Spring is not only a time of love and flowering ... In this warm period, various parasites begin to become active, including such dangerous ones as ticks. These small arthropods cannot drink a lot of blood from people or animals or cause serious injury. Their danger lies in another - they are carriers of extremely dangerous diseases that can harm the health of the dog and even lead to death. What to do if the owner has found a tick in a pet? The best option is to seek help from a veterinary clinic, but if this is not possible, then there are ways to rid the dog of the parasite yourself.
A number of rules for removing insects
Detecting a clinging tick is easier in dogs with a short coat. However, sometimes it is also revealed here after some time, when the parasite is saturated with blood and becomes round, like a pea. Depending on the variety, it may have a dirty pink, dark gray or gray-brown color. 
The sooner a "guest" is discovered, the better. After all, he does not immediately dig into the skin, and for some time (sometimes this period is more than one hour) he “wanders” along the body of the animal in search of a site with delicate, thin skin, where the vessels are located closer to the surface. And if you find it at this moment, then you can avoid the negative consequences.
Most often, ticks settle in the neck, in the auricles, on the stomach. Although in other areas, they can be detected. Naturally, a tick is easier to find when it swells with blood. Moreover, having decided on a place, he does not move around the body, remaining on this site. To remove arthropods from a dog’s skin, it’s important to follow these guidelines:
- Be sure to wear medical gloves, since the tick can be a peddler of diseases dangerous to humans.
- After removing the tick, it is important to destroy the parasite, and for this it should be burned, since under other influences it can survive.
- When pulling out a tick, it should not be squeezed, since, having sensed danger, it will begin to throw harmful components into the blood.
- You can’t pull the tick, as its body may burst and the head with toxic substances will remain in the dog’s body, and there is a risk of suppuration and infection;
If the parasite has attached itself inside the auricle or penetrated under the skin, then you should not try to remove it yourself, but it is better to contact a professional.
Watch the video how to get a tick from a dog:
How to pull out a tick yourself?
There are several ways to extract the parasite:
- With a finger wrapped in gauze . It is necessary to treat the site of the bite, including the tick, with an antiseptic. Chlorhexidine, alcohol, will do. Then the index finger is wrapped with a piece of bandage or gauze. The finger must be placed on the tick, but do not press on it! The parasite should be rolled out in a circular motion clockwise.
- Using tweezers . The tool should be prepared (it must have sharp edges). Tweezers and the manipulation site will need to be treated with an antiseptic. With tweezers, you should capture the area near the head of the tick, but not the body, and, making smooth circular movements, carefully remove it.
- Making a loop of thread . A thin thread 30-35 cm long will be required for the procedure. A loop is made of it and carefully throws on the tick. Then the loop must be tightened and the parasite pulled out. But you need to do this without pulling the thread up, but twist it clockwise along the skin.
- Using a needle from a disposable syringe . To remove the parasite in this way will require - open fire, tweezers, a needle and an antiseptic. You need to hold the needle for a while over the fire until it becomes hot. To do this, it is best to use pliers. A hot needle is stuck in the body of the tick, and then you should wait 7-8 seconds. Then the arthropod body is carefully pulled out of the dog’s skin.
- Using a special device . In the pharmacy you can buy a special device - “Tick Twister”, the purpose of which is to remove ticks. A twister is a hook that has a small slot where the parasite enters after removal. You should fix the tick in the hook and make a certain number of turns clockwise until it separates from the skin. Sometimes a 3-4 turn is enough for a successful procedure, but in some cases the owner needs 7-10 minutes.
Taking on an independent operation, it is worth taking care of the sterility of the instruments used. In addition, it is important to find out if the parasite was a vector of infections, for this it is taken to a veterinary clinic, where the study is conducted in laboratory conditions. 
Do not forget about the antiseptic treatment of the wound, which remains at the site of the bite. For this, you can use hydrogen peroxide or another alcohol-based antiseptic. But before applying the antiseptic, you must make sure that all parts of the tick are removed.
Ticks are dangerous arachnid arthropods, which are the “transhipment base” for various pathogens of infections. And if earlier the period of their activity was determined from May to September, today some species of ticks stay awake much longer. It is important in the warm season to inspect your pet for parasites and use special protective equipment, such as insecticidal drops or a collar.