How To Remove a Tick From a Dog: Step-by-Step Advice From a Vet

Yes, you should always remove a tick from your dog as soon as possible. Ticks carry infectious diseases, including: 

• Lyme disease 
• Babesiosis 
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever 
• Ehrlichiosis 

A tick can transmit an infectious disease within a few hours after biting a dog (or a human, for that matter), so it is important to remove the tick promptly and correctly once you notice it to avoid your dog getting sick.  

In addition, ticks pose human-health concerns, as humans can become infected by several infectious organisms that ticks carry.  

In short, you want to get that tick out of both your lives ASAP. Ideally, your dog should be on a preventive, like Seresto, to protect them from ticks and the diseases they carry 

Skin tags can sometimes be mistaken for ticks, so before you take any action, it’s important to confirm that you’re dealing with a pest that needs to be removed, not a benign part of your dog’s body. Look for these tick characteristics: 

• Eight legs 
• A black, tan, or brown body (sometimes, after feeding on an animal, they can turn gray) 
• A size anywhere from 1 millimeter to 1 centimeter long 

If you are unsure if what you are looking at is a tick, take your dog to the vet to have them check for you. 

If you know it’s a tick, then it’s time to prepare for removal. 

To remove a tick from a dog, you will need: 

• Tweezers or a tick remover device (more on those below) 
• Latex gloves, or gloves made of a latex alternative, to protect your hands 
• Rubbing alcohol 
• Canine-friendly antimicrobial wound spray or ointment 
• A small jar or container with a lid 

There are several types of tools you can use to remove a tick from a dog, including: 

• Tweezers with a slanted or flat edge 

• Plastic tick scoops, like the Summit Tick Take Tick Remover Tool 

• Metal tick keys or cards, like the TickCheck Wallet Sized Tick Removal Card 

• Plastic tick twisters, such as the ZenPet Tick Tornado 

The best tool for you will depend on several factors, including: 

• Your comfort and dexterity level 
• Your dog’s comfort level and type of fur 
• The size of the tick 
• The location of the tick on the body 

We’re laying out the pros and cons of each type of tool to help you make your decision. 

Note: Not all veterinarians recommend tweezers—some say they have a higher chance of leaving tick mouthparts behind, embedded in your dog’s skin. If you’re confused about which tool to use, call your veterinarian. 

No matter which tool you choose, we’re walking you through how to use it below. 

To keep your dog distracted and calm during this process, you may also want to have: 

• Dog treats 
• A favorite chew toy 
• A lick pad 

It is best if your dog is calm and lying down when you remove the tick—if they make any sudden movements, it could botch the removal process. So do your best to keep yourself calm as you approach your dog. 

Ask them to lie down, and distract them with the goodies we recommended above—treats, something delicious to chew or lick, whatever will hold their attention away from the tick removal process. You may also want to enlist the help of a friend or family member to keep your dog still. 

The specifics of how to remove a tick from a dog vary slightly depending on the tool you’re using, so be sure to read the instructions if applicable. Start by holding your tool in your dominant hand, and use your other hand to part your dog’s fur around the tick. Then: 

• If you’re using tweezers, grasp the tick as close as possible to your dog’s skin. Be careful to avoid pinching your dog’s skin, which could make them jump. 
• If you’re using a tick scoop, key, card, or twister, firmly press it against your dog’s skin as close as possible to where the tick is. The tick should be inside the opening in your tool. 

• If you’re using tweezers, a tick scoop, key, or card, pull the tick straight back from your dog’s skin with a slow and steady motion. Keep slowly pulling until the tick lets go of your dog’s skin. Don’t twist or jerk the tick away, because that can leave behind tick mouthparts embedded in your dog’s skin, which can cause inflammation and infection. 
• If you’re using a tick twister, twist upward to release the tick. 

How To Remove a Tick From Your Dog’s Ear, Mouth, or Head

The steps above work for ticks found almost anywhere on your dog’s body. However, some dogs can get scared, very wiggly, or may try to bite if you are working around their head, so use caution, especially if the tick is attached near your dog’s eyes, inside their ear, or around their mouth. If your dog is showing signs of stress or if you are uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to call your veterinary office for help. 

What do you do if you don’t have tick removal tools, or a way to access one quickly? It’s still best to get the tick off as soon as possible to prevent tick-borne disease. If you don’t have any tools, you can remove attached ticks with your hands by grabbing the head of the tick between your fingernails and pulling up and back, similarly to how you’d use tweezers. 

Take care not to squish the tick while it is still attached. This technique may be more prone to incompletely removing the tick and specifically leaving part of the mouthparts or head behind. If you are unsure if the tick was completely removed, please call your vet. 

Due to the risk of exposure to tick-borne illnesses, it is not recommended to touch the tick with your bare hands. If you happen to, take care to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterward. 

Your instinct might be to fling the tick in the trash, smoosh it, or flush it down the toilet—we get it. But if your dog develops any signs of tick-borne disease, it can be helpful for your veterinarian to know exactly what bit them and what illnesses they were carrying. 

