HELP!! Deticking - Page 1

I have a 1 yr old GSD in for deticking, Poor baby and owners... they had no idea he had ticks.... dog is covered under all that hair. I sprayed him down with adams right off and let him sit in the tub for about 15 minutes then rinsed him, waited about 30 minutes and dipped him with a mixture of aromatic shampoo ( all natural) and Defender ( my usual flea dip mixture, organic, non chemical) and let it sit for 30 minutes. Alot of the ticks died but of course not all. I am picking ticks with the tick remover tool, he is boarding with me til next monday while the owners have the exterminator out. Is there anything that will make the ticks back out on their own? I dislike picking em because some of them cause him to bleed when they are pulled. Since he has so many I know his blood is thin, I am using bloodstop when the site bleeds. Is there anything else I can do to get the ticks to drop off? I had called my vet about it and he said to spray him with adams and not pull ticks because of the dangers to me, I wear gloves and use the tick removal tool and I spray myself down well with OFF before starting on him. This boy is miserable but very very tolerant. I worry about tick borne diseases with him, The owners will be out of town until next monday and have asked me to make an appointment with my vet for the dog when they get back. Of course if anything goes south between now and then I have full authority to take him t the vet as needed. Thanks in advance

Two old time tricks that make a tick pull its head out - 1. heat the end of a sewing needle with a match or in a candle and apply to the body as close to the head as you cad. 2. Take rubbing alcohol and douse the area. This doesn't always work and may take a minute ot two but has the added advantage of disinfection the bite once the tick is pulled off.

Once off we made a small bonfire in the ashtray and burned the ticks. When they pop - they're dead and once again charred tick is less likely to present a disease threat.

Someone -- I think it was MI GSD? -- posted about Diatamaceous Earth on another thread.  I'm looking into it too.

Might help with your tick problem.   www.deliciousorganics.com/Products/DEarth.htm

DE does work.

No help here, but would you wnat to save any of them so you knwo what you might need to treat for so you can get the approriate anitbiotics on board?  i am thinking I would not wait....Is there anything you can be doing for him nutrtionally as well ahead of time?  Can he eat a little liver evey day?  poor guy...  glad you found them or glad the owners came to you....

Darcy

I was given a method for taking a tick off a person and it should work for a dog too. Although, sounds like you may have killed a lot of them already.

Anyway, this method does work. Take liquid hand soap and pump a glob on a cotton ball. Place it over the tick covering as much as possible. The tick will back out and be caught in the cotton ball.

My brother who was by himself had a tick in the middle of his back and couldn't reach it. He used this method held the cotton ball with a pair of tongs and the tick came out. I don't know how long it take the tick to respond though.

Thought I'd pass this tid-bit along to those who get ticks on themselves too.

Good Luck,

Birdy...

Shandra,

An easy not too messy way to get the ticks to let go is a bottle of 3n1 oil with the needle tip dispenser, one drop on the tick is enough.  This wont remove dead tic's.   If the dog was that infested I would have used a chemical kennel dip just for the one time.  No bathing or brushing for 24 hour's.

I have several types and size's of tic's here the smallest being the size of a pour in your skin.  You can't hardly even see them unless they are moving.  Beside's the more common lone star and rocky mountain, we also have one locally known as a turkey tic the size of a small freckle.  These are the one's that spread lime's disease.    Just be sure to wash up good and not leave any loose to crawl around.

The tick born disease's are treatable and a test can be done for them.  Should not be a problem in a young dog.

If the dog had tick's this bad and the owner didn't know I would also test for all worm's and parasite's.

Everyone's been talking tick's and flea's today , and the frontline v advantix.

Must be something going on huh?

Hope the oil idea help's, it was Grandma's way.

Thanks for the tips and info.
I picked ticks just off the back of his neck and top of head for over an hour and I still didnt get them all. My vet said Adams is the only thing that he knew of that would work. I have in the past used frontline on an infested dog and it did no good at all but it was the spray. I am wondering if capstar would work, I will call and ask my vet tomorrow. I worry about the thinned blood, I might also ask about giving him some Petinic, I love the stuff for its abilities. He is very thin and the owners stated he used to drink alot of water but this past week he has lost weight and isnt drinking much, I am calling the owners in the morning ( they leave on their trip tomorrow afternoon) and asking them to get him to the vet before they leave, prefferably tomorrow.
Some of the ticks were the common dog ticks, some the teeninesee ones that bury most of their body and you cant grab them, many are seed ticks ( what we call em, the gray ones that plump when feasting) and the deer ticks, reddish brown with the either black spots or white spots. The owners found a couple on the kids and thats when they started going thru the dogs hair. I know alcohol will kill the ticks, as I take them off I drop them in a small bottle of alcohol I have just for that reason.
When I say infested.....After the adams and rinsing alot of them off, and the dipping and those going down the drain, and blowing off the ones that werent attached tightly, I still picked 87 off of his neck and head area. His body isnt as bad if there is such a thing and not as bad as the last dog I had that was infested. In between his toes, armpits, several sites that have the reddish/brown ticks have 3 or even 4 all burrowed in the same spot. I had thought of dabbing alcohol on the ticks....Another local groomer that has been grooming for over 30 years told me to pour alcohol on small sections of him and let it evaporate on its own, that will make the ticks back out.
I am doing my best to be mindful of skin reactions, humane and still get the job done. The only chemical used in my shop on dogs is Adams and that very sparingly and only when absolutely needed.
He is a beautiful 1 yr old GSD from a kennel in spring, Tx. The owner didnt exactly remember the name of it but said the dogs were well cared for and his temperment is absolutely the best. He has never been to a professional groomer before but took all of the new experiences including teh high velocity blow dryer in stride. That says alot to me about his breeding. If I had something in my hands and moved suddenly he wanted to sniff it lol I let him sniff and he was fine with whatever I did. The only thing he didnt like was the sprayer near the bottom side of his ears. but as long as i kept the stream against his skin he didnt mind, actually seemed to enjoy it.
I dont mind spending hours upon hours to get all the ticks if that is what it takes, and it will be at least a 5 hour job. My biggest concern is his health. He will go to the vet tomorrow and I will update ya'll, I really think he needs something to boost his blood and antibiotics, He seemed on the warm side ( I will take a thermometer tomorrow to check his temp first thing before stressing raises it) and is thin, seemed a little weak.
I do have ticks in alcohol for testing if needed and first thing in the am I will pull samples of each type and put them in a baggie to be sent off to the state lab for testing for Lymes since the children had been bitten but several ticks.

Oh yea, wanted to mention, I am feeding him housefood which is Chicken Soup for the doglovers soul and have liver pulled from the freezer thawing to give to him tomorrow after he gets back from the vet. The condition he is in, I would not be the least bit suprised if he was transfused altho he is plenty pink in the gums and ears.

Even with everything I have done, the ones that I am having to pull are alive until they sit in the alcohol a few minutes.

Alcohol wont kill my tick's least not right away, bleach will and so will gas, karosene,diesel fuel.   Loggers coat their pant's with exaust fume's from the chain saw's.   I have used the permonone spray on my pants and shoe's.

Lime's wont show up right away in a test on humans either.  and there is another disease similar to lime's originating from dog's brought back from Vietnam all those years ago.

Use alcohol on tick bites right away and dont leave the heads in.     I would freeze tick's that are to be tested, no alcohol.

Hell if your going to the vet he should be able to tell you just about anything you wanna know.

Oh well..  luck!