Product Review: Tick Removal Forceps (Updated)

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and it’s been a terrible* year for ticks here, so I want to tell you now about absolutely the best tick removal tool I have found, which are these forceps:

Forceps removing a smallish dog tick.

I have posted about other tick-removal tools, including the Tick Key and the Tick Tool. Both of these tools work well for removing medium-to-large size ticks, such as dog ticks, or even some adult deer ticks. They are better than fingers or tweezers because

• You don’t have to touch the tick with your fingers when you remove it
• You won’t squish the tick (and squeeze its gut contents, which contains virulent pathogens, back into the dog, cat, or human you’re removing it from)
• They are easy to hold and can be used by feel if you are blind or low-vision

Where these two tools fail in a major way is when dealing with tiny ticks, especially soft ticks, such as deer tick nymphs, which are both tiny and squishy. This is a big deal because most cases of Lyme disease in humans are caused by deer tick nymphs. I would be surprised if the statistics were not similar for dogs. Make no mistake, however — all ticks can cause serious disease in people and humans. Some of the the illness-causing bacteria and parasites that ticks carry include babesia, bartonella, anaplasma, ehrlichia, STARI, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and tularemia, among others. The longer a tick is attached, the more likely it will pass on disease.

I found the Tick Key to be totally useless for very small ticks and the Tick Tool to be hit-and-miss with deer tick nymphs. Often, they would slide through the slit that is intended to catch them because the slit is too large, even at its smallest point, for these tiny, squishy ticks.

The result is that I usually would have to remove such ticks with my fingers, and about half the time, I’d squish the tick and leave the mouth parts behind, still embedded. This is not ideal.

Then, in the comments of my Tick Key review, my reader Courtenay — who is a veterinary technician, as well as a dog trainer and rescuer — told me about the Tick Removal Forceps she uses. The forceps are designed and sold by Jon Vilhauer, a (recently retired) veterinarian. His site, remove-ticks.com, explains how and why he designed them, and why they are preferable to other tick-removal methods:

We have . . . what is probably the only surgical-quality instrument made specifically for tick removal.

The  new  tick forceps are:

o        Fine-tipped, so you can grasp the tick’s head without squashing its body and squeezing tick juice out all over the place

o        Curved, so you can see what you are doing and avoid stabbing your not-always-cooperative patient

o        Sturdy enough to put serious traction on deeply embedded ticks

For tick removal from dogs, cats, or humans, nothing else works as well.

The forceps are terrific! With them I have been able to remove even deer tick nymphs, without squishing them or leaving the mouth parts behind. And the price is right, too: $12.75, including shipping.

The only drawbacks I can see to the forceps are that they require more hand-eye coordination than something like the Tick Tool or Tick Key, which might be an issue for people with certain disabilities. The ends are quite pointy, so you have to be careful not to stab yourself or your animal with them. But if you have a moderately steady hand and/or a reasonably willing patient, these cannot be beat.

Jon’s website answers questions about how to remove ticks, why ticks are so hard to remove, how quickly ticks should be removed, and what happens if the head is left in. He also shows a whole bunch of other tick-removal tools and their pros and cons, so you can compare. Some of the others I was not even familiar with. I think this part of the website — about tick removal tools — is useful. I do not, however, agree with all of what he writes about tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease, and transmission of disease by ticks. For more information on these topics, I suggest reading my compendium of tick- and Lyme-related posts.

I emailed Jon before I posted this review. He said he had about 60 pairs left. I’m planning on buying at least one as a backup pair. If I can manage to get organized I’d like to do some Lyme myths posts and then do a quiz on Lyme knowledge. Whoever wins will get a pair of tick forceps. But since I never know when I will be functional enough to do this kind of thing, better buy your forceps now and don’t count on me!

UPDATE: Since so many people have ordered forceps due to this review, Jon has now ordered a new shipment, although it will take a few months to arrive. He’s concerned that he won’t be able to respond fast enough to eBay sales, especially since the number of orders has gone up so much, so he’s asked me to post the remove-ticks.com website instead. I’m very glad these tools will still be available for anyone who wants them in the future.

Four paws up for these forceps!

– Sharon, the muse of Gadget, and Barnum, SD/SDiT

Notes:

1. I have received no compensation or any other benefits or inducements to do this post. I’m posting this glowing review simply because I believe in this product and am trying to make the world a safer place for us and our animals to deal with disease-ridden ticks.

2. To read other posts at After Gadget about ticks, Lyme and other tick-borne disease in both humans and canines, visit this page.

*Terrible is kind of an understatement: Last night we found 18 ticks on Barnum. The night before we found 28. Never before have we found anything approaching those numbers. None were at all engorged, which means we had not missed them in the previous night’s search — they were new ticks, in other words.

