Care & how-to
Dog Ticks: How to Remove a Tick From a Dog and Prevent Them
To remove a tick from a dog, grip it with fine-tipped tweezers as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out with slow, steady pressure, without twisting or squeezing the body. Then clean the bite and wash your hands. Ticks can carry Lyme disease and other infections, so removing them quickly and using a preventive your vet recommends both matter.
By Matt GarnettUpdated November 14, 20264 min read2 sources
How to remove a tick from a dog
Step 1: Gather fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool, gloves, and a small sealed jar or bag. Part the fur so you can see where the tick's mouth enters the skin. Step 2: Grip the tick right at the skin, by its head and mouthparts, not by its swollen body, because squeezing the body can push fluid back into your dog.
Step 3: Pull straight out with slow, steady pressure. Do not twist, jerk, or rock it. Step 4: Clean the bite with soap and water, wash your hands, and put the tick in the jar or bag in case your vet wants to identify it. Note the date and where on the body you found it.
What not to do
Do not burn a tick with a match, smother it in petroleum jelly or nail polish, or soak it in alcohol while it is still attached. These methods are slow, they can irritate the tick into releasing more saliva, and the heat can burn your dog. Do not pull with bare fingers, which risks crushing the tick and exposing you to whatever it carries.
If the mouthparts break off and stay in the skin, do not dig at them. The body usually pushes them out over a few days. Watch the spot, and call your vet if it becomes red, swollen, or sore, or is still there after a week.
Where to check your dog for ticks
After every walk in woods, long grass, or brush, run your fingers slowly through your dog's coat, feeling for small bumps. Keeping a tick remover and comb by the door makes that after-walk check quicker. Ticks prefer warm, hidden places: in and around the ears, on the head and neck, under the collar, in the armpits and groin, between the toes, and around the tail.
Ticks can be as small as a poppy seed before they feed and swell to the size of a pea once full. A tick can be mistaken for a skin tag or a wart, so look closely for tiny legs at the edge. Ticks are most active from spring to fall, but in many parts of the US they can be found in any month above freezing.
Diseases ticks can spread to dogs
In the US, ticks can transmit Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, among others. Which diseases are common depends on where you live, so ask your vet what is seen in your area. Removing ticks promptly lowers the risk, because many infections need the tick to be attached for some time before they pass on.
Signs of tick-borne disease can take weeks to months to appear and may be vague: fever, tiredness, poor appetite, swollen joints, or lameness that moves from leg to leg. Some dogs never show signs at all. Your vet can test for several of these infections with a simple blood test, often during an annual checkup.
When to call your vet
Call your vet if you cannot remove a tick, if the bite becomes swollen, red, or oozing, or if your dog develops fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, limping, or swollen joints in the weeks after a tick bite. Mention any recent travel, since tick diseases vary by region.
Seek urgent care if your dog becomes wobbly or weak in the back legs, which can spread forward and affect breathing. This can be tick paralysis, caused by a toxin in some ticks' saliva, and it usually improves once every tick is found and removed. Search the whole coat on the way to the vet.
Preventing ticks on dogs
The most reliable protection is a tick preventive recommended by your vet, used all year or through the whole tick season where you live. There are chewables, spot-on treatments, and collars, and your vet can help choose one that suits your dog. Never use a product made for cats, or a product for a different-sized dog, without your vet's advice.
Keep your lawn mowed, clear leaf litter and brush near the house, and keep dogs on paths during hikes. Check your dog, and yourself, after every outing; a dog brush run through the coat helps you feel for small bumps. Ask your vet whether the Lyme vaccine makes sense for your dog, as it is not right for every dog or every region.
This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.
Common questions
Can I pull a tick off my dog with my fingers?
It is better not to. Fingers tend to squeeze the body and can leave the mouthparts behind, and handling ticks can expose you to infection. Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick tool, and wear gloves.
What happens if a tick head is left in my dog?
A small piece of mouthpart left in the skin usually works its way out over a few days, like a splinter. Keep the area clean and call your vet if it becomes red, swollen, or painful.
Do indoor dogs need tick prevention?
Dogs who go outdoors even briefly, or live with other pets that do, can pick up ticks. Ask your vet what level of protection makes sense for your dog's lifestyle and where you live.
Should I take my dog to the vet after a tick bite?
Not usually, if the tick came off cleanly. Watch your dog for the next few weeks, and call your vet if you see fever, tiredness, limping, poor appetite, or a sore bite site.
Sources we checked
This guide is general information, not veterinary advice. If your pet is unwell or injured, contact your veterinarian.
