How to Check Your Dog for Ticks

Check your dog within a couple of hours of coming in from tall grass, focusing on the ears, the neck and collar line, the armpits, between the toes, the groin and under the tail. Nymph ticks are the size of a poppy seed, so run your fingers over the skin rather than relying on sight.

The six places, in order

• Inside and behind the ears, including the folds
• Neck and under the collar, which is easy to skip because the collar hides it
• Armpits and chest, where the coat is thinner
• Between the toes and the pads
• Groin and belly
• Base of the tail and under it

What you are feeling for

An attached tick feels like a small firm bump, similar to a skin tag. Unfed nymphs are poppy-seed sized and dark. Engorged females can be the size of a coffee bean and grey. If you are not sure whether it is a tick or a scab, part the hair and look at the base for legs.

Removing one properly

Fine-tipped tweezers, grasp as close to the skin as you can get, and pull straight and steady. Do not twist, do not burn it, and do not smother it in petroleum jelly, all of which can make the tick regurgitate. Clean the site afterward and keep an eye on it.

The part most people skip

Checking the dog does nothing about the population in the yard. Ticks wait at ankle height on grass edges and brush, so the same walk produces the same result tomorrow. Cutting the mown edges short and treating the boundary is what actually reduces how many your dog meets.

See our flea and tick program