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Tick advice
We just got back from the lake and I was giving Oz a bath when I felt a tick on his belly. Once I got him out of the bath, my mom and I took a good look at him and actually found two ticks. A deer tick on his "sensitive area" (poor guy 
), that ended up coming off easily, and then a Long Star tick between his belly and legs that was stuck on there good.
We worked on the tick for a long time and ended up getting everything but the head. My mom suggested just leaving it and letting his body take care of it on it's own.
Does anyone have any advice on what I should do in the mean time, or to help his body rid itself of the tick head?
Oh and we do use flea/tick medication, but due to the mild winter and the areas that he was walking around in this weekend, I don't think there was anything we could do to prevent the little buggers from getting on him. 
Re: Tick advice
Janine & Cody | Georgetown, Grand Cayman | Feb. 28th, 2012
Surprise BFP | Baby Due Late July/Early August 2013
I believe in a lot of things. I believe in fresh tennis balls, the healing power of bunnies, and that the novels of Susan Sontag are something I'll never read. In fact, I don't even know who Susan Sontag is. What is she... like... a painter? I believe in Crystal Lite because I believe in ME. I believe in the movies of Val Kilmer, though these days it ain't so easy. I believe in Darren Sproles, the word "dabble", the first season of "Silk Stockings", and big, warm, moist, gooey chocolate chip cookies that melt in your mouth and all over your face.
I'm not so concerned with the flea and tick preventative not working. I've been bitten by ticks and mosquitoes before when I was wearing bug spray, so I figure nothing is fool proof.
I think I'm going to keep an eye on it and call the doc if it starts to look infected. At this point, I can't get the head out myself without doing something that could more likely cause infection than just leaving it in and letting his body take care of it.
What are you using for tick prevention? because there are decent products and some that suck. I get what you mean and agree with it in general, but you also have to use a decent product.
and yeah there is always a debate about making sure you get the head, and not worrying about it. Which mean to me, that no one really knows how important it is. So I think you are ok to not worry about it.
How long was the tick on do you think? Usually if you get them off with in the first 24-48hrs you are in the clear.
Our vet (before we moved) switched us to Vectra 3D from Frontline. Is that a decent product?
I don't think the tick had been on there for more than 24-48 hours. It was latched on pretty good, but was fairly big and I think I would have noticed it if it was on there before our weekend at the lake. It also wasn't engorged at all like it had been feeding for awhile.
hey Birdie. I wouldn't fret too much about it then. Watch for signs of sickness of course, but not very likely he got anything.
And Ugh I really don't like vectra. I don't like the packaging (most people seems to have problems with it) and I don't think it works well at all. As a new product if its effective it should be pretty effective as there isn't any resistance yet. I have only experienced issues with that product. My old clinic was trying to give it away at cost, and no body wanted to buy it.
I would try Advantix or Certifect for flea and tick control.
Certifect is from the makers of Frontline, so if you have had flea problems before on that product I would stick with Advantix. But unlike Frontline, Certifect actually works on ticks.
For my Masters, I worked with ticks and have removed thousands of them over the course of my research.
I am surprised that you had a hard time with the tick. Were you using tweezers to pull them out (this is what you should be doing)?
Anyways, ticks don't actually have "heads." The parts that can get stuck are some of the mouthparts and what is called "tick cement." The cement is something they secrete to keep themselves attached and is often left behind when a tick is removed. It is often mistaken for skin that the tick is "biting."
With all foreign bodies, your immune system will eventually break it down and it will go away. There is always the possibility of area becoming infected, but I wouldn't worry.
Just keep an eye on the area. Also, the mouthparts themselves don't carry lyme or other diseases. Those are passed through the saliva, so if the tick is no longer attached you don't have to worry about more exposure.
Oh Aggie that sucks.
I think I have about 4 more months of the Vectra left. Boo! However, we just moved and will probably have to make a visit to our new vet soon (yay itchy paws!) so I'll see what he recommends. I might save the Vectra for the cooler months this fall. We haven't had any flea problems, but will be going to very ticky places, so I want something effective. The packaging IS kind of weird. I had to take a pen to break the seal??
Peacck, yes I was using tweezers. It was on the loose skin between his belly and inner leg and the tick would just not come off. I pulled for awhile, but was afraid to pull too hard because I didn't want to tear or rip his skin. The mouth part is what ended up being left when I accidentally pulled the rest of the body off.
Yeah for sure don't waste the product its expensive! Using it during the winter isn't a bad idea, since it doesn't have as much to fight. This summer is supposed to be bad all over the country though so I don't think I would risk it. I am actually going to use flea stuff this summer. ( I haven't used flea stuff in 3 yrs and not had problems) because the ticks are horrid here and I imagine the fleas are going to be too.
I have had clients that never got a single drop on the dog because of their packaging and this is after we showed them how to do it properly in the clinic. Which is funny since their big promotion of the product was its packaging...
Yeah their packaging was kind of confusing. I wasn't sure how to get the little silver seal off. I ended up poking it with a pen.
Ozzie had a cute faux hawk after I put it on him on Saturday.
So here's a question. Every product that I read reviews about online has someone being all "Dont use this product!!! It almost killed my dog!!!" Do all of them have some risk of reaction, depending on individual allergies and such?
pretty much all products have a risk of causing an allergic reaction, But the risk is fairly low with the topical medications. I feel like those reviews come from people who believe you are going to kill yourself and your dog if you do not go the entirely holistic route. That is probably also an exaggeration, but I do think those reviews are a little out there.
Frankly we see very few reactions to topical products and when we do its excessive drooling because they managed to lick some of it. Cats are more at risk as some dog products are very toxic to cats, so multi species households need to be careful what product they choose or separate cats and dogs for 24-48hrs after application to be safe.