Is this a tick

[Levi1230]

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Hi,

My 8 year old chihuahua has a small growth or tick on his left side of his nose? Really sensitive and won’t let me have a closer look. I’ve added photos but it’s hard to get a clear photo since it’s small. Any suggestions what this could be?
Many thanks,
Levi

 

[excuseme]

Very dark pictures, difficult to see. It could be a tick, there are a lot still about at the moment. It looks quiet big, if it is a tick it looks almost ready to drop off !

 

[Josie]

My boy Dennis has a similar thing on his snout! I thought it was a tick but it’s some kind of skin tag.

I think it appeared when he had a tick, which then fell off and this was left.

It itches him sometimes but it’s very hard to get a proper close up because he doesn’t like to be restrained there.

I smothered it in sudocrem which helped!

 

[JoanneF]

I smothered it in sudocrem

I *think* the advice now is not to put anything on a tick - is it maybe to do with regurgitating the blood they have ingested and that's how Lyme disease gets into the bloodstream? I'm hazy on the details but I'm sure I read that somewhere. OP I can't tell if it is a tick or not but if you use a flea and tick spot on, it will kill it anyway. If it's still there in a day or two maybe get your vet to check - lumps and bumps are always worth keeping an eye on.

 

[Josie]

Ooooooh thanks @JoanneF - I didn’t know this!

 

[Ruth_F]

Looks like a tick to me. I concur with @JoanneF put some adxantix or similar on it, which will kill it if it is a tick.

 

[poptart]

If you do visit the vet, ask them about Bravecto. It's taken quarterly (every three months) and you'll never see another tick.

 

[Levi1230]

Thank you everyone! Il take him the vets to get it checked!

 

[JudyN]

If it is a tick, if you look really closely you might be able to see its legs. If so, you want to get yourself a tick remover (the 'O'Tom' brand are best in my experience) and then you should be able to remove them yourself.

 

[Violet Turner]

Did you go to the vet?

 

[Mi_chelle]

Oh Please please NEVER EVER put anything on a tick. The only time you should pull a tick out is with a pair of fine nosed teeth tweezers and then you put them as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out no twisting. You only twist them out with an O'tom Tick Twister.

You should not ever rub anything thing on a tick, burn, use a cotton ball/bud to roll out, touching a tick will cause it to stress. When ticks are stressed, they regurgitate the contents of their stomach, which is when Lyme Disease can be caused.

This topic this something that is of great importance to me, for two reasons 1) A company I work alongside have supported the work of Wendy Fox who founded BADAUK. She contracted Lyme Disease from a tick bite and is now extremely unwell. Due to her ill health she was no longer able to look after her website and as such passed all rights to us. 2) Due to the knowledge of her volunteers they helped my daughter get the right treatment after she was biten by a tick.

If you would like to find out more about ticks you will find some very informative information on the website www.ticktwister.co.uk

 

[Josie]

Wow thanks for this @Mi_chelle - I never knew about them 'regurgitating' so that's really important to know.

Dennis is fine with tick removal from anywhere on his body apart from his face. Do you just leave it in this case and hope the tick treatment does it's job?

It's just the thought of where it may drop off

 

[Mi_chelle]

I think ideally its best to have them removed sooner rather than later. Not every tick carries infection, but you won't know which ones do and don't.

Could you maybe try tick twister training, when he doesn't have a tick? So at least when he does he knows its nothing to be scared of.

Yes thats quite a scary thought as it could move onto another host (shudder)

The faqs section and myth busting are quite interesting

 

[Josie]

The problem is more about trying to keep his head still whilst I slide the tick twister around the tic. The head lock manoeuvre doesn't go down well!

Myth busting section is very interesting! great website thanks @Mi_chelle

 

[JudyN]

@Josie, I would try to do it without holding his head. Does he understand 'wait' or a similar command? I think Jasper probably picked this up when I worked on balancing a treat on his nose and not letting it fall and eat it till I said 'OK'. Or you could try one of you removing the tick while the other held a stinky treat under his nose (impulse training is great if he just tries to grab the treat).

He's the sort of dog who can turn spectacularly nasty if he thinks you might hurt him, but with a lot of training I can now put eye drops and ear drops in him, so it really does pay off.

Seresto collars are wonderful for ticks - I've used them for a couple of years now and only found a couple on him. He used to get them attached to his boy bits from long grass, and not surprisingly didn't like them being removed from there. I would like on my back like a car mechanic, tick twister in hand, and had to keep reminding myself to keep my mouth closed

 

[Josie]

He understands it @JudyN but whether he takes any notice is a different matter!

Oh wow that is very good training balancing a treat on his nose! I'd have no chance with that one. It happens very rarely but I will try getting Oliver to keep his attention on a treat whilst I try and get the tic twister in if it happens again.

oooooh yes keep the mouth closed on that one!

 

[JoanneF]

Smearing meat paste or squeezy cheese on something easily cleaned like a fridge door can help in keeping them still for a minute!