[Zyrany]

Hello! I discovered a dime size open sore on my dogs neck/upper chest area last night. It looks similar to a hot spot, however it's not an area she could lick. There was a tick near the area I found, not directly on, but to the left of the sore. I am hoping that is just a coincidence (*I'll explain). I removed it with tweazers with head in tact. The tick was small and didn't appear to have been feeding long. *Unfortunately, its now not a shock to find ticks on my dogs as of the last 5 months. I NEVER had this issue (or ANY issues with fleas) with my other dogs over the last 31 years. It began this April when I rescued her and her brother Link and brought them into my home. I found them in a farm like open desert area roaming in the middle of the street, 4 months old in April this year on my way to work. They both were riddled with ticks (Removed aprx 30 first time from both), under weight, soaked in water and dirty. I have been treating them ever since with topical, baths, collars (not recently) etc. I keep a clean home, live in the suburbs, try to follow the guides on tick elimination... However, I still find a rouge tick here or there when I do my checks on all the dogs with a fine tooth comb and my hands on a dog or two even when we seem to go weeks tick free. Link (brother) had initiallty "faintly" tested positive with tick fever immediately after his rescue which I treated back in April with doxycycline for 1 month. Zelda did not test positive for erllichia. I'll also add that 2 months ago Link, Zelda, and my chihuahua Petra who is same ago as them (10 months now) had a small bout of demodectic mange on thier muzzles (little sections of hair loss size of a cig burn, pink skin, not red or bloody), Petras was on her back leg (caused by thier ages and immunity from all they have been through) it was so light that the vet didn't prescribe anything. They have since healed and hair has regrown. They are now by all means healthy, clean, happy, vaccinated, fixed, registered, and been to a vet for blood and fecal sample resulting with clean bills of health 2 months ago when I took them last. The area is slightly hard, similar to a scab or scar tissue. I cut the hair away, cleaned the dry blood and filth off with water, used hydrogen peroxide, and then coated with neosporin gel. I don't see anything in the wound. Scab seems to be starting. Do I need to get this further tested? Does this require prescription medicine? Or can I watch this and see if it heals? Thank you for reading!!!

 

[Lucillle]

You obviously in the past have dealt with vets and prescriptions and so on. I'm not sure why you don't take your dog to the vet or at least call? You could probably send those same pictures to the vet's office.

 

[McCourt]

I'm not sure but found a website that has information on what you can do until you can get to a vet's office:

How to Deal With Tick Bites on Dogs - EnkiVillage


Also, since you've been noticing ticks on a steady basis, what preventative meds are you using? We use an oral preventative and I've never seen a flea or tick on either of my dogs.

 

[Lahoyaq8]

I recently rescued a pit that was infested with ticks. I read somewhere that you can suffocate the tick by smearing Vaseline on it. However, i was worried about the mess. It occurred to me to try liquid bandage (any drugstore). I dabbed each tick with a generous amount of the liquid. It worked! After a couple of days, all ticks were gone.
Another problem i had was with fleas. Initially the dogs were flea free. I gave them each a capsule of garlic & strong herb like neem or fenugreek (lucky vitamin or vitacost). It worked. But then we rescued a pup that was infested and the herbal capsules no longer worked. We took a trip to the beach and after 3 days in the salt water, all fleas were gone. So perhaps epsom salt baths? Also, the carpet became infested with fleas so i sprinkled table salt on the carpet. Left it for a few days then vacuumed. All fleas gone

 

[Lahoyaq8]

Im not a fan of meds. Especially for minor issues like mange, ticks/fleas, etc. If you can take care of it holistically, it saves a lot of money and doesnt harm your pet. Meds take care of a specific problem but damage something else. So try home made remedies first.
My pitbull also has a horrid body odor. Im treating it with Eucalyptus oil in Castille soap and finishing off with a vinegar rinse. The results have been amazing. Im also adding probiotics in his food to clean his gut. He was abused b4 i adopted him.