that as quickly as possible is important. Better yet, making sure one does not get a chance to attach is the best prevention.

by MaggieMae on 17 March 2010 - 03:03
Thank you Hodie for the info.
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