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How To Remove A Tick From A Dog (& How Not To)

Dr. Julie Buzby July 3, 2025

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Knowing how to remove a tick from a dog is important. Integrative veterinarian Dr. Julie Buzby gives eight clear and simple steps for removing a tick from your dog and discusses what not to use for dog tick removal.

Dog in the grass with owner holding a tick

On a sunny day sometimes there is nothing better than spending time outside with your dog. Until you look down and see a big brown tick on your dog, that is. Suddenly, the carefree feeling you had is replaced with dread as you wonder how to remove a tick from a dog.

Finding a tick on your dog can be stressful. But pause for a moment and take a deep breath—you’ve got this! Using the simple steps below, you can safely remove a tick from your dog using tweezers or a tick removal tool.

How to remove a tick from a dog using tweezers

One of the best ways to remove ticks from dogs at home is to use a pair of tweezers. Most people have tweezers, and they aren’t very expensive if you need to buy some.

1. Gather your supplies

Before starting, locate your tweezers and put on a pair of nitrile or latex exam gloves.

It is ideal to use small needle-head tweezers if possible. They seem to be best for delicately pinching something that is small (the tick) but are still strong enough to ensure you get the whole tick in one swift “pluck”.

Anytime you remove a tick, it is a good idea to wear latex or nitrile gloves. Some tick-borne diseases can be transmitted to you from the tick if you accidentally squeeze the tick and you have cuts or open wounds on your fingers or hands. Therefore, protecting yourself with gloves is safest.

2. Get a clear view of the tick

Begin by parting your dog’s fur all the way to the skin so you can clearly see your dog’s skin and the tick.

Now is the perfect time to double check to make sure it is actually a tick. It can be easy to mistakenly identify a nipple, cyst, wart, or skin tag as a tick, but you don’t want to try to pull those off with tweezers! A tick should have six or eight legs, an oval to round shape (depending on how long it has fed) and range in color from dark brown to black (unfed tick) to a greyish color (engorged with blood).

3. Grasp the tick close to the skin with the tweezers

Use the tweezers to grasp the tick as close to your dog’s skin as possible without accidentally pinching your dog. Grabbing the tick closer to the head gives you better leverage to remove the whole tick. And it will help decrease the chance of leaving the head behind.

4. Gently pull the tick up and out in one smooth motion

Once you have a good grasp on the tick, use one steady motion to pull the tick straight up and out of your dog’s skin. Do not attempt to twist or rock the tick side-to-side as this increases the chance of breaking the tick and the head.

Tweezers next to a tick
Going slow and using correct tools will give you the best chance at removing the whole tick

It is important you remove the whole tick. This means removing both the head and the body. If you are not careful, you may leave the tick’s head behind.

Also, it is important not to squeeze the tick. This could cause it to release fluids into your dog (or on your hands) that could spread diseases.

4. Ensure you got the whole tick out

Look carefully at the tick and the bite wound to ensure you have removed the whole tick. If you accidentally leave the head attached to your dog or buried in the skin, it can transmit disease or cause irritation and infection.

Should any parts remain, you can remove them with tweezers if they are easy to see and grasp. However, if they aren’t coming out, contact your veterinarian. Accidentally breaking the remaining pieces into even smaller pieces will make it harder for the vet to remove them later. So, if you aren’t sure if you can remove them yourself, it’s better to contact a veterinarian for help.

5. Put the tick in a jar of rubbing alcohol

Once you remove the tick, it is important to put it somewhere that it can’t reattach to your dog or to you. Personally, I recommend putting it in a sealed jar filled with rubbing alcohol. This will kill the tick but preserve its appearance so you can take it to your veterinarian for identification.

Different ticks may carry different diseases (for example, Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks). Thus, identifying the tick will help your veterinarian know what possible diseases it may have exposed your dog to. From there, the vet can make recommendations such as a testing for tick borne diseases at the appropriate time.

Other methods for disposing of the tick

Putting the tick in a jar of alcohol is ideal, but there are also other options for disposing of a tick. If you want to flush a tick, ensure it is dead first. Ticks are very hardy and can survive a lot!

Alternatively, you can stick the ticks on a piece of tape as you remove them. This works especially well if you are picking off multiple ticks. Then wrap the ticks up in the tape and put them inside a plastic bag. You can fill the bag with alcohol if you wish, or you can make sure it is tightly sealed. As long as the bag is closed tightly, you can throw it away in the trash. (I do recommend throwing it away outside just in case.)

Regardless of the disposal method, you should not squish the tick with your fingers. This often won’t kill the tick. Plus it may expose you to potentially infective fluids within the tick.

6. Clean the bite wound with soap and water

Next, gently clean the tick bite with warm water and soap. Or if you have removed multiple ticks, you can consider bathing your dog instead.

Owner showing a spot where the tick was removed
Make sure to monitor the site where the tick was removed and keep it clean

Cleaning the area will help reduce the risk of tick bite symptoms and irritation around the wound. However, over the next few days it is still important to watch the area around the bite for redness, rash, or swelling.

7. Check the rest of your dog for ticks and repeat the removal process as needed

If you find a tick on your dog, it is a good idea to carefully part the hair and feel and look over every inch of your dog’s body to ensure he or she doesn’t have other ticks hitching a ride. If while checking your dog for ticks, you find more, remove them in the same fashion as the first one.

It is usually easiest to remove ticks as you find them rather than trying to remember where they are and going back to get them at the end.

8. Wash your hands and the tweezers

Finally, take off your gloves and wash your hands well. Also, wash the tweezers and put them back in your dog first aid kit (or wherever you keep them).

My other favorite method for removing ticks is using a tick removal tool. It has some advantages over tweezers, including:

  • Tick removal tools make it easier to remove the whole embedded tick and not accidentally leave the head behind.
  • They aren’t as likely to accidentally pinch a dog’s skin or poke a sensitive area like the eye or ear canal
  • Tick removal tools are often small and easy to take with you. I always carry a tick removal tool in my backpack or shoulder bag that I take on walks or hiking. They even make tick removal tools that can attach to your keyring.

The general idea of removing a tick with a tick removal tool is the same as with tweezers. So the steps above still apply. However, it is important to also read the directions that came with the specific tool so you know how to use it to get the tick out (steps 3 and 4).

The various tick removal tools may each work a little bit differently, but many say to slide the tool flush up to the tick’s body. And then you pull or twist the tick in a specific direction to remove it. Regardless of the tool, it is always important to use one steady motion to remove the whole tick.

If you aren’t sure which tick removal tool would work best, ask your veterinarian for recommendations. He or she may even have some in the hospital that you can see and feel to decide which one suits your needs.

What if I don’t have tweezers or a tick removal tool?

If you find a tick on your dog and you don’t have tweezers or a tick removal tool, please either go buy one or make an appointment with your veterinarian. Don’t use nail polish, Vaseline, matches, alcohol, or any of the other ineffective or unsafe dog tick removal methods discussed below.

Can I use my fingers to remove a tick? NO

It is not a good idea to try to remove a tick using just your fingers. Many people don’t want to use their fingers anyway because the idea of pinching a large tick off their dog is not appealing to them.

Person holding up a tick
It is not recommended to remove ticks with your fingers

But more importantly, when you use your fingers, there is a higher chance you will end up squeezing the tick. This increases the risk of exposing you or your dog to the harmful saliva and fluids that a tick may release if squeezed.

Additionally, you can’t pinch the tick as close to the skin with your fingers as you can with tweezers or a tick tool. This means you may be more likely to accidentally leave the head in your dog’s skin.

Can I put nail polish on my dog to remove a tick? NO

The