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Tick Emergency! Advice please.

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  • 23-04-2011 10:38am
    #1
    Bubs99
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭


    Hi everyone,

    I walked my dog (my Dads dog also-I live away) through some fields of very long grass last weekend and during the week while I was away my dad said the dog got very sick with itching, scratching, crying and chewing all day and night.

    My Dad said it is ticks so brought him to the vet who gave him FRONTLINE...this is Busters second dose in just over a month but it is not working in the slightest.

    I always thought ticks were big fat things but from what ive found on Buster, they are tiny, about 2mm big. Buster is a yorkshire terrier x so its hard to find them with his dark soft hair. He has chewed so bad on places that he has made himself bleed, hes covered in scabs also.

    He hasn't eaten in 3 days and just is not himself. It is now easter weekend so all vets are closed (we live in Tramore, Co. Waterford).
    We are getting fairly worried about him now. My cousin who is a groomer is going to clip him fully tomorrow so we can try find more and wash him properly (shame as he usually gets groomed lovely every 3 months).

    I looked on the internet to see what the 2mm things are and I think they are the larvae of ticks (as I always thought they were plump 1cm or so).

    Any advice appreciated, please.

    PS: can they move on to humans and furniture like fleas or do they stay on the dog?


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    #2
    chris_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,211 ✭✭✭chris_ie


    Ticks start out small. They get bigger and fatter as they suck blood. Also they could latch on to humans.

    Example before and after : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tick_before_and_after_feeding.jpg


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    #3
    Zapperzy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,524 ✭✭✭Zapperzy


    Would they be fleas either? A heavy flea or tick infestation would cause anaemia, if you lift up his lip and look at the colour of his gums they should be a healthy salmon pink colour, if they are very pale then ring the emergency number for a vets, nearly all vets have one.

    Which frontline was he treated with? Was it the spot on or a spray that you spray and then rub into the coat? Ticks will drop off the dog once they are fully fed, they will also attach themselves to humans so I would keep him off beds and chairs.

    If you find ticks on him don't touch the tick but very quickly grab it near the base, catch it by surprise and twist it anti-clockwise and pull out. This doesn't work if you've already poked and prodded it a few times. And always make sure you've got the mouthparts as if they are left behind they can cause inflammation, and don't squeeze the contents of the tick back into the dog.

    Oh and if you were also walking in the same field I would also thoroughly check yourself for them too, nasty little things they are. :D


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    #4
    Bubs99
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Bubs99


    Hello,

    He got sooo irritated and we knew we couldn't wait any longer so I found a vet thats open in Waterford and brought him in.

    They are ticks for definate but still at the early stage. The vet said he wasn't itching from them but from an allergic reaction plus we found out he has dermatitis. The vet also said that yes ticks love humans too but he said they dont jump from one mammal to another like fleas do which I kind of guessed already. I was just a bit nervous as my Dad and him live in a tiny flat.

    He was given stronghold, spot on a few days ago by a different vet (same clinic) but that was only for fleas and worms. Today he was given the strong stuff, spot on also specifically for fleas and ticks.
    He was also given an antibiotic injection and he is now on anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.

    After the vets and the injection, he didnt scratch as much and he ate a whole bowl of food thankfully.
    We were also told to keep him off grass for the rest off his life due to grass allergy and ticks (hes only 4 and LOVES playing fetch for well over an hour) and only be walked on the beach, luckily we are litterally on the coast.

    Fingers crossed those disgusting things will die and fall off soon and he wont be in anymore discomfort. The thought of ticks in our home sickens me. Ugh!

    Thanks for all your advice.


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    #5
    emer_b
    Closed Accounts Posts: 483 ✭✭emer_b


    My vet gave me a great little tool for removing ticks, suitable for bigger ticks that have started feeding on your pet. It's just a little plastic stick with a forked head that you hook in at the base of the tick (ie the mouth parts that are embedded). You keep turning it anticlockwise and the tick just falls out fully intact. Use it all the time on my cats. Hope your dog gets better soon, poor fella.


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    #6
    byhookorbycrook
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 12,475 Mod ✭✭✭✭byhookorbycrook


    easiest and best way to remove ticks, animal or human. Quench a lit match and put the hot part on the tick, it loosens its grip and falls off. Pulling them means they will leave pincers in host and cause infection.


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    #7
    Bubs99
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Bubs99


    Thankfully the disgusting little spiders/mites hadn't/have'nt made it to that stage in their cycle yet when they're fat and plump. They're still litterally only about 3mm big, way too small to use the plastic fork thingy.

    The vet said that the spot on he put on Busters neck yesterday will kill the ticks for definate.
    Buster isn't scratching as much as he was before we visited the vets, such a relief but something is still annoying him.
    How long does it take for the spot on formulas to work?

    I had to try give him his first tablet today but he was clever enough to spit it out while I tried several foods so in the end I had no choice but to crush it and mix it with milk and feed it to him which he did not like one bit.
    He's sulking now.:o

    I really hope all this medication gets to work ASAP!
    Thanks everyone.


