Overmedicated Canine

I didn't think it was possible, but my dog has found all new ways to gross me out.

Okay . . . so this really wasn't her fault . . . . Most of the Fourth of July weekend was wonderful. Lots of food, lots of friends, lots of friends who bought new grilling equipment on which to cook the food . . . the usual. Then, on Sunday, I finally decided it was time to give the dog a dose of attention, especially since she's been blowing her winter coat in large chunks all over the house (for those who don't own long-haired poochies, when the warm weather hits, the dogs ditch their undercoat . . . imagine a sheep that sheds, and you'll know what it looks like). I've been meaning to deep clean the floors in my house, but until I groomed the dog, what was the point?

After a quick bath, I encouraged Tika to lay down while I used a brush to remove her undercoat. Ever obliging, she rolled over . . . and much to my horror, their was a TICK hanging on her breastbone.

I don't think you can get away with living in Colorado without a basic knowledge of how to remove a tick, but this was my first up close and personal encounter with one . . . and THEY ARE THE MOST DISGUSTING CRITTERS I HAVE EVER RUN INTO. Needless to say, I made T. deal with pulling them out. If I were home alone, I probably would have taken her to the vet (and I've never considered myself the faint of heart . . . ). The good news is, I think we caught them before they dropped off to lay eggs (yes . . . my skin still itches when I say that).

For all those folks who have never had to deal with a tick, they plunge their heads into the skin and suck blood . . . so when you pull them off, you have to make sure to get the head or the wound can fester. This is much easier if the tick is willing to cooperate. One way to tell if you got the head is to see if the tick is still alive once you pull it. The first tick had gorged herself on blood and was five times her normal size. ICKY ICKY ICKY . . . but T. did a great job of removing her, head intact, by the simple expedient of removing a chunk of Tika's skin along with the tick (poor poochie - but no regrets here!). For the second tick, we touched its butt with heated tweezers . . .and it pulled out of Tika's skin and bolted as fast as its six little legs could carry it . . . to the soundtrack of me saying "Get it, get it, get it, AAAAHHHHHHHHHH."

T. took both ticks outside and crushed them . . . which I later discovered is the absolute WORST way to dispose of a tick. After the crisis was over, T. and I did some research on the internet . . . and as my public service announcement of the year, please note the following:

There is a new EASY way to remove ticks that replaces the old method of using tweezers. You don't want to touch a tick (since they can bite and they carry diseases) . . . so the best way to remove a tick is to saturate a cotton ball with liquid dishwashing soap (Dawn, Joy, etc.) and hold it over the tick. For some reason, this makes it so the tick can't breathe. It will back itself out of your poochie's skin and into the soap . . . which also means it can't make a mad dash for freedom like our second blood-sucking freeloader did. (Not that it helped. T. still managed to take it out back and smoosh it.) If you are wiser than we were and use the cotton ball, the tick will remain safely entangled in the soap/cotton ball, and you can either drown it in alcohol or flush it down the toilet. Crushing the tick is not recommended as it can spread the diseases they carry (especially if any tick contents get on you or your animals).

And now that I'm done scientifically discussing it . . . AAAAAHHHHHHHH. ICK! ICK! ULTIMATE GROSSNESS.

Needless to say, I called my vet - and on their advice, I dosed Tika with Cortaid (for the itching) and Advantix tick repellant. Which led to a rather unique problem . . . Tika's belly and chest were slimy with Cortaid, and her back from the nape of her neck to her butt stump (she's an aussie . . . no tail), was dosed with Advantix - which comes in a lovely liquid form that is easily absorbed by their skin (and yours, if you're not careful!)

Needless to say, her pets last night consisted entirely of one finger stroking her forehead . . . because I wasn't about to touch any other part of her. BLECH!!!!