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Originally Posted by Gigi485 
Does leaving the head in hurt them?  |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinksmum Yes, you need to get it all out, I believe. FYI - my mother in law just puts tea tree oil on a cotton ball, holds it over the ticks a few minutes and they fall out |
My vet said the old school thought was that you had to get the head out to prevent disease, and that drowning them (such as with tea tree oil) was one popular way to do it.
HOWEVER, he says, the new school of thought (and maybe there's evidence, I don't know) is that the diseases are stored in the body, not the head. So no need to dig holes in one's dog as some folks used to to retrieve the tick head. Also drowning ticks can cause them to release the disease-carrying juices immediately into your dog. Just picking the critters off with your fingers, even if you can't get the head out, is safest for your doggy.
Products like Frontline kill the tick within 18 hours, and then the critter comes off easily. 18 hours is fast enough, because ticks don't release the diseased juices until around 24-30 hours after attaching (unless you try to drown them, in which case they might release the juices immediately).
Curious to hear what others have to say. I love this vet and am totally brainwashed, so I hope he's right!