How to find and remove ticks from your dog.

One way to prevent ticks is to use anti-tick medicine. This show how to do it on your own if you haven't or the medicine has not worked for your dog.

Ticks tend to stay on dogs for days. To prevent an infection its best to remove the tick as soon as possible. You may get suggestions like using petroleum jelly or burning the tick with a hot match, but its actually a lot simpler.

To find a tick on your dog you should run your hands all over the body. Try looking near the ears neck, skin folds and other ares on the dog. Look carefully at an area that is raised and separate the hair. Make sure you're a well lit room or you could take a flashlight to do this. Depending on kind of tick your dog has, it could be as small as a dot or as big as a bean if it filled with blood. If you live in an area with a lot of ticks than you should check for ticks once or twice a day. If you find one that's embedded, remove right away and properly.

First thing to do would be, wear latex gloves. Use a pair of tweezers or some tick removal tool to grab the tick. This should be done as close to the skin as possible. Be careful that you don't squeeze the tick's body. This may cause bacteria and disease to go into the dog.
Pull the tick straight out from the skin slowly and steadily (without twisting or turning). Some of your dog’s skin may come off with the tick, but this is normal. If the dog starts to bleed, just put some pressure to the wound.

Once its removed, the tick should be handled carefully. You could flush it or burn it. If some part of the tick’s head is still on the dog, use the tweezers to gently pull it out. If some of the head cannot be removed, don't worry. It should fall off over time.

After you have removed the tick, gently clean your dog’s skin at the bite area with mild soap and water or a solution of iodine and water (dilute iodine to the color of weak iced tea). Take the next few days to look at the area in case of any irritation or infection. If the area doesn't clear up in a few days, contact your veterinarian.

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How to clean your dog’s anal glands.

The anal glands don’t really have a purpose in dogs. They’re under the skin just inside the anal opening of your dog. The fluid that builds up can be very unpleasant and can cause problems and infection in the dog. You should ask your vet before attempting to express your dog’s anal sacs for the first time. The process can cause impacted anal glands and sometimes can rupture the sacs. Also, expressing the anal sacs too often can lead to impacted anal glands, and not caring for them enough may lead to infection.

If you're not entirely sure you want to express your dog's anal glands yourself, go ahead and hire trained staff at your veterinary office or a professional to do it. If you’re ready than here is how to clean a dog's anal glands yourself.

You should express the anal glands regularly during bath time. The anal glands or sacs are located just inside the anal sphincter muscle at the bottom left and right, just inside the anal opening. These glands are about the size of a kidney bean normally. When they become full they can enlarge to the size of grapes.

Wear latex gloves. Wet the glove or work in the water and insert the index finger gently just inside the dog's anal opening. This is uncomfortable for the dog, so do this slowly and gently. Use the thumb of the same hand and place it on the outside of the anal opening at bottom left. You should feel the anal gland between your fingers. Gently pinch the anal gland between your fingers and the accumulated secretion should squirt out. You should be able to feel the anal sack shrink in size as you're gently squeezing. Move your fingers to the bottom right position and gently squeeze in the same way.

Repeat this regularly during bath time to keep your dog's anal glands in optimal health. If you can feel the swollen or hardened sacs and the fluid cannot be expressed, then you will need to have your veterinarian do it. The secretion may have thickened and hardened too much to remove yourself.

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