For that reason, it’s a good idea to keep the tick in a safe and secure container for several weeks after the bite, while you monitor your dog for symptoms. You can do this by dropping the tick into a small, sealable container or jar containing rubbing alcohol to kill it, and write the date you removed the tick on the container. 

Whatever you do, don’t crush the tick with your fingers. This can expose you to infectious organisms in the tick. And remember to wear gloves when handling the tick for removal and containment. 

Don’t immediately throw the tick in your trash can or wash it down the sink, either—it may still be alive, and if so, it can crawl back out and bite you, your dog, or another member of your household. (After you’vekept the tick in rubbing alcohol for several weeks, it’s OK to dispose of it in these ways.) 

Examine the skin where you removed the tick immediately after removing it. If you have been successful in removing the whole tick, gently cleanse your dog’s skin with a small amount of pet-safe disinfectant or soap and water, then apply a small amount of canine-specific wound spray or ointment. 

Monitor your dog for 15 minutes after applying spray/ointment to make sure they don’t lick it off. You may want to briefly use a cone collar if your dog is persistent about licking the area. 

Remember to wash your own hands well with soap and water, too, as well as your removal tool and any other items that may have touched the tick during this process. 

What To Do If the Tick’s Head Is Stuck in Your Dog’s Skin 

If there are any embedded tick mouthparts (or other parts) left behind in your dog’s skin, call your veterinarian and make an appointment with them to remove the tick’s head and mouthparts before it causes a skin infection. This is typically a very quick appointment. 

Keep an eye on the area where the tick was embedded to ensure it heals properly. Most tick bites heal within two to three days. If signs of infection or inflammation (redness, discharge, swelling) occur, call your vet. 

Monitor your dog for any signs of tick-borne disease for several weeks. Signs of illness 
include: 

• Lethargy 
• Fever 
• Lameness (i.e., inability to walk) 
• Bruising, rashes, or pale gums 
• Swollen/sore joints 
• Swollen lymph nodes 
• Loss of appetite 
• Neurological problems 

If you notice any of the above, call your vet for an appointment and take the tick with you to your visit. 

Because ticks can carry diseases that are dangerous for both you and your pet, it’s important to use extreme caution when handling them. Some tactics for removing a tick can actually increase your dog’s risk of illness, so keep these tips in mind: 

• Don’t pull the tick out with your bare fingers. Wear gloves to prevent being potentially exposed to harmful, infectious organisms. 
• Don’t cover the tick in petroleum jelly. This can cause a tick to inject saliva into your dog that may contain infectious organisms. 
• Don’t burn the end of the tick with a cigarette or hot match. This, too, can make the tick inject saliva into your dog, which can contain infectious organisms. You may also potentially burn your pet. 
• Don’t cover the tick in nail polish—another way to trigger an injection of potentially infectious saliva. 

Not a fan of these creepy, blood-sucking pests? Neither are we. Luckily, there are several excellent over-the-counter and prescription products available that prevent and kill ticks.  

As a bonus, most of these products also kill and prevent fleas, so you can use them to prevent these pests year-round. 

Common types of flea and tick preventives for dogs include: 

• Flea and Tick Collars: Worn around the neck, these medicated collars repel or kill fleas and ticks. Seresto is a vet-recommended flea and tick collar that offers eight months of protection. Non-greasy andodorless, it’s available without a prescription for dogs at least 7 months old.  

• Oral Medications: Given by mouth, usually once a month, these are pills or chewable tablets that protect against fleas and ticks. Some, like Credelio Quattro, protect against internal parasites as well. 

• Topical Treatments (Spot-Ons): Typically used monthly, topical treatments, like K9 Advantix II, are applied directly to the skin to protect against fleas and ticks.  

Find out more about dog flea and tick treatments, and talk to your veterinarian about the best option for your pup. 

Follow these additional tips to prevent exposing your dog to ticks: 

• If ticks live in your yard, you can spray for ticks or use beneficial nematodes (microscopic worms) that kill ticks in your yard. 

• Mow lawns and trim shrubs regularly to remove tick hiding spots. 
• Keeping backyard chickens is another great tick prevention strategy—they love to eat ticks! 
• Take measures to prevent mice, deer, and other tick-carrying wildlife from coming into your yard. 

Even if you use tick prevention on your dog, they may still pick up a tick if they spend time in areas that have a lot of ticks. Ticks are active once the ground temperature is above 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and theylive in a wide variety of environments, from woods and meadows to suburban and even urban areas.  

Using a Seresto dog collar is a good option, since it is one of the few preventives that repels ticks in addition to killing them.  

If your dog spends time outdoors in areas where there are ticks, it’s important to scan your dog for ticks daily, and remove them if necessary.  

To scan your dog, run your hands slowly over their entire body. If you notice any bumps or swellings, part the hair to see if it’s a tick. Remember that ticks can latch on to a dog anywhere, but they particularly like to hide in these areas: 

• Ears 
• Armpits 
• Face 
• Between toes 
• Between the shoulder blades 
• Groin 

There’s not much you can do about how gross ticks are, but now you know how to remove a tick from a dog—and help prevent tick bites in the future.