Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

124 •DOG OWNER’S HOME VETERINARY HANDBOOK
Dorsal View
Deer Tick
Ventral View
The abdomen edges are smooth on the
dorsal view of this deer tick. On the
ventral view, the anal opening is near
the edge of the tick and is surrounded
by a ridge of tissue.
Dog Tick
Dorsal View Ventral View
Note that there are no ridges around
the abdomen on the dorsal view of the
dog tick. On the ventral view, you can
see the anal opening near the middle of
the tick.
Ticks begin as eggs that hatch into six-legged larvae. The larvae live and
feed on animals for about a week before detaching and then molting. After
the molt, the larvae become eight-legged nymphs. Nymphs feed on animals,
engorge for 3 to 11 days, detach, and molt again into an adult tick.
Ticks do not run and jump as fleas do, but scuttle around slowly. They climb
up grass and plants and hold their legs up to sense passing hosts. When a warmblooded
animal walks by, the adult tick crawls onto them and begins feeding.
Ticks can fasten to any part of the dog’s skin, but are commonly found
around the ears, between the toes, and sometimes in the armpits. A severely
infested dog may have hundreds of ticks all over her body. The ticks insert
their mouths, attach to their prey, and engorge themselves with a blood meal.
During feeding, tick saliva can get into the host’s body and blood stream; this
is how diseases are transmitted.
Males and females mate on the skin of the dog, after which the female
takes a blood meal and then drops off to lay her eggs. This usually occurs 5 to
20 hours after the dog acquires the ticks. Thus, prompt removal of ticks is an
effective method of preventing tick-borne diseases.
Ticks may drop off a dog and transfer to people, although this is not common.
Once a tick starts feeding on a dog, it will feed until it is engorged and
will not seek a second host.
Treatment: Always examine your dog after hiking in tick-infested areas. If
you find only one or two ticks, the easiest thing to do is remove them. Keep in
mind that the blood of ticks can be dangerous to people. Therefore, do not
crush or squeeze a tick with your bare fingers. Before removing the tick, put
on disposable rubber or plastic gloves.
Ticks that are not attached to the skin are easily removed with a pair of
tweezers. There are also special tick removing devices that are widely available,
including Ticked Off, Protick Remedy, and Tick Nipper. Once removed,
the tick can be killed by putting it in rubbing alcohol.