Product Review: Tick Key

Because I have Lyme disease, and Gadget had Lyme disease, and almost every dog in my region will be exposed to Lyme disease, I pay a lot of attention to ticks. It is tick season again in New England. In the past week, I had a deer tick female attached to my upper arm (not engorged, thank goodness), Betsy had a deer tick male crawling on her, and I had a deer tick male crawl off Barnum and onto me. We have found no dog ticks, only deer ticks. Ugh.

They are each smaller than a sesame seed. Very small. It’s always frightening to find them, but it’s less frightening to not find them, of course.

This is why I have written several posts on tick checking, including how to tick-check your dog, how to tick-check humans, and a special note about tick-checking for wheelchair-using humans. In these posts I have discussed the pros and cons of removing ticks with fingers, tweezers, and special tick-removal tools. For a while, the only one I knew of was the Tick Tool Pro, a tick spoon.

This is the tick spoon we have, the Tick Tool Pro. I find the magnifying lens just gets in the way, so I remove it to use the spoon.

Overall, I have been satisfied with this implement. It is much easier and more effective to use than tweezers when it comes to removing an adult-sized deer tick or a dog tick. This is what I used to pull the tick out of my upper arm a week ago. Any deer tick is still damn small, so I was nervous; however, unlike Barnum, I am not covered with thick fur, and I definitely hold still!

When dealing with deer tick nymphs or slightly engorged deer ticks, however, the slot is too large, and with Gadget and Barnum I sometimes end up mangling the tick or leaving the head in, etc. However, even fine-tipped tweezers are worse in terms of squishing and difficulty with handling a very small (especially somewhat engorged) tick.

Thus, I was hopeful that the Tick Key, which my dear friend Karyn sent me, would work better. It does not have an opening for the tick to slide through, so I thought it might work better on nymphs. However, it’s quite big, and I was worried it would be awkward.

The Tick Key. Mine looks just like this, but purple. It’s actually larger than a typical key.

Last night, I got to test it out, and I’m sorry to say it was a failure. Barnum had a slightly engorged deer tick nymph on his snout — on the bridge of his nose, between his eyes. Not a fun place to try to remove a tiny tick, likely full of pathogenic microbes, with a big, purple piece of metal. Of course, Barnum’s snout is also the hairiest part of him, because even though he’s had a recent haircut, we don’t trim his face quite so dramatically as the rest of him, or he’d look ridiculous. It would also be difficult to do. So, we were working around a fair amount of hair. Also, Betsy wasn’t here, so I had someone else helping me, and Betsy normally has a very soothing effect on Barnum. Removing ticks isn’t normally a big deal for him, but pulling one off right in front of his eyes while mutchering his snout and trying to maneuver a big, new piece of equipment — he was not as compliant as I’d have liked.

But, the real problem was this: We put the key’s hole over the tick, and we sliiiiid the opening to the narrow end, and it just slid right over the tick. It failed to catch the tick in the narrow gap intended for this purpose. We tried two or three times — with Barnum increasingly losing his patience — before I gave up and pulled the tick off with my fingers. The good news was that I got the whole thing out intact. The bad news was that it looked flatter after removal, which probably means I squeezed its parasitic gut contents right into Barnum’s open skin. Not really your best-case scenario.

So, between the two implements, I prefer the tick spoon. If you are dealing with a decent-sized tick (a dog tick, for example), either one is preferable to tweezers or fingers. Also, perhaps if we’d been working on an area of his body that wasn’t so difficult — where we were mucking about right in front of his eyes — it would have gone better. I don’t know. But for a squishy deer-tick nymph, so far, I have yet to find a solution that is reliable. If you discover a tick-removal device other than these two items, or you have a great pair of tick-removing tweezers or forceps to recommend, please drop me a line, and I will test it out!

Update: Much better than either the tick key or the tick spoon, are the tick removal forceps, which can remove any size or type of tick without squeezing out the gut contents. Tick forceps review is here.

– Sharon, the muse of Gadget, and Barnum, hopefully tick-free SDiT

How to Tick Check Yourself

Or, Humans Get Tick-Borne Disease, too!

Did you think that because the weather is getting cooler, it’s not tick season anymore? If so, you’d be wrong. In fact, where I live, the worst times of year for ticks are the spring (usually April through June) and the fall (usually October and November). In fact, after our midsummer lull of no ticks, last night I pulled one off my shoulder.

As I’ve said before, this is also not just a Northeastern United States issue. No sooner had I posted my instructive post on how to tick-check your dog, that I stumbled across a Southern blogger who is unintentionally misinforming her readership by saying, “Good news: if you live below the Mason Dixon line there is a relatively low risk of Lyme Disease. Y’all can breathe easy.”

