What Do I Do If My Pet Gets a Tick?

Ticks can be found in tall grass and bushy areas and can survive lower temperatures. Ticks can carry Lyme disease that they can transfer through their bite, which is caused by harmful bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, that can make you break out in a rash, cause joint pain, neurological problems and many other issues.

Where should you look for ticks on your pet?

Ticks are most commonly found in dark warm places on your pet’s body, such as the underside of their tail in their armpits and groin, chest and neck, but if you come across one tick on your pet make sure you search them thoroughly for more.

What do I do when I find a tick on my pet?

If you find a tick on your pet, you should remove it right away!

1. Clean the area with rubbing alcohol
2. Get a pair of tweezers (or tick twister) right down to the skin so that you can grab the tick’s head
3. Squeeze and pull up nice and slow (if you are using a tick twister slowly twist until the tick breaks free

(if you do not want to remove it yourself you can bring your pet into your clinic, and a vet staff member can remove it for you).

What can you do with the tick once you have removed it?

Once you have successfully removed the tick, you can bring it into your clinic, to have it sent out for Lyme disease testing. It is a service provided by the Alberta government so that they can monitor Lyme disease activity throughout the province. For more information, you can visit the Alberta tick and Lyme disease surveillance.

Written by: Qavah Tiede, ACA