After a lovely weekend in Dorset I found my boy had brought back a souvenir of the forest, two ticks. It's been many years since I had to deal with this so searched the internet and found so much conflicting advice. I decided to follow the one that told you to rub the tick for a minute which apparently "makes it feel drunk" (lol) and it crawls out or is easier to remove, worked a treat on one but the other I am not sure I have got it all out as he pulled away (dog not tick!)

My dog is long haired and I searched for ages to try and find the site of the last tick but haven't been able to find it so I don't know if taking him to the vet would help!! I have upped his garlic, he appears very bright, infact he chewed through the home hub last night :( what do you think I should do? obvioulsy any sign of him being off colour and he would be at the vet.

Thanks, it must be a nightmare for people who encounter this on a regular basis.

I wouldn't worry too much. If there is still a head left in the body will try and expel it itself by forming a small 'abscess' and the tick head will hopefully come out that way. If you can't find it then it may have already gone. Have they been treated with a anti tick preparation like frontline?
Its not too bad, living in the forest you just get used to it. I just make sure that they are treated with an anti-tick preparation and remove them with an o'tom tick hook when i find them. We have had a few people buying tick hooks for use on themselves so it may be worth investing in if you visit the forest again as they always come out whole when you use a tick hook.

For future reference: I tend to blob a bit of liquid antiseptic on the site (and tick) before removal.  Only because, like you found, it's so easy to lose the spot as soon as the tick has gone!

I'm sure your boy will be fine, even if you've left some parts in.  If you want to find the site again - have a feel in the general vicinity you'll probably find a lump where the tick was.  Horrible aren't they - not my favourite job!!

Thanks for the replies, I did find the site today whilst having a cuddle so now have a mental image of where it was, he has now had antiseptic on it, looks clean. Good tip about antiseptic before removal, I was cursing last night as I was searching for it.

Hopefully it will be another 12 years before I find the next one!

Lol, I had a horrible tick moment the other day. I was checking my two over after a walk, and found several ticks on my girl just crawling around, not dug in yet. I flicked one off, and couldn't find it, next thing, I could see out of the corner of my eye something walking up my t-shirt... eeek!!!

Would recommend the tick remoer tool, so cheap, and always at hand to deal with the critters!

I'm giving my two garlic tabs from Dorwest Herbs this year, I understand they work really well as a repellent.

Oh thats horrible! I am picking the crawling ticks off my dog at the end of each walk and keep finding them in the boot of my car and walking across my carpet! EEEKK! They don't seem to be attaching so much as they did earlier on in the Summer so i'm wondering if my Billy no mates is working?

The Dorset tick count has now risen to 3, the last one I found was on the outer  corner of his eyelid which was puffy and swollen. Obviously he was not to keen for it to be removed so I smothered it with vaseline and managed to get it off at a later time but I was astounded how hard it was to remove, came off with a pop!!

Interestingly my girl who also came with us didn't get any. I have upped the garlic just in case of infection.

Have just received information via an e-mail that may be of some interest.

Tick removal

Spring will be here soon and the ticks will soon be showing their heads.   Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try.

Please forward to anyone with children...or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!!

A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will
come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.  This technique has worked every time I've used it, and that was
frequently, and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.

Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way

The problem with removing ticks by hand, unless you know what you're doing, is that you can cause the tick to regurgitate before it's detached, and this is where they can pass on nasty infections, including limes disease.  Have a look at the BADA website (just google it) they sell the O'Tom Tick remover, which is very effective and easy for anyone to use. 

Other things to put in their diet to deter unwanted passengers are fenugreek and mint, I use both (along with garlic and a few other bits) in the blended veg I do for my dogs, as they're raw fed. 

The Dorset tick count has now risen to 3, the last one I found was on the outer  corner of his eyelid which was puffy and swollen. Obviously he was not to keen for it to be removed so I smothered it with vaseline and managed to get it off at a later time but I was astounded how hard it was to remove, came off with a pop!!
Please get a tick hook, there is no need to smother it with vaseline, that makes it regurgitate its contents back into the host and make transmission of infection more likely. Tick hooks make it very east to remove them they just come away when you twist, they should only make a popping sound if you squash them which you shouldn't do when they are still attached to the dog.

Having consulted the internet and discovered various ways of removal I used the twist method on two of them and the vaseline on one due to where it was. I also rang the vet and they were happy with either method.
My tick remover was useless, just couldn't get the right grip; I will purchase one for when we visit again later in the year.

I did NOT squash it when it when it was still attached to the dog, it made a pop as it came out, however it was still in one piece as I had it in a piece of kitchen towel, I took it out in the garden to squish it and vent my frustration on it.

I have checked where they were this morning, all are healed and his eyelid is back to normal shape and colour; hopefully the last we have seen of them.