I was petting Prince this morning and found a tick on him. It was quite swollen with blood. Both of mine are on Trifexis which doesn't kill ticks but does kill fleas and worms. I didn't think we had ticks here. I feel horrible. I pet and hold him all the time and this is the first time I noticed it. I followed procedures for removing it I found on the web. It seemed to come off clean and it didn't pop. Is there anything else I should do? He is very small (4 pounds), so I worry it could possibly affect him. He ate fine this morning and is running around playing. I would be crushed if something happened to him.

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Oh no! Sorry to hear that Jayda! Do u know how long the tick was attached? Hopefully he wasn't attached long enough to do any damage.

It is my understanding that ticks cause Lyme disease and One symptom usually is limping due to joint inflammation. When Gino got sick, his first symptom was limping so every single vet I went to thought it was Lyme disease (he had something compeltely different). There is actually a quick test (SNAP test) that can be done at the vet to test for it and the treatment is pretty simple with an antibiotic. But he may be fine, if you are nervous about it, i would call the vet and see if they offer any of those tests just for peace of mind.


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I did call the vet. They said to keep an eye on the area where it attached. If it gets the spider web circling like humans can get when having a reaction to bring him in. They also said if he is lethargic, feverish or limping to bring him in. I feel horrible leaving him today for work. Honestly he was snuggled up to me watching football most of yesterday afternoon. Seems like I would have felt it then. Hopefully it wasn't on him long. I do see that with his long dark black fur, ticks are very hard to see. I swear my vet recommended not using a topical on top of Trifexis for ticks due to the dogs small size. I need to double check this.

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Let me know what happens! I'm not sure about trifexis, only bc I don't give heartworm prevention. But I hope he's ok!! Keep me posted!


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Did you by chance look UNDER the female tick (only the females get engorged) for the male? Many times there is a male also. Take a flea comb and go over him getting the hair backwards so you can see the skin. One female---probably has more. I used to burn em up! I had lived in a 100 year old house, and the dog came home from a swim in the lagoon next to the museum of Science and Industry with ticks. (my darling brother took her with him for a quick dip on a really hot night in the 50's) The house was infested. I was about 15 yrs old and thought they were 'skin tags'. My mom took the dog to the vet who told her what they were. Many tick, babies etc in the house. Took me 3 years to get the eggs too. Make sure you watch for at least 30 days, as that is when the eggs hatch. Lets hope he had just the one, and you got it.

I'm always scared of that here, as we have a pretty serious tick season. I don't have any experience with them on dogs, but my cousin had one burrow into her forehead! Doesn't sound like much fun to have them surgically removed. I hope that you got the only one and there will be nothing else needed. At least you know what to look for and your vet is already aware. Do they offer an emergency service just in case?


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Also just read that after they engorge they drop off and lay eggs. I am seriously hoping he brought this in from outdoors and it is single case. Also, I clearly got an engorged tick off him. Timing might be good in that it hadn't dropped. YUCK

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Came home from work and was totally fine, he played took a walk and ate. He does have a welt where the tick was. I am washing all blankets he and Lady lounge on. I checked both them out for more ticks and didn't see anything.

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