Oh dear. The many, many people I know with Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections who live in Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia could tell her it ain’t so. (One of the foremost Lyme doctors in the world is in North Carolina, and I know a slew of Lymies in the Virginia/DC area.)

As requested by various readers and friends, here is my how-to guide on tick-checking YOURSELF! (And your kids or family members, etc.)

As I’ve said in other posts on Lyme disease, it is best to check yourself once a day, every day that the ground is not completely covered in snow — regardless of where you live.

If you are too sick to handle that, try to check yourself every day that you go outside (even if it’s just into your yard, since most cases of Lyme transmission are from ticks picked up in one’s own yard) or if you have dogs, cats, or other animals that go outside and then come back in. If you are a wheelchair user, please refer to my post on when wheelies should tick-check themselves, as it’s different than for walkies.

Checking yourself for ticks is usually easier than checking your dog. For example, you don’t have to give yourself treats to allow yourself to handle your paws hands. There’s also less fur to search through.

Ticks will attach anywhere, so it’s important to check the whole body. That said, there are some areas they seem to prefer to attach, and even more importantly, where they might go longer undetected. These are areas that provide some protection or cover because they are in skin folds or creases or under hair, including

• Between the toes
• Behind the knees
• In the groin
• In the naval (belly button)
• Under the breasts
• In the armpits
• Behind the ears
• At the nape of the neck
• On the scalp/under the hair

But, they can be anywhere. For example, the three ticks I’ve pulled off myself this year were on my scalp (the top of my head), at the nap of my neck (also scalp, because it was under my hair line), and on my inner thigh. In each case, these were dog ticks, not deer ticks, and they had been attached three hours or less.

Members of my household have found ticks on themselves or loved ones on their forearms, calves, backs, shoulders — just about anywhere. In fact, last night I found a deer tick attached to my upper arm/shoulder area. I had not been out of the house that day or the previous one, so it must have been carried in on the dog, who spends a fair amount of time in contact with me or on my bed.

In an ideal world, we’d all have a tick-checking partner to examine areas that are hard to see ourselves, and for whom we could return the favor. We’d also all be sighted, have range of motion, strength, and flexibility in our bodies and sensitivity in our hands. However, this is not always possible. So, you do the best you can.

As with dogs, it’s good to make this a habit. Setting a daily routine that follows a particular time of day or activity, and that follows a familiar path along the body can help you keep track of what’s been checked and what hasn’t. Use what works for you. I’ll give my household as an example.

Tick-Checking with Two People

We do nightly checks before bed. First, we turn on all the lights, so it’s as bright as possible. Betsy and I check the dog. She likes to check him first, in case any ticks crawl off of him and onto us. I don’t feel as strongly about it, because ticks don’t usually move very fast. It can be useful to put down a light-colored sheet while you check your furry household members, because a tick will show up more obviously there if it is crawling toward you.

Then, we do us. It’s best to get naked to tick check. You should check your clothing, inside and out, either before or after you check your body.

Because of my disabilities, we do our tick-checks on the bed. We start at the feet and work up. I extend my legs, and she looks between each toe on my right foot, then examines the top and sides of the leg. She lifts my leg in the air and examines the underside. Then, the same on the left foot and leg. Then the creases where my thighs meet my abdomen (ticks like creases and skin folds). I spread out my pubic hair so she can see under/through it, and also my labia (more skin folds). I don’t happen to know of women finding ticks on their genitals, but I know two men who have found them on their testicles, so I see no reason the same couldn’t happen with female “parts.”

Then we check my belly button, and I lift each breast, one at a time to check under there. (I have found ticks under others’ breasts before — it’s warm, moist, and hidden; ticks seem to like that.) Then my right armpit (and you should spread the hair around if you have thick hair there) and my arms, both sides. The same on my left underarm and arm.

I turn, and she looks at my back and my buttocks. We also check the external anus.

We spend probably the most time on the scalp, because hair obscures ticks, and because ticks like the scalp. If you have long hair, it’s important to lift it to check the neck, especially the nape of the neck.I lean forward with my face on a pillow. Because I have long hair now, Betsy starts on one side (checking in the ear and behind it), and sections the hair, feeling and looking all along one row, from the neck to the forehead. Then the next row, working her way like that to the other ear and side of head.

Since Betsy’s hair is very short, my job is easier. I start at the nape of her neck, pulling against the grain of the hair, using my fingertips along the scalp. I am feeling for any bumps or unusual protrusions while also looking at her scalp as the hair is moved. Checking ears, sideburns, etc., is important. I should add that although I’ve never tick-checked a man, if someone has a mustache or beard, it’s important for them to run their fingers through it and feel all their face and neck skin to make sure nothing is hiding under it.

