How long does it take for a dog to get ticks?

[King Herald]

One of our bhes went for spaying on Thursday morning. She stayed in overnight and we collected her next afternoon. We noticed almost immediately she was constantly nibbling at herself or scratching, but wifey thought it was some reaction to the anaesthetic.

This morning, Sunday, I was having a good look over her to see what she was nibbling at and noticed loads of tiny little black things all over her, literally dozens, and the inside of her back legs have lots of little red patches with the black things in the vicinity. Daughter tells me they are baby ticks, small, flat, about a millimetre or so long.

Could she really have picked up this many baby ticks on one night at a vets?? I've smothered her with flea and tick powder until we can get some of the anti-tick neck drop things tomorrow. If they didn't come from the vets then surely all nine of our dogs would have them as they all share the same garden???

[Albert Bridge]

I doubt very much that they are ticks. Fleas perhaps or some other mite but not ticks.

[Marcellus]

If she's even brushed through a load of ticks in some foliage then it's very possible she's the one that got them if the other dogs didn't go through e same patch.

[Jasandjules]

Ticks ? Burrow into the skin don't they?

[Squiggs]

Sounds like fleas or mites to me.
Ticks are more ant sized, they lock on with their mouths suck the blood and by the time they're full have grown to the size of a smartie then they fall off.
Follow the instructions carefully with the flea drops as it's possible to overdose a dog and they can react badly.
The chances are all your dogs will need treating and don't forget to wash all the bedding.

[King Herald]

These are little oval black things, flat, but don't appear to have any legs. The biggest one seems to be about 1.5mm long. There are also red patches around her undersides where these things are found. None of them seem to be moving either.

I've powdered her all over again today and I'll check at the vets later. I'm pretty sure they will deny anything was caught there though.

[RB Will]

deffo not ticks from the description.
might ba an idea to have a word with the vets as if their bedding is not being washed properly then they could be causing all sorts of problems.

[King Herald]

I found a good magnifying glass yesterday, these are definitely young/small ticks, tiny little legs, but tucked up, and some have blood in when squished.

I went to the vets shop and told them but our vet was out and the girl in there pretended not to understand what I was talking about, just smiled and nodded a lot, as is the way in the third world.

I bought a correct sized dose of Frontline each for the two who have the ticks. The bh and her brother have both been doctored, so are kept apart from the other dogs until their wounds have settled down. They both went to the same vet but he didn't stay overnight. They've been kept separate from the others since they came home, so lets hope things don't spread.

[Marcellus]

You also need a "tick hook" thing so that you can get the head out too.

[omgus]

Marcellus said:

You also need a "tick hook" thing so that you can get the head out too.

I have a set of very good tweezers for ticks but those hooks are also fantastic. Although if you have a slightly more high strungpsychotic pet like my cat it is always worth remembering the olive oil trick (any oil works infact), cover tick in oil with a cotton bud, let it fall out, it dies and then you hoover.

[2woody]

our Spaniels are forever getting ticks, mainly because they get an hour in Kielder forest every day. I've never seen more than four or five at once, tho.

Ultimately, they're not much of a pain and can be removed by hand. Just remember to twist anti-clockwise.

[icetea]

King Herald said:

I found a good magnifying glass yesterday, these are definitely young/small ticks, tiny little legs, but tucked up, and some have blood in when squished.

Do they look like these, which are definitely ticks.

[King Herald]

Yes, they look like tiny versions of those. The legs were pretty small but can be seen under the 'scope.

I flew out to work last Thursday but the wife now reports the itching and scratching have stopped, ticks seem to have disappeared. The 'Frontline' ideally needs applying every month, but seeing as we have no vegetation in the yard, and the dogs rarely leave it, they usually have no chance to catch ticks. We've had no reply from the vet about how our dogs caught ticks in their surgery....