Ticks on Dog’s Ears: How to Remove and Prevent Them

The best way to enjoy the great outdoors with your dog is to take him on a well-deserved long walk. Unfortunately, dogs that hike a lot are more prone to tick infestation. In addition to being disgusting and dangerous, ticks can easily transmit disease to people and pets. Most of them live in grassy or woodland areas across the United States. The process of checking a person for ticks is relatively simple. However, detecting hidden ticks on dogs is much more difficult. To prevent ticks from infecting your dog, you must monitor and remove them using specific strategies.

You can learn all there is to know about removing ticks from your dog’s ears and preventing them from reappearing. Below, you can find out!

Dog Ear Ticks: The Danger

First things first, you need to understand why ticks are so dangerous to your dog. Dogs usually get ticks when they’re outside. When a tick passes over blades of grass, shrubs, or even trees, it’s likely to attach itself to a live animal. Ticks wait in these grassy areas for their chance to bite. Once your dog walks past a tick, it detects your dog and climbs up on its body. Any dog ​​that goes outside can be bitten by a tick. Whether your dog is taking a short walk or hiking in the woods.

Once a tick has established itself on a dog, it can be difficult to tell what a tick looks like on a dog. Most of the time, they seek shelter in a warm, safe place. There are many places that ticks like to hide. These areas include the armpits and leg pits, between the toes, under the collar and behind the ears. While ticks can be found anywhere on dogs, they are more commonly found in the ears. Dogs with ear ticks in the ear canal are at greater risk than dogs with ear ticks anywhere else. Ticks in this location are particularly difficult to locate. They can also lead to ear infections and, in some cases, deafness.

All types of ticks can spread diseases, but each tick carries a different disease. Ticks can spread other diseases besides Lyme disease, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick paralysis. In some cases, a dog can contract a tick disease in as little as a few hours.

How to Tell If Your Dog Has Ear Ticks

Ticks can live on your dog’s ears and show no signs of being there. In some cases, ear lice cause dogs to shake their heads or scratch their ears, while in others they don’t. If you look carefully for ticks and can’t find them, then you should take your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible to rule out an ear infection. Whenever you take your dog out for an outing with a high rate of tick exposure, such as a walk in the park or a hike, you should check their ears and body for ticks. While ticks are most active in summer and fall, they can be active any time of year.

Do not rush through this process, and be sure to thoroughly examine your dog’s entire body, looking for lumps that were not there before. Whenever you feel a bump on your skin, spread your hair over it and look for bright red, dark brown, or black spots on the skin. By flipping the ear over, you can check the outside and the inside. Look into the ear canal as far away as possible if you can. Examine your dog’s feet from top to bottom. Dogs with long or bushy coats may need extra time for this process.

Ticks can be as small as a pinpoint or as large as a grape. When the tick is not eating, it is mostly flat and hard. In terms of look and feel, it looks like a small scab at this stage. Adult ticks have eight legs, and you’ll likely be able to watch them move. During feeding, ticks can become engorged, which means their backs swell more than they started. When ticks are filled with blood, they are gray, light brown, or beige.

Getting Rid of Ticks in Dog’s Ears

Removing ticks from a dog’s ears is similar to removing ticks from other parts of the body, with a few differences. Some dogs don’t like when their ears are touched because they are very sensitive. Give your dog treats while stroking his ears to calm your dog. If your dog does not cooperate to stay still, the tick should be removed by your veterinarian. It’s not worth risking your health or your relationship with your dog by irritating them in an attempt to remove a tick.

You can remove ticks with tweezers or a special tool designed for removing ticks. To completely remove a tick, the head and mouth must be removed. Leaving them behind can cause pain to your dog and spread disease to him.

Here are the steps to properly remove the tick:

step 1

Wear gloves and keep your dog as calm as possible.

step 2

When putting on the gloves, keep a firm grip on the dog’s ears. You can use your other hand to rub rubbing alcohol around the tick with a cotton ball or swab. A cotton swab or cotton ball can also be applied directly to the tick.

step 3

Completely removes ticks. Make sure to pull the tick out in a straight line. Be careful not to wiggle, and check to see if the tick has left its mouth or any part of its head behind.

step 4

Ticks should be kept in a container of rubbing alcohol. Dead ticks can be thrown in the trash after they are removed. Also, it is recommended that you keep dead ticks on hand if your dog shows symptoms of illness. A tick can be tested to see if it is carrying any diseases.

step 5

Use an antiseptic spray to keep the bite site clean. If the area becomes red and inflamed, a veterinarian should be consulted. Don’t forget to reward your pets for being so calm by giving them treats or petting them. Also, don’t forget to tell them how awesome they are!

How to Prevent Your Dog from Getting Ear Ticks

As a rule of thumb, you can keep your dog from getting ear ticks by keeping him on year-round flea and tick treatments. If you go to your veterinarian, they will likely have a variety of safe and effective prescription options. As a pet owner, you have the right to choose the type of precautions you want to use. Consider not only the efficacy of a product, but also its safety for your particular pet, as well as its ease of use.

Your dog should be on a collar, topical tick preventive, or oral tick preventive almost year-round. Because ticks overwinter on wildlife, even just getting outside for fresh air can result in a tick bite.

Always check your dog for ticks after a walk in the woods or in tall grass with your dog. You should look at the sides of the ear and get as far into the ear canal as possible. Be sure to keep your dog away from any soft furniture until you are sure any tick, even if it is dead, has been removed.

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