If you are able to stand and/or sit up, you can make a lot of this go faster and easier by stripping and standing with your back to your partner. They can check your back, buttocks, anus, and backs of your legs. Then you turn, and they check the fronts and sides of your legs, abdomen, belly, genitals (if you’re male), breasts (including underneath), underarms, and all sides of your arms.

Then you can sit down to check between toes, genitals (if female), and head and scalp.

Checking Yourself, By Yourself

There are times Betsy or I have to check ourselves on our own. Here’s how we do it.

Betsy stands at a wall mirror. She checks all the parts of her body she can see herself, then turns with her back to the mirror to check her back and other areas she can’t see. Then she runs her hands over any areas she can’t see, such as back of legs and behind knees, etc. This is also how she does her hair — running her fingers over every part of her scalp.

I check myself in bed. The most important checking is tactile — I run my hands over every place I can touch on my body. When I have found ticks attached to myself, it has almost always been my fingers that discovered them before my eyes had any clue.

For any places I can’t reach well, or to double-check, I use a hand mirror — such as spreading my toes as much as I can with a mirror reflecting the bottom of my feet. This is also how I check the backs of my legs, under my breasts, and my groin and anus.

For my back, which I cannot touch all over, I use two mirrors — looking into one, with the other behind me. I use most of my energy to feel my scalp. You can think of it as a methodical scalp massage, moving your fingers all over your scalp as if you were lathering shampoo, and also feeling behind your ears.

The more you get used to feeling or seeing every mole, bump, or irregularity of your skin, the easier it will be to rest assured that you will know a tick when you come across one. If you are checking yourself, alone, and you ever feel something suspicious that you can’t get a good look at, find someone — anyone — and have them look at it or feel it and/or describe it. You may feel a bit embarrassed, but some awkwardness with a friend, roommate, or neighbor is worth preventing a tick-borne disease!

Sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself to tick check, even though — and possibly because — I know how serious it can be to have a tick attached to me. In these cases, I fall back on some of my positive reinforcement training and promise myself something enjoyable after — a square of chocolate, a movie from Netflix, a book on tape, a cuddle with the dog. Whatever makes it easier for you to begin and to be as consistent as possible — reward yourself and make it easier the next time around.

If you do find a tick, remove it just as you would from your dog. Get your tick spoon or tick key ready.

This is the tick spoon we have. I find it easiest to use if I remove the magnifying glass, as that just tends to get in the way.

I have used the tick spoon many times. I also have a tick key, but haven’t used it yet. It wasn’t handy last night when I found the tick on my shoulder, but I know where it is now, and I’ll try it on the next one I find.

The tick key. I haven't used mine yet, but from the video I saw at the link above, I think it is well-designed.

Before you do anything, take a few deep breaths to calm yourself. You want to act with care and deliberation.

Slide the tick key or spoon between the tick’s body and your skin, until the narrowest slit of the implement is wedged against where the tick’s mouth parts are attached. Slowly and deliberately pull back and up. You will feel a bit of a tug on your skin, as if you were pulling a burr off of your skin. When the tick comes from, hopefully you will see a tiny bit of skin in its mouth parts, which means you got it all and likely didn’t squish its stomach contents under your skin by pulling or squeezing its body. (Try to avoid that.) If it’s kicking and moving around, that is also a sign that you pulled it out whole and unmangled; you actually don’t want to scare or annoy or stress the tick, as that makes it more likely to regurgitate possibly pathogenic microbes into you due to its panic.

After you have removed the tick, it’s a good idea seal it in a zip-loc baggy. This way, if you decide to have it tested to see if it was carrying diseases, it will be in the best condition for scientists to examine. I usually double- or triple-bag the tick, because I don’t want to run the risk it could escape.

Wipe the area where the tick was attached with a disinfectant, such as rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or another cleanser. I also use a skin marker to make a circle around the site. That way, if a rash or any other skin abnormalities appear, I will know if they’re at the site of the bite or not.

If the tick is completely flat and you are sure it was only attached a very brief time, chances are good it has not passed on any diseases. However, if it is at all engorged and/or if you’re uncertain how long it was attached, it’s a good idea to speak to or see a doctor right away. An immediate course of a week of doxycycline (an antibiotic), has been shown to reduce the rates of Lyme in people who are bitten by deer ticks.

Wishing you all a safe, healthy, tick-free autumn!

– Sharon, the must of Gadget, and Barnum, SDiT

How to Tick Check Your Dog (even if he’s big, black, and hairy)

I’ve been intending to write this post for over a year. There’s always something more pressing. However, my friend Karyn recently learned that her assistance dog, Thane, has Lyme. I’m very sad about this, although I take some comfort in knowing that my advocacy about Lyme occurring everywhere was part of the reason she got her dog tested, and that now he can be treated. Hopefully this post will prevent more dogs from getting tick-borne diseases.

Ever since I wrote a long, detailed post about canine Lyme disease for Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May 2010 stressing the importance of thoroughly tick checking your dog every day of the spring, summer, and fall, people have been asking me, “How do you do it?”

If you only want a very cursory explanation of how to tick-check, there is a new site devoted to ticks, dogs, and tick-borne disease in dogs, called DogsandTicks.com. The tick-checking information is on the disease-prevention page; better than nothing, I suppose, but I fear it will give people the impression that they are doing a thorough job when you’re not. The site also includes photos of ticks, how to remove ticks, information on various tick-borne diseases, and a FAQ.

If you want more detailed instructions on tick-checking your dog, read on!

People with dark-colored dogs, and long-haired dogs have expressed particular concern to me about how the heck to search an entire dog — especially if it’s a big dog. Having owned three consecutive large, dark, long-haired dogs (bouviers des Flandres), I know where they’re coming from.

I didn’t used to do systematic daily tick-checks until I got Lyme disease in 2007. That seriously changed my perspective on tick vigilance, particularly when my service dog, Gadget, too, turned out to have chronic Lyme.

Betsy and I thoroughly tick-checked Gadget (until he died, two years ago), every day. We carry on the tradition with Barnum, my one-and-a-half year-old puppy and service-dog-in-training.

There are certainly other things I’d rather be doing with the time and energy that go into tick-checking, but I’ve come to see it as required upkeep, like feeding or walking him. There are also a few side benefits that I’ll mention in my discussion.

Note: My tick-checking description includes things that are helpful to me, such as having an extra person, using my hands, good lighting, etc. I realize that if you are single, or blind, or don’t have good sensation in your fingertips you’ll need to modify how you check. It is definitely possible to tick-check by yourself (I do it often), as well as to do an effective job if you have limited vision or use of your hands. By creating a routine and becoming familiar with your dog’s normal bumps (whisker bumps, bug bites, nipples, warts and pimples), you will become much more able to identify ticks.

Please do not think that using “spot-on” flea and tick products (Frontline Plus, Advantix, etc.), makes tick checking unnecessary. This is not true. I have written in other posts that these products have several major drawbacks, including that they can cause chemical injury to people or animals sensitive to them. However, whether you choose to use them or not, they are not perfect, and your dog can still carry ticks. Consider:

1. They do not repel or prevent ticks from climbing on and attaching; the ticks need to drink your dog’s blood before the product kills them. Ticks can feed on your dog for several hours before they die and fall off.
2. These products are far more effective against fleas than ticks. There really is no product that is as effective against ticks as it is against fleas. They are hardy, adaptive, tough little bugs. Some are more effective against ticks than others, such as Advantix or Revolution. However, I recently spoke with Barnum’s breeder, who is an ER vet, and she told me that she would never put Revolution on her dogs, because she has seen so many serious adverse reactions to it in the ER. Revolution is the brand more vets in high-incidence areas like mine are suggesting as being more effective against ticks.
3. Ticks evolve faster than humans can create poisons to kill them. Many vets and dog owners are reporting that products that used to be effective against ticks have lost their efficacy. This is particularly true in high-density tick areas.

So, choose whether or not to use these products, but don’t rely on them to make tick-checking unnecessary.

How about a summer hairdo?

If you have a long-haired dog that has hair instead of fur (such as a poodle or a bouvier), consider giving them a radical haircut in the spring and keeping it short through the fall. It is much easier to tick check a short coat than a long one.

Exhibit A: Gadget

Before . . .

We let Gadget’s coat grow out in the winter.

. . . and After:

Gadget, freshly shorn, falls asleep with me after we’ve both been tick-checked.

Exhibit B: Barnum

Before . . .

Yes, I know he looks disreputable here, but he’d just come in from the rain AND we were struggling with the wrong tools for too much coat!

. . . and After!

So sleek! And you can see all his lovely brindling this way, too! (Yeah, his legs and paws needed touch-ups. We did those another time.)

Barnum’s coat tends toward the texture, thickness, and consistency of thick, shag, wall-to-wall carpeting. And he’s black. It’s a gorgeous coat that’s a nightmare to check.

We always try to keep a short coat during tick season. It really makes a big difference. I know he doesn’t look as handsome, but I’d rather he’s healthy than gorgeous (and he’s adorable either way, of course). I’m sure bouvier aficionados gasp with horror at these extreme haircuts, but these are working dogs, not show dogs, and I have to do what works for me and for their health.

If you don’t have MCS and can afford it, you can get your dog professionally groomed, and then they will look a lot better than my dogs do! But, since groomers use a lot of scented products in their salons, that’s never been an option for me.

If you have a long-coated dog with fur (a “normal” long-haired dog), or a light-skinned dog (a pale-colored dog or one with a pink nose), or a dog that’s in the direct sunlight a lot, you might not want to cut down the coat due to issues of sunburn or skin cancer in the case of light-skinned dogs or due to problems with coat regrowth for typical-coated shedding dogs.

A good idea instead is to remove a lot of the bulk of the coat, use stripping tools. I am by no means a grooming expert — I only do what I have to to keep my service dog healthy and looking decent. I use the Mat Breaker and the Mars Coat King. If you want more information on this topic, ask a groomer or try a grooming forum online. Basically, the goal is to preserve the length for sun protection and the general form of the coat, but to thin/debulk the coat to keep your dog cooler as well as helping you feel the skin for ticks.

Lights, Blanket, Tick-Spoon!

Although it’s not known how long it takes for ticks to pass on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases (TBDs) — and different diseases are said to take differing lengths of time. A conservative estimate is that 24 hours is definitely enough time to pass on Lyme, while most other TBDs take less time. Rocky Mountain Spotted fever can be passed in just five hours. (I personally think that the 24-hour cut-off mark on Lyme is iffy.) Therefore, it’s important that you check at least daily, if at all possible.

It’s a good idea to create a routine, including what time of day you do tick-checking. This will help you remember to do it and will also make your dog more likely to accept it, because dogs usually find routine soothing.

Betsy and I like to tick-check everyone before bed, because it’s a time we’re most likely to both be available, and that way we’re not giving the ticks several uninterrupted hours of feeding during the night. But, if you’re a morning person, and that’s when you have the time, do it then. Or on your lunch break. If you miss your regular time, try to squeeze in a tick-check as soon as possible. Don’t give up in despair if you miss a day. This is an ongoing health maintenance routine, like brushing teeth or the coat. You do the best you can.

Part of the routine should be getting set up so that when you do find a tick, you have what you need. Before we start, I get something soft to sit on (because we usually check Barnum on the bathroom floor, and sitting on the hard, cold floor is too painful for me), our jar with hydrogen peroxide that we put the ticks into, our tick spoon (pictured below), treats, alcohol prep pads, and a pair of small, curved, blunt-tipped scissors that I use for grooming touch-ups on his paws and legs, particularly trimming the fur between his toes, which otherwise mats terribly. (UPDATE: I now use a much better tool for removing ticks, which are Tick Removal Forceps.)

This is the tick spoon we have. I find it easiest to use if I remove the magnifying glass, as it gets in my way.

On days when I’m too sick to work on the bathroom floor, we put a light-colored sheet down on my bed, and check Barnum on my bed. A major consideration for your locale is where the best lighting is. We turn on all the lights in my room right before we start the check. While you mostly use your hands to find ticks, it really helps if, once you have found one, if you can see what you’re doing.

The Side-Benefits to Tick Checking

Every person and dog is different, so how you go about the job will depend on what works for both of you. For example, Gadget knew as soon as the sheet went over the bed at night that it was “dog cuddling time,” and he’d jump up and lie down on his side and be super-relaxed. Since Gadget let me have my way with him, I usually started with his paws, just because they were an obvious starting point and therefore an easy way for me to be methodical: First the right, front foot, then all the way up to the elbow and armpit. Then the left front and up, then the right hind foot, etc.

With Barnum, because he’s more touchy about his paws and likes to start by sitting or standing and facing me (often licking my chin), I take a different approach. He enjoys having his face rubbed, so I do his whole head very thoroughly first, and when he’s nice and relaxed, I move to the legs and paws. (This is also helpful because most of the ticks I find on him are on his head and front legs and chest, so I am more apt to get them when I am at my freshest; my body and mind are not always at their best by the time I’m done.) He is getting more used to the routine now and has started to relax into lying down as we proceed.

If your dog is not totally comfortable or compliant with being touched all over, I have three suggestions, which you can combine.

The first is to follow Sue Ailsby’s “handling” instructions from Level 2 of the original Training Levels. (Scroll down to find “Handling.” The behaviors are listed in alphabetical order, so it’s below “Go to Mat.”) This slow approach really focuses you on making sure your dog is not just tolerating touch, but actually relaxing into it and enjoying it.

The second suggestion is a tip I got from another partner-trainer I met on the Level’s list. She taught her goldendoodle the names of all his various body parts (I hinted at this practice in this previous post). This can be handy at the vet or whenever you need to check a certain part. If it’s possible, the dog can offer you the part (chin, foot, etc.). However, even when the dog can’t actually present the part, by teaching him the name, he will know what’s coming and not feel “ambushed” when you — or someone else — suddenly grabs that part. For Barnum, the parts that it’s been most helpful for him to learn are “foot” (for the front paws), “hind” (for rear paws), “ear,” “lips,” and “tail.”

