If you hike with your dog, spend time in grassy or wooded areas and live in an area that has ticks, your dog could easily pick up ticks. If you live in Santa Clarita, ticks can be a problem all year long.

Ticks are not active when the weather is very cold. In the Eastern states they are only active during summer. But if it warms up for even a few days, ticks will surface.

Every time your dog is outside, even in your yard, you should check him for ticks. Because it usually takes 24 hours for tick borne diseases to be transferred to a host, you need to check for ticks on a daily basis.

Tick repellents can help, but they cannot guarantee that a tick will not bite your pup (or you).

First, you will need to know what a tick looks like. It is an arachnid, which means it is related to spiders. It will have eight legs and can be brown, tan or black. They are visible to the naked eye, but can be as small as the head of a pin, so a magnifying glass might help in some cases. A tick is an external parasite that feeds on blood from a host, which could be any animal, including dogs and humans.

To check your dog for ticks, run your fingers over his body, feeling for small bumps or swollen areas. If you feel something like this, carefully view the area for evidence of an embedded tick. You might only see the tick’s back end and a couple of legs sticking out. On first glance, it could look only like a dark spot. Ticks can bite anywhere, so check his paws, legs, torso, head, ears, tail, etc.

If you find a tick, it is important safely to remove the entire tick. Most people (including doctors or vets) will attempt to remove the tick with forceps (tweezers). It is difficult to remove the entire tick in one piece with this type of tool. And if you squish the tick or break it in half, the tick will vomit in the wound he has created. If you or your dog haven’t yet been exposed to the various bacteria that ticks carry, at this point you will be.

I prefer to use a tick removal tool called a “tick spoon.” A tick spoon is a plastic spoon that has a “V” cut out of the center of the spoon. To use it, you place the “V” under the tick’s rear-end and gently, slowly pry it out of the wound, little by little.

Be gentle. You will hear a tiny pop when the tick releases his hold on you or your dog. The tick will end up alive and whole in the bowl of the spoon. Put the tick in a little jar or test tube filled with alcohol. If an infection occurs, the vet or doctor will want to run tests on the tick or identify the type of offending tick.

Once the tick is removed successfully, use isopropyl alcohol and antiseptic on the wound. If the tick was not whole when it was removed, seek medical attention immediately. Don’t wait. You must make sure all of the mouth parts and head are removed or it will become infected. Be cautious when removing a tick to make sure you do not come into contact with any blood from the tick.

Engorged tick

You will want to keep your eye on the tick bite to see if it infects. If it is irritated or infected, you will want to take your dog to the veterinarian. Other symptoms might include stiff or swollen joints, difficulty moving, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, loss of appetite and neurological problems.

Other problems and diseases that could arise from tick bites include tick paralysis, anemia, Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. These diseases can be fatal if not treated.

Specific symptoms of Lyme disease may include depression, swelling of lymph nodes, loss of appetite, fever, lameness, swollen and painful joints and renal failure.

There are some shampoos, dips, spot-on treatments and collars that can help if you live in an area infested with ticks. It is probably best to speak with your veterinarian about these preventives to make sure they are a good option for your pet. All of these options could also have devastating side-effects, so a vet consult is imperative.

During peak periods of tick infestation, you may opt to keep your pet inside to keep him protected. This might also be an option if your dog is elderly or immune deficient.

[HERE] is the online source for tick spoons. They also have a video clip about removing ticks from your dog which is very helpful. Ticks are most active from spring through fall, but you’ll want to be vigilant all year in Santa Clarita.

Here’s to your dog’s health and to yours, as well. Invest in a tick spoon and have it handy. I have one in my medicine cabinet and one in my backpack.

Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is executive director of the Community Hiking Club and president of the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy. Contact Dianne through communityhikingclub.org or at zuliebear@aol.com.