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Removing a tick from a dog: how to do it safely and quickly

Removing a tick from a dog: how to do it safely and quickly

Written by Mara | Dierenarts | May 22, 2026

Found a tick on your dog? Then of course you will want to remove it as quickly as possible. Ticks can transmit diseases, such as Lyme disease or babesiosis. Ticks are especially active in spring and summer, but because of mild winters they are now found almost all year round. In this blog, we explain how to remove a tick from a dog, how quickly you need to act and what you should do if part of the tick remains behind.

A tick is being removed from the neck of a golden retriever

How do you remove a tick from a dog?

To remove a tick from your dog, it is best to use a tick hook, tick removal tool or a tick card.

Grip the tick as close to the skin as possible and remove it calmly. If you do this with a twisting movement, it will usually also remove the head properly. Do not pull hard on the body of the tick, as this can damage the tick.

Important:

do not use alcohol, oil or soap before removal, as this may cause the tick to regurgitate its stomach contents and transmit disease
twist or pull carefully according to the instructions for the tool
disinfect the skin afterwards

Always check carefully whether the whole tick has been removed.

Also see our Step-by-step plan: how do you remove a tick?

Products to help remove a tick

How quickly should you remove a tick from a dog?

The sooner you remove a tick, the better. The advice is: remove a tick as quickly as possible, preferably within 24 hours. The longer a tick remains attached, the greater the chance of transmitting pathogens. Therefore, check your dog daily after walks in woodland or tall grass. Pay particular attention to areas with thinner hair, such as around the ears, in the groin and armpits, and between the toes.

How can you tell how long a tick has been feeding on blood?

How long a tick has been attached to your dog can often be estimated to some extent from the size of the tick:

a small, flat tick has usually only been attached for a short time
a large, grey or swollen tick has often been feeding for longer

A fully engorged tick may have been on the dog for several days. Even so, it remains difficult to determine exactly how long a tick has been present.

Tip: Always write down in your diary when you removed a tick from your dog. If your dog then becomes ill, you can mention this to your veterinarian.

What should you do if the head of the tick has remained behind?

Sometimes a small part of the tick’s mouthparts remains in the skin. This looks like a small black dot. In most cases this is not dangerous. The body will often push it out by itself, just like a splinter.

What you should definitely not do is try to pick the head out with tweezers or scratch it out with your nail.

What you should do:

keep the area clean
disinfect the skin
check for redness, swelling or inflammation

Go to the veterinarian if:

the skin becomes very thick or red
pus develops
your dog keeps scratching or licking the area a lot

What if a dog will not let you remove a tick?

Some dogs find tick removal frightening or painful. What can you do if a dog will not let you remove a tick?

Try to:

stay calm
distract your dog with a tasty treat
have someone else hold the dog
take short breaks

Is it really not possible to do it safely? Then contact the veterinarian. Help may be wise especially for ticks in sensitive places, such as around the eyes, in the ears or between the toes.

How can you prevent ticks in dogs?

Prevention is of course better than removal. Fortunately, there are several products that protect dogs against ticks.

View all products against fleas and ticks in dogs here.

Well-known products include:

Frontpro (tablet)
Vectra 3D (pipette)
Scalibor Protectorband (tick collar)
Seresto (flea and tick collar)

Read our blog ‘The best treatment for fleas and ticks in dogs‘ to determine the best way to protect your dog.

Check your dog regularly

Even when you use preventative products, checking remains important. No product offers a 100% guarantee. Therefore, continue to check your dog daily for ticks. Especially after:

walks in nature
playing in tall grass
visits to the woods

The sooner you spot and remove a tick, the smaller the risk of problems.

Do you have questions about removing a tick from your dog? Please contact us via veterinarian@vetsend.co.uk.

Also read our other blogs

Ticks on dogs

Ticks are arachnid critters that temporarily feed on blood and can therefore spend long periods of time on your dog. They attach themselves to the skin and this is not always without consequences. How can you recognize ticks in your animal, what are the risks and what should you do to remove and prevent them? You can read that in this article.

A man and a woman with a dog in the woods

The tick season: which tick species are found in the United Kingdom?

It may seem early in the year, but the tick season has already begun. Ticks become active as soon as temperatures rise above 7 degrees Celsius. In the United Kingdom, this means you should already be alert in early spring.

Woman cuddling her dog while sitting in the grass

The best treatment for fleas and ticks in dogs

As temperatures rise and spring approaches, the risk of flea and tick infestations also increases. You want to protect your dog but feel overwhelmed by the vast selection of flea and tick treatments available on the market. We're here to help simplify your choice!

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About the author

Mara van Brussel-Broere, Veterinarian at Vetsend

Graduated as a companion animal veterinarian from Utrecht University, she uses her practical experience to advise customers and share knowledge at Vetsend. She finds it important to provide pet owners with clear information about health and wellbeing.