Dog ticks; in France.......

[LDN]

It's just gone 1am here in France and I've found a tick buried in my dogs leg; I know to attempt removal of it in its entirety but - without a proper tool; I have managed to get the majority of it out - leaving the head.

Now; excuse my naivety with this; but I hear French ticks can be bad; worse than those in the UK for various reasons.

Now that I've gotten the majority of it out; I've cleaned the area and used my hand sanitizer to clean the area further; as I know infection is possible.

What should my next steps be; anyone have experience of nasty ticks?!!

[ctdctd]

LDN said:

It's just gone 1am here in France and I've found a tick buried in my dogs leg; I know to attempt removal of it in its entirety but - without a proper tool; I have managed to get the majority of it out - leaving the head.

Now; excuse my naivety with this; but I hear French ticks can be bad; worse than those in the UK for various reasons.

Now that I've gotten the majority of it out; I've cleaned the area and used my hand sanitizer to clean the area further; as I know infection is possible.

What should my next steps be; anyone have experience of nasty ticks?!!

Too late now, but you should have applied a glowing cigarette or similar to the ticks body. This causes it to let go and then it can be cleanly removed.

[moorx]

ctdctd said:

Too late now, but you should have applied a glowing cigarette or similar to the ticks body. This causes it to let go and then it can be cleanly removed.

Not necessarily - putting anything on a tick (including a lit cigarette) can cause them to expel the contents of their stomach back into the animal they're on, which is the last thing you want.

The only reliable method of removal is with a tick remover (preferably an O'Tom tick remover).

OP - advice here:

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-che...

[Mobile Chicane]

Fipronil is effective against ticks.

It's had a bad rap in recent years as fleas in some areas are becoming resistant to it, but it is the only flea treatment which offers protection against ticks as well.

[Smiler.]

Mobile Chicane said:

Fipronil is effective against ticks.

It's had a bad rap in recent years as fleas in some areas are becoming resistant to it, but it is the only flea treatment which offers protection against ticks as well.

Don't know if Nexgard is the same thing as Fipronil, but it too deals with fleas & ticks.

[LDN]

Thanks to all; the local vet managed to get the remainder of the tick out this morning - and also reassured us. There are some nasty things that can happen but the 'super ticks' are really only in the south of France.

Fingers crossed all is well.

[Smiler.]

We dose ours with Nexgard & Milbemax (for gut worms but more importantly, lung worm), once a month.

Better to be safe than sorry.

[jmsgld]

Fipronil (Frontline) is rubbish for both ticks and fleas. Use Bravecto or Nexguard if you're worried about ticks.

We have no end of ticks around, I regularly get them but the dog gets Bravecto and I've never seen one on him. O'Toms are great and much less painful for removing them from personal experience.