It's been hot here. Hot and dry (finally!). This means that the dogs are getting their exercise in the mornings or when the sun goes down. Even after getting "furminated" they still get hot outside. So, we go for a run in the morning or to the dog park and then they chill all day til their evening jaunt around the block.
The dogs have been behaving fairly well lately - it could be the heat wearing them out - or the fact that there aren't as many dogs in our building right now either. It's probably the latter...but wait - I should be taking credit! Yea, that's right, the dogs are behaving better lately because I've been working with them so much!
But the weekend wasn't complete without Copper getting his first tick! eeew! I just found out that there is a topical drop that I could get that helps prevent ticks, so we may need to investigate that. But, obviously yesterday we had to deal with the task at hand. We used a cotton ball with alcohol to try to loosen the tick and then tried to pull it straight out (without twisting). Did we succeed? Nope! We couldn't get the tick head.
After researching and calling a vet, the plan is to watch for any signs of infection at the site or in Copper's behavior. Apparalently, his body should push the head out like with a splinter. If we see anything strange, then we'll head in to the vet, but otherwise he should be fine.
Lessons:
1. If you've got a furry little guy - check him for ticks (they may be hard to see if you've got an aussie like Copper)
2. The consensus of information I saw said not to use nail polish remover or a match to loosen the tick.
3. There may be a topical prevention method that we can use in the future against ticks!
Thank goodness for the internet and being able to "google" things!
No comments:
Post a Comment