and what is that bump that is left on them from the bite.. should it be left alone or have medication or squeezed?
Answers:
First off, don't panic - rather, think. How can future bites be prevented? I'll tell you what I did when my four dogs were getting bit regularly when I lived on a ranch. In their dogrun, which is where they spent their day, I put down a layer of wood mulch - preferably using a scented wood like eucalyptus or cedar - this somehow repels the ticks. And then I just had to do a 'tick-check' on each of 'em every night and pick off any I found. I found that if you just put 'em in a jar of vinegar, they'll die, so you don't have to squish 'em and get all that blood all over the place. I also gave the dogs garlic - repel 'em from the inside out, and sprinkled diatomaceous earth around the outside perimeter of the dogrun. Ticks don't have many natural predators, but diatomaceous earth will kill 'em.
Second off, if you live in an area where lyme's disease is apparent, go to your vet and get your dog(s) checked for lyme's disease. I believe there may even be a vaccine - so inquire about that.
Third, the bump - that's just the bite mark, just like we get bumps from mosquito bites. It'll be achy and itchy, so you might inquire from your vet about a topical solution.
Fourth, when you inquire of your vet about a topical solution, you might also inquire about the best topical repellent for ticks in your area - biospot, advantage, etc.
theres a bump on the pets skin?!? take it to the vet as soon as possible please, it make be lyme disease.
first worry why your dog is "frequently bitten by ticks' STOP THIS ASAP!! the new line of anti flea/ tick medications really work. your dog could get infections, anemia and/or Lyme disease. Please be good to your fur baby he is counting on you!
Dogs who have bitten many times by ticks can get Lyme Disease for one. They can also become anemic from the loss of blood if they are infested. The tiny bump is from the bite site and you can put some antibiotic cream on the bite site to help it heal. No don't squeeze it.
I would give my Vet a call about the bite itself. He might be able to recommend an OTC medication. Also, if your dog is infested with tics, your pet can become anemic.
Tick bites are not a big problem unless the tick has lime disease , Not all ticks or all parts of the country have lime disease in the ticks. Over the years I have pulled out hundreds of ticks from my dogs. I have never had a single infection or disease from the ticks, but all my dogs are vaccinated for lime disease. After I twist and pull the tick out I soak the spot with peroxide .
If your dogs are getting quite a few ticks you may need to step up the preventative treatment - better than a cure they say.
As for what happens when your dog gets bitten, it depends on where you live. Down the east coast of Australia, we have paralysis ticks which can be deadly. Our dogs in these areas need to be treated fortnightly with spot-on treatments (and not all of them work on this type of tick) and physically checked several times a week.
Our dog has never had any ticks but my son has. We found it within hours as it was itchy at the site - the nape of his neck just below his hairline. It had not begun to feed yet so was still very small. We used 'tick tweezers' to get it out and there was a small lump for a few days. It was a 'bush tick' not the scary sort but we still kept a very close eye on him for a few days.
Talk to your vet about getting some special tweezers so that the head doesn't get left in the body of the host. It won't squish the tick so that it 'spits' which is very important here in Australia - not sure about elsewhere. As for the lumps I would just leave them alone - they are a normal reaction to any insect bite. If they are bothering the dog maybe use an anti-itch product but don't squeeze them.
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