It’s tick season in dog world. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, they are tiny spider-like parasites that lurk in long grass, waiting to attach themselves to your dog, or even you.
Flossie is a tick magnet and, being black, it’s not always easy to see any imposters. I’ve tried all sorts of methods to deter ticks, even an ultrasonic tag for her collar. Apparently it emits a sound that other animals cannot hear, but ticks do not like. I don’t think anyone told that to the tick I saw burrowing into Flossie’s fur right next to the tag.
When we return from a walk, I rub her down outside and brush her, hoping this will knock off any ticks she may have unwittingly collected in the fields. Occasionally, one will appear a couple of days later, cleverly disguised as a piece of grey sweetcorn. I’ll go to brush it off and then realise with horror what it is.
Enter the tick twizzler. This is a special prong-like tool that you slide across the base of the tick, twirl and, hey presto, the tick comes away. However, I’ve only managed to use it successfully a handful of times. As soon as I produce it, and I’m pretty casual about it, Flossie immediately makes herself scarce.
Sometimes ticks can drop off at inconvenient moments, for example, when two friends came round for coffee last Sunday morning. I watched with dismay as Flossie scratched her face and the tick that had been embedded on her cheek vanished.
Cue, three people crawling around the living room floor in search of the critter. My friend even checked her handbag in case it had crawled in there. We eventually found it, nestling in the rug, and it was dealt with swiftly. Fortunately, my friends are dog lovers and the incident didn’t faze them.
It’s pretty gross, but it’s part of being a dog owner.
It’s why I prefer walking in the winter.
As published in the Bath Chronicle, 26 August 2021
Suzy Pope is a certified copywriter and newspaper columnist specialising in pets, business and lifestyle. If you would like help with a writing project, please get in touch.
