Health
A hard bead with legs on his neck after the woods, or black specks on the sofa that turn red when wet. Both can be sorted out, and neither with oil or garlic.
Caution. Fever, lethargy, red-brown urine, pale or yellowish gums days or weeks after a tick, a puppy covered in fleas with pale gums, or a dog trembling and drooling after a parasite product: your own vet today, with the product packaging.
Do not look for the answer in a Facebook group, on TikTok or on a forum. Look for someone trained for this: your dog's own veterinarian, the only person who can examine, investigate and treat them.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
It is evening after a walk through the woods and along the edge of a meadow. You stroke his neck and find a bead the size of a lentil, hard, stuck to the skin, with legs. Or he has been chewing at the base of his tail for a week, the coat there is thinning, and on the white sheet over the sofa you find black specks that turn red when wet. Or you have seen nothing at all, but the puppy you brought home a fortnight ago has pale gums and sleeps more than he should. Fleas and ticks you can sometimes see with the naked eye. The illnesses they bring you cannot: anaemia in puppies, an allergy that drags on for months, babesiosis. We work trails through long grass and along woodland edges from March to November, and the check after every session is part of the session.
First with your hand, against the lie of the coat, then with your eyes, in the places ticks like best: inside and around the edge of the ears, around the eyes and lips, under the chin, the neck under the collar, the armpits, between the toes, the groin, under the tail. A freshly attached tick is the size of a poppy seed and flat. Two days later it is the size of a lentil, then of a bean, and blue-grey. On a dog with a thick coat, feel for them, because your eyes will not find them.
You need a tick hook, from any vet or pet pharmacy, or fine-pointed tweezers. Grip the tick as close to the skin as you can without squashing its body. Slide the hook under the tick and twist until it comes away, usually after two or three turns. With tweezers, pull straight out, slowly, without jerking or twisting. If the "head" stays in the skin (in fact the mouthparts), do not dig for it. It works its way out within days, like a splinter. Clean the spot, take a photo, and put the date and location in your phone calendar. For three weeks, watch for fever, lethargy and dark urine.
Do not put oil, butter, alcohol, nail varnish, a lit match or anything else on the tick "to make it let go". A smothered or burnt tick empties its contents into the wound and raises the risk of passing on disease. Do not squeeze it between your fingers either.
Stand him on a white towel and run a fine comb along his back towards the tail. Put the black specks that fall onto damp paper. If they dissolve into red-brown smears, they are flea droppings, which is digested blood. A dog allergic to flea saliva chews the base of his tail, his thighs and his belly from a single bite a week. He licks the fleas off himself before you ever get to see one.
What is on the dog is a small part of the problem. Eggs, larvae and pupae sit in the carpet, the bedding, the gaps between floorboards and the car, and from there they reinfest him for months. In winter, in a heated house, the cycle carries on regardless.
White segments like grains of rice near his bottom or in his bed are tapeworm, which he picks up by swallowing a flea. Worming is part of the flea plan.
Which product you used last, when and for what weight (photograph the box). Which animals in the house were treated and which were not, the cat included. Whether he swam or was bathed after it went on. Where you walk: woods, meadows, parks with long grass, sheep pasture. Any travel. The ticks you found and when.
| What you see | First suspicions | When to see the vet |
|---|---|---|
| Chewing the base of the tail, thin coat there, black specks that go red on damp paper | Fleas, probably with flea allergy | In the next few days; nothing from the cupboard in the meantime |
| Puppy with lots of fleas, pale gums, sleepy | Flea anaemia | Today |
| Fever, lethargy, dark urine days or weeks after ticks | Babesiosis | Today, now |
| Lameness shifting from leg to leg, swollen joints, weeks after ticks | Tick-borne disease (borreliosis, anaplasmosis) | Today |
| Small red lump at the bite site for a few days | Normal local reaction | If it spreads, gets infected or the dog is subdued |
| Rice-like segments near the bottom | Tapeworm, from fleas | Book an appointment; the plan includes worming |
| Trembling, drooling, vomiting after a parasite product | Poisoning by the product | Now, with the packaging |
Before you leave, ask what to do if he swims or is bathed after application, when the next dose is due, and which signs to watch for in the three weeks after a tick.
Five minutes of checking after every walk through grass. The fine comb once a week over the white towel. The doses in your phone calendar. Bedding washed often, the vacuum run regularly. A product chosen with your vet, all year round, for every animal in the house.
A tick found in the evening and removed properly costs you thirty seconds. The same tick left for three days can mean a week in hospital. For us the check after a trail is part of training, the same as water for the dog. If you do not have a regular vet yet, our page on related services will help you choose a practice.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
With a tick hook or fine tweezers, gripped as close to the skin as possible. Twist the hook until the tick comes away; with tweezers, pull straight out slowly, without twisting or squashing the body. No oil, alcohol, nail varnish or flame, because a smothered tick empties into the wound. If the "head" stays in, do not dig: it comes out on its own like a splinter. Clean the spot, note the date and watch the dog for three weeks.
A product chosen by your own vet (spot-on, tablet or collar) based on his weighed weight, age and the other animals at home. Every animal gets it on the same day and it is repeated on schedule for months. Then the house: vacuuming daily, bedding washed at 60 degrees, sometimes a household product. Plus worming for the tapeworm fleas carry. Nothing from a market stall, nothing with garlic.
Eggs, larvae and pupae live in carpets, bedding, gaps in the floor and the car, and from there they reinfest the dog for months. Vacuum daily, under the furniture too, and bin the bag, wash everything you can at 60 degrees, and keep every animal on the product your vet chose without a break. Fleas that "come back" after three weeks are pupae hatching, which means the treatment is working. You are done only after two or three months without fleas.
Yes. In Romania, the tick-borne disease vets see most often and the most serious one is babesiosis: parasites in the red blood cells, with fever, lethargy, dark urine and pale gums, a few days to three weeks after the bite. Untreated in time, it kills. Borreliosis, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are rarer. The risk drops when the tick comes off quickly and the dog is properly protected all year.
With a fine comb and damp paper. Comb along his back towards the tail and drop what falls onto the paper. If the black specks dissolve red-brown, it is digested blood, in other words flea droppings. A flea-allergic dog licks fleas off before you see them and chews the base of his tail from one bite a week. Rice-like white segments near his bottom are another clue: tapeworm comes from fleas.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
Claws on the belly at midnight, paws licked red, an ear infection every summer. Behind the word "allergy" sit at least three diseases, each with its own plan.
The wet slurping every evening, rusty paws, a bald patch on the wrist. Licking is a symptom, and "he's bored" is the diagnosis that comes last, not first.
A pot-bellied puppy, rice-like segments by the tail, soft stools for no clear reason. Intestinal worms are common, easy to treat and kept at bay with a schedule.
Tufts on the sofa are one thing. Round patches, bald flanks or a dog scratching himself raw are something else. Here is how to tell them apart.
We work with your dog's behaviour, not its health. For any sign described here, book an appointment with your own vet; the related services page explains how to choose a clinic.