To teach the parts, just say the name you’ve chosen as you handle it, every time. You might want to reinforce the learning with a tidbit for relaxing into your touch or holding still upon hearing the word.

The third is if you have a squirmy puppy or other dog who is just too excited to hold still, you can use the bio-feedback exercises from Control Unleashed. This information was a godsend for Betsy and me when Barnum was a puppy who could not hold still for an instant — or so we thought. I had been dubious that I’d be able to click for such fleeting behaviors as blinking, but it really worked. I clicked and treated for eye blinks, soft/sleepy eyes, yawning, lip-licking, exhaling/sighing, lying down, any relaxed body posture, etc. I encouraged these behaviors by blinking, giving him sleepy eyes, yawning, lip-licking, exhaling, etc. We would start out with a wriggly puppy bouncing all over, and end up with him lying on his side!

Whatever you do, try to set up a routine that is as comfortable and pleasant as possible. If you and your dog like music, put on some music. If you’re most comfortable with a grooming table or bed, use those.

That’s because two side-benefits of daily tick-checking are:

1. A good way to monitor your dog’s health. If you are familiar with every lump and bump, when a new one arises, you will know. Since you need to check your dog’s lips, you will also notice your dog’s teeth, gums, breath, and other indicators of health. On the other end, checking the anus can show you if there is poop that needs to be cleaned away or anal glands to be expressed, etc. I often use tick-checking time to trim the hair between toe pads that otherwise gets matted very easily.
2. If you work at making sure this is a very familiar, enjoyable experience, your dog will come to view it as a treat. We include a lot of massaging of favorite parts (back of the neck, behind the ears, front of the chest), sweet-talking, and treats. If your dog gets over excited by treats, you might not want to use them, or use low-value treats. The picture above of Gadget sleeping between my legs really was taken immediately after a tick check, when we were both so relaxed, we fell asleep (and Betsy took the picture without me knowing it until later).

It used to be that we couldn’t get Barnum to lie down and relax for his tick check. However, after over a year of handling practice and lots of treats, behold a recent tick check. First, I check his ears. . . .

His ears are his most sensitive body part, too!

Then Betsy checks his back and sides. . . .

“Ah, nobody gives a neck massage like mommy Betsy. . . . Zzz.”

The tick check: Feel your way. . .

Here’s how to actually conduct the check.

As to where to start, that’s up to you. If you want to start with the places you’re most likely to find ticks, that is the head, especially the ears (inside and out), then the whole rest of the head, including eyelids, eyebrows, cheeks, top of the head, chin, and lips. Then the neck (take off the collar so you don’t miss anywhere), the chest, shoulders, armpits, front legs (including between the toes), then back legs.

Or, if you want to work in a more orderly fashion, here’s how I usually do it:

Starting with the feet (if your dog is amenable), put your fingers between each toe (I do forefinger under and thumb over the webbing of the foot) and feel for bumps. You are checking for ticks between the toes on the underside of the paw as well as on the furred side, above. Likewise between the toes and the “heel” pad. A lot of the time, I pull out burrs, sap, etc., under the feet and between toes, or trim out mats.

If I feel anything there that I think is a tick, I have found it impossible, even with a docile dog, to use tweezers or a tick spoon in that location — there’s just not space to angle. Instead, find where the tick is attached (where its mouth parts disappear under the skin), grasp there — using your best fingernails, if that’s an option — and pull it slowly and steadily until you have it (and whatever hair came along) out of reach.

I’ll get to disposal of ticks and tick spoons, etc., after explaining how to check.

Feel the top of the foot and heel, too, and then work your way up the leg, running thumbs and fingertips up the skin, against the grain of the fur. I use an up-and-down motion sort of “massaging” or “scouring”with my fingertips to make sure I’m feeling beneath the fur to the skin, and covering all areas. Make sure to get your fingers in the indentations and grooves between the bones.

Definitely check the elbow and armpit. Lift the leg forward slightly to see the underside of the joint, if possible.

Then you can do the rear feet and legs the same way — checking between the toes and moving up the leg. While you’re back there, remember to feel the inner leg and groin, and in males, the penis and testicles. (It’s not common, but I have found ticks on the penis — gross!)