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    #8
    pokertalk
    Registered Users Posts: 806 ✭✭✭pokertalk


    Bubs99 wrote: »
    Thankfully the disgusting little spiders/mites hadn't/have'nt made it to that stage in their cycle yet when they're fat and plump. They're still litterally only about 3mm big, way too small to use the plastic fork thingy.

    The vet said that the spot on he put on Busters neck yesterday will kill the ticks for definate.
    Buster isn't scratching as much as he was before we visited the vets, such a relief but something is still annoying him.
    How long does it take for the spot on formulas to work?

    I had to try give him his first tablet today but he was clever enough to spit it out while I tried several foods so in the end I had no choice but to crush it and mix it with milk and feed it to him which he did not like one bit.
    He's sulking now.:o

    I really hope all this medication gets to work ASAP!
    Thanks everyone.

    hi bubs just an fyi:) try not to give any dog milk as they are intolerant to dairy or at least a tiny bis mixed with loads of water


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    #9
    Zapperzy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,524 ✭✭✭Zapperzy


    You have the same problem as me so when it comes to tablets! The last worming tablet I got I split into 4 pieces and mixed in with his dinner (which was a mix of wet and dry which he usually wolfs down) and I watched him take a mouthful with a tablet piece in it then the look of realisation on his face when it's got something funny in it then he spits the tiny piece of tablet out, he done that for each of the 4 tablet pieces! :rolleyes: It then took nearly half a block of cheese to get it into him! Next time I won't be so easy on him and will just have to put it straight into his mouth.

    Most vets sell pill poppers, they are handy little things about the size of a pen that you place the pill at the tip point it into the side of the dogs/cats mouth and shoot it in, obviously you still have to restrain them and rub there throat (or blow on there nose) until you feel them swallow, but it's handier than fumbling around trying to get your fingers into their mouths.


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    #10
    ABajaninCork
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    I learnt with my dog, the easiest way to dose him is give him the tablet in a bit of ham. Goes down singing hymns!!:D


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    #11
    Bubs99
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Bubs99


    He adores cheese so that was the first thing I put half the tablet in (its a big one) but while he was chewing he realised and spit it out so then I tried with chicken which he also loves but he spit that out too.

    We never give him milk, he drinks water but I had no choice and I had to just pour it down while I held his mouth open. Hes such an angel and never snaps, always lets you check his body, an angel in the vets and the groomer loves him.

    I dont think we'll succeed crushing the tab and mixing that with his wet and dry meal either, he's too cute. I know he'll smell or taste it and turn his nose up at it. Maybe my Dad might have more ideas.
    I never heard of the pill popper for pets. I might look for that when we go for his check up on Tuesday.

    Fingers crossed.
    Thank you. :)


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    #12
    Zapperzy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,524 ✭✭✭Zapperzy


    Bubs99 wrote: »
    He adores cheese so that was the first thing I put half the tablet in (its a big one) but while he was chewing he realised and spit it out so then I tried with chicken which he also loves but he spit that out too.

    We never give him milk, he drinks water but I had no choice and I had to just pour it down while I held his mouth open. Hes such an angel and never snaps, always lets you check his body, an angel in the vets and the groomer loves him.

    I dont think we'll succeed crushing the tab and mixing that with his wet and dry meal either, he's too cute. I know he'll smell or taste it and turn his nose up at it. Maybe my Dad might have more ideas.
    I never heard of the pill popper for pets. I might look for that when we go for his check up on Tuesday.

    Fingers crossed.
    Thank you. :)

    Sounds exactly like my fella! There are times when I wish he was a labrador! :D Absolutely nothing gets past his mouth without a thorough examination, and he has the funniest facial expression when he finds something funny in his food and spits it out, it's like when you get a really sour sweet and scrunch your face up, he even sticks his tongue out when he's spitting a tablet out! :rolleyes: And those were supposed to be pork flavoured tablets! :D


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    #13
    ABajaninCork
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,411 ✭✭✭ABajaninCork


    Does your dog like pate? I'm told that might be a way round the dosing problem. My friend gives her dog his meds in pate, and he doesn't even notice!


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    #14
    Bubs99
    Registered Users Posts: 304 ✭✭Bubs99


    Hey everyone,

    I never tried pate on him, no. Curious to see. Might try it.
    I did it the tough way in the end, the way they hate...I litterally opened his mouth and placed it down his throat, closed his mouth and gently rubbed his neck/throat until he swallowed.
    Thats the way I was taught while working in the vets but I felt sorry for the dogs but I had to in the end.

    It was difficult because the tablet was very big so he kept spitting it up but he swallowed it in the end.
    One of his tabs is big, the other is tiny so will be easier.

    My Dad wont continue this technique though when I go away but he has his own ways anyway.

    I cant wait until the doses are finished, another 9 days. The poor dog. The ticks are dead and gone but the scabs are all over his body and irritating him. Poor little baby.

    Thanks everyone. I hope all goes well with your pets. :)


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