Blasted Ticks

[*Jay*]

I have now had to remove 7 absolutely enormous ticks from Vegas  I absolutely detest the things so lots of girlie screaming occurred whilst I was doing it  Now, the little blighters came out with their heads intact but Vegas appears to have taken quite a bad reaction to them.  When the first two lumps appeared, the vet told me to give 3 days worth of a/b's just to be on the safe side, but when I was removing them from his ear today, the lump appeared immediately the tick was removed, right in front of my eyes :shock:  Are these lumps likely to just go on their own or is there anything I can do? The ones on his ear appear quite painful to the touch :?  

Dallas was a good boy and only caught the 2 :wink:                    

[s baxter]

sorry don`t know much about ticks but i know i hate them too sounds like you need a good old pat on the back for using your nurse skills on vegas he`ll be quite grateful to you i`m sure if only they understood you need to put them in a little discomfort for their own good,well done i`ll post or pm you if i need directions of how to get the   :!:  :!:  :!:  :!: `s out                    

[Shirley]

Hi Gill

Poor boys  :? .  Did they leave lumps on Dallas?  Morgan has only ever had two tickand both times they left a small lump - they disappeared within a couple of days though    I didn't even think of going to my vet for antibiotics  :? but he seemed fine anyway!  They are horrible disgusting things - I'm always on the lookout for them as there are lots of sheep round here  :roll: How did your boys end up with so many - must have been an interesting walk?  

Hope Vegas is okay and that antibiotics do the trick.  Sending them both big hugs from me and cocker sniffs from Morgan and Cooper  

P.S.  Well done, you for managing to get them all out - think I'd be shouting for back up if I found that many  :shock:                    

[*Jay*]

Hi Shirley,

I can only think Tentsmuir(where we had the meet) has a lot to answer for :wink:   Either that or they have picked them up somewhere local and just been really unlucky because they have never had ticks in their lives....URGH, just the thought of them is giving me the heebies :shock:

Dallas doesn't have any lumps at all so I don't think my tick removing skill is in question                    

[Tracey J]

Hi Gill

Glad to know we're not the only ones.  Molly only had one on her muzzle(and never having seen one, had to take her to the vet to see what it was :oops: )  It was enormous - why are they flesh coloured?  My skin's crawling thinking about it, yuk.  I think Tentsmuir might be to blame this time, as we have never had any problems on our usual walks.  It was a lovely place though, and we'll definitely go back, maybe just not go through the long grassed, dense foresty bit again .

The vet gave us a little tool to get the ticks out with, but I'm praying that if and when there is a next time, Ian will be here to deal with it - beasties are absolutely NOT my speciality.  The vet also put drops on Mollys neck which will keep ticks away for a month??  and gave her an antibiotic injection.  Can't remember what the drops are called and it's used in addition to her usual flea treatment.  It might be worth looking into it if Vegas is going to continue having trouble, poor wee soul.

Hope all the lumps go away very soon.

Take care

Tracey & Molly                    

[shonajoy]

Hi Tracey was it Stronghold? Thats what our vet uses.                    

[Sophie]

Hi Gill

Our vet advises to use a drop of Drontol ( Iam not good with names, but the flea treatment fluid you put om the back of the neck) well it kills the tick and they drop off with out leavin any swelling or after effects.  We live in the country and ticks are always a problem.

It works for our three.                    

[Pammy]

Sophie - Drontal is a worming tablet so don't think it would be that :?

Could it be Spot on or Frontline or Stronghold?

Touch wood -  mine have never had a tick - but they are the most disgusting thing going. Bro in laws Border Collie once got absolutely covered in them on a cliff walk in Minehead - it was the most horrible thing :cry:  Emergency vet Frontlined her.

But well done you Gill for being so brave - I would do it because of how disgusting etc they are - but I'd prob have to do it on an empty stomach :wink:                      

[Sophie]

Just checked with the Boss and your right it was FRONTLINE sorry for the confusion                    

[dsmandspanna]

i agree with you gill .....t i c k s = yuk yuk yuk       :twisted:

frontline seems to allow them to attach.  :?: ....then die once they start feeding.... :!:  :!: ... which is     m  u  c   h    t  o  o    late  for me  :shock:

scalibor do a tick collar at  about £12.00 /17.00 euros

since using this spanna hasnt had a single one :wink:

before we used that    every trip into woods or grass  would result in 3 or 4    yuk yuk yuk.........

this collar lasts 5 months against tick and fleas and 4 month against mosquitoe (leishmatosis )    ( which apparantly has now reached parts of northern germany due to the climate changes in europe)

there are cheaper tick only brands..(  12.00 euro £8.00).but i have not tried them...so cant say....

luv
dawn and spanna                      

[*Jay*]

Poor you Tracey - I was beginning to think that my boys had brought home everyone elses share of them :wink:     Just found another one on Dallas,. so Laura, you had better hide :wink:                      

[Gilly]

I've checked Roana and Butty and I can't find any  :?  unless I'm missing something  :? I use Advantage every month and so does Mags could this be why the girls haven't got any  :?: I've checked everywhere, ears, faces, legs, belly, everywhere and I can't find any  :shock:                    

[PennyB]

I've checked Roana and Butty and I can't find any  :?  unless I'm missing something  :? I use Advantage every month and so does Mags could this be why the girls haven't got any  :?: I've checked everywhere, ears, faces, legs, belly, everywhere and I can't find any  :shock:

If you don't regularly walk in a sheep or deer area then you're not likely to get them. Mine go out in the hills quite regularly but there are never any sheep so we've never had this problem.

Its not just that they're horrible but in some areas there's a real problem with Lyme disease from ticks (usually in areas with deer populations) which I believe affects dogs and humans alike                    

[Tracey J]

Frontline rings a bell, so it must have been that.  I didn't realise that they would still attach though - yuk!

Tracey & Molly                    

[Laura]

Have I mentioned that I know of another wonderful place for a walk girls!!!! :shock:      I know - you will never listen to me again!!  

Yep Tentsmuir forest will be to blame.  We walk there all the time but have only picked up ticks on 2 occasions.  Our first encounter with a tick was after meeting Emma and Pickle - Brogan and I both had one.  Emma got away tick free by wearing her pink wellies - always knew there was a reason I liked them!!  We use Frontline every 4 weeks although this will not stop them attaching.  

If it makes you feel any better girls - I have had a tick on my leg this week  :cry:  Gill must've laughed when I told her in a pm - could almost hear her from here .  I picked that one up from the local nature trail though I think - seemed too tiny to be from Saturday unless it was fasting first!!  You can't feel them feed and you can't feel them attach - this one OH saw not me - at the back of my knee.  He thought I had a new mole growing - it was the size of a pinhead - tiny little thing - decided it must be a tick when we noticed this mole had legs!!!! :shock:

I can't believe my 3 children have never had one - they play in the nature trail which is right next to the house and we also play tracking and hide n seek at Tentsmuir Forest.  At least you will now see why the flies didn't bother me that day - other evils lurked :twisted:  :wink:

I freaked when I had my first tick encounter - can't stick the little blighters - have got used to dealing with them now.  I know I mentioned the ticks in the "When Butty met......." post - had hoped we wouldn't get any as they are more prevalent in the spring - sorry girls .  Can I come out of hiding yet :?:  :roll: