Five signs your dog has ticks

Ticks are a year-round problem in the Gulf rather than a summer one, and the brown dog tick is happy to complete its whole life cycle indoors. By the time you see one walking across a floor, the dog has usually been carrying them for a while. 1. Scratching in specific places Generalised itching is often skin or diet. Ticks produce concentrated attention: a dog that keeps working at one ear, one armpit or the base of the tail is worth checking with your hands. 2. Small firm bumps under the coat Run your fingers slowly against the lie of the coat, over the head, ears, neck, between the toes and around the groin. An attached tick feels like a smooth bead stuck to the skin. A recently detached one leaves a raised red spot that is easy to mistake for a bite. 3. Head shaking Repeated head shaking or a head held slightly tilted often means a tick inside the ear canal, which is out of reach of the dog and out of sight of the owner. 4. Anaemia in a heavy infestation Pale gums, tiredness on a walk the dog used to enjoy, or a resting heart rate that seems fast. A puppy or a small dog can lose a meaningful amount of blood to a large infestation. 5. Ticks on the furniture Finding one on a rug, a sofa seam or the edge of a bed means the population has left the animal and moved into the house, and treating only the dog will not end it. Removing one safely Grip it with fine tweezers as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out, steadily. Do not twist, do not burn it, do not smother it in oil — each of those makes the tick regurgitate into the wound, which is exactly how disease is transmitted. Clean the site and wash your hands. Keep the tick in a sealed bag for a few days; if the dog becomes unwell, the clinic will want to see it. Prevention is a monthly spot-on or a collar, plus washing bedding hot. If a dog becomes lethargic, feverish or lame in the two weeks after a bite, see a veterinarian and mention the tick.