How dangerous are ticks in dogs?
And do they affect humans in any way as one of my friends had one under their arm
and they put dettol on it waiting on report.

Yes, both species can contract Lymes disease from ticks.  My friend has been recently diagnosed.  She has a red area on her leg that she now assumes to have been where the tick attached.  It just would not clear up and as she also started to feel generally unwell she visited the doctors and blood tests confirmed the disease.  She is being treated with antibiotics and is already feeling much better.

I have two friends who this year have contacted Lymes disease from ticks.  One chap caught it from a tick that attached to him while hillwalking. the other is a gamekeeper, he obviously comes into contact with many ticks, but was unlucky enough to have one attach itself to him.  It does make one wonder how many dogs get Lymes as the ticks do attach to them even although we have treated them.

One of the simplest methods of removing ticks that I have found is; put enough Vaseline over the area of tick to completely cover & seal, after about 10-15 mins wipe away with tissue taking the suffocated tick with it. NEVER try to pull it out as you are likely to leave the head imbedded. There are other methods but I have found them more uncumfortable to dog, and less effective. In Summer vaseline was always part of my 'Show Kit' along with non-drowsy Anti Histamine tablets/Cream.

We always used to soak a cotton wool ball in surgical spirit then grab the tick and gently ease it out.  I think the surgical spirit kind of gassed them because they would loosen their grip and come out whole.  The dogs didn't seem to have any after effects - at least I don't think so.  Fortunately haven't seen any for a few years now.

My mum got a tick on the back of her shoulder after she had picked up her Sheltie to carry her across a rickety bridge. It was a few days before she found it as she could only feel it and not see it.  She thought it was just a mosquito bite or something.  Eventually she realised and went to the doctors where they took it off and warned her about Lymes disease.  They gave her antibiotics.  She wasn't very well though and shortly afterwards developed Polymyalgia Rheumatica.  She always thought it was connected to the tick she had picked up.  It's probably worth having the antibiotics sooner rather than later.

tick removers used properly are, I find the best way to safely remove tick. Tick removers are available from the vet for a few £.

I use a tick remover on my dogs and have never had a problem removing them. I've not had so many this year though. Have I just been lucky? Or have there been fewer this year?

Hi

Petplanet.co.uk do a great Tick Picker http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=380&pf_id=7597.

It is easy to use and very effective.

h

We don't get ticks around here very often, but one of my cats had one, i purchased a tick remover and it came out whole...
They are very cheap and worth it. Not sure i could be fussing about with all these products that OP mention. Though its completely up to you how you remove them.

Thanks Isabel,
My friend has confirmed the tick has come away in the shower.

should I tell her to go to Doctors?don't want to worry her. Lymes disease what is the
worst scenario?

               Bye for now.

> Lymes disease what is the worst scenario?

It is only rarely serious if it goes untreated and I think it is reasonable not to rush off to the doctor unless you are showing any of the symptoms.  Just be aware I suppose so I would tell her what to watch for as it is not too alarming.

Hope this link works:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/lyme_disease.html

Hi, I have actually had Lyme Disease myself.
We were living in Germany a few years ago and caught it from my own garden (they can drop from trees)
I didn't notice the tick so it went undetected for some time.
I had no rash (usual first sign is bullseye rash) and began to feel like I had bad flu, not the coughing and sneezing kind but the joint pain, complete exhaustion, generally feeling awful.
I also have arthritis in my neck/spine/hips which I was seeing a specialist in Rheumatology and the Lyme Disease was a spotted in a blood test.
I caught pneumonia as my immune system was very low, I developed partial facial paralysis (Bells Palsy) which began like the worst toothache ever! I also have a mild heart murmur now too.
I had several courses of antibiotics and lots of other treatments too, and eventually I got the all clear!! :)
Now, I don't want what I've said to frighten you or your friend as I am fine now (just catch bugs/colds easier) and not all ticks carry Lyme Disease. But if your friend feels unwell and she can't shake it, then I would get it checked out.
As you can imagine, ticks did freak me out for a while, but I'm over it now and can remove them from dogs/cats if needed (mine have very rarely had them)
HTH
Paula      

I use a tick twister - once I've found one I couldn't bear to wait 10/15 minutes for anything to smother it! :-)