Here is where you will probably mistake a nipple for a tick, because there is a pair on either side of the penis, which is not where humans are used to thinking of nipples spending their time. Everyone who’s ever checked one of my male dogs has made this mistake. It’s very easy to do! If you’re not sure if it’s a tick, check for a similar bump further down, along the milk-line, or across the way, on the other side. If there is another little dark bump parallel to it, it is probably a nipple! Taking a good, close look helps, too. Look for legs! (Ticks have legs. Nipples don’t.) Also, over time you will get used to where each nipple is and how it feels. Don’t try to pull them off — the dogs don’t like it! (That’s one way to tell, if you’re uncertain if it’s a nipple or a tick, don’t use tweezers or a tick spoon! Grab with your fingers and pull gently, if the dog objects, it’s probably a nipple!)

Start at the base of the tail, and feel there. (This is where I save some time — not much tail on a bouvier!) Check the tail much like it’s a leg, feeling along the whole length. Now, the fun part: Lift the tail and examine the anus. Sometimes you have to run your finger around it if you can’t see it well. If you have a furry dog, you might have to trim the fur. If you’re squeamish, use medical exam gloves. We have found ticks on the anus. Truly gross. Throw out the gloves or wash your hands, then continue!

Ears, neck, and head are very important. Feel the entire ear, inside and out, and also get a really good look inside the ear. I use the opposing finger and thumb, again, for both sides, doing the entire ear. I also put my finger into the external ear canal (not deep!) because sometimes they hide in the ridges there. Rub with your fingers, like you were shampooing your scalp, the whole head and face. Check the lips, including between nose and lips, and look at the eyelids and eyebrows. (Just this year, I have found ticks on Barnum’s eyelid — right next to his eye — three times.)

Take off the collar to check the neck and chest, again, using the “scouring” motion with your fingers. Do his entire flank and as much of his back and belly and abdomen as you can reach (depending on how he’s standing or lying.) Hopefully he’s snoring by now! Then, wake him up! While he’s standing, if he will stay up, do the massaging with all your fingers on his back, which you probably couldn’t see/reach that well when he was lying down.

Then, get him on his other side, and repeat.

How to Remove and Dispose of Ticks

The best tool to remove ticks in most cases is a tick spoon, or tick tool, like the one above. Robbins Pet Care, sells a good, inexpensive tick spoon, Tick Tool, which also comes with a tick ID card and magnifying glass. Amazon carries it, too, as do other places, but I have found it cheapest online at Robbins. I have found that the tick spoon is superior to tweezers. It’s easier to handle, and you’re less likely to squish the tick accidentally.

The tool comes with instructions for use, but it’s not difficult to figure out — you slide the slit of the tool against the dog’s skin so that the tick is in the slit of the tool. You keep sliding all the way until the tick is in the very narrowest part of the spoon, and then you slowly, steadily pull up. The nice thing about this tool, too, is that it usually keeps the tick trapped in the slit while you get your stuff together to dispose of the tick.

There is one time when the tick spoon does not work well, which is unfortunate, because it’s the most important time: removing very small ticks, such as deer tick nymphs. Because they are so small, sometimes the slit in the spoon is too big to catch them. This can be made more difficult if they are slightly engorged, because that makes them squishier (and deer ticks already have a softer exoskeleton than a dog tick). If you try using the tick spoon on a really, really tiny tick, and you can’t get it, my best advice is to use your fingers. Grasp at the very base, right against your dog’s skin, and pull.

(Update: Tick Removal Forceps work better because they allow me to remove any size or type of tick, even very small ticks, including deer tick nymphs. Here is my review of the forceps.)

As for disposal, some things not to do: Do not put it in the trash can. It will just crawl out. Do not squeeze it between your fingers or smash it with a rock or pierce it with scissors, because ticks are filled with harmful microorganisms, and you don’t want those splattering out. Although many people flush them down the toilet, I don’t trust flushing a live tick down the toilet, just in case it manages to climb out. They can survive and float in water a long time, especially if they have something to grab a hold of.

A pretty safe method is to put it in a jar of rubbing alcohol with a tightly closing lid. Alcohol kills them pretty quickly. I am sensitive to alcohol, so we use hydrogen peroxide. They live for a few days in the jar, but since they’re contained, they’re no longer a threat. It doesn’t kill them right away, but it does eventually. You can also put it in a tightly sealed Ziploc bag. They will die due to drying out (not starvation; they can go ridiculously long without feeding). On a hot day, they might die within twenty-four hours or less. This is also the method to use if you want to send the tick away for testing.

If you can easily get back to the spot where you removed the tick, use a disinfectant, such as an alcohol prep pad or BZK to clean the area, although it’s important not to let your dog lick alcohol, as it’s poisonous to them if ingested. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly, as well.

I hope this has been helpful! Please spread the word to everyone you know with a dog!

– Sharon, the muse of Gadget (I loved dog-cuddling time!), and Barnum, SDiT (I’m waiting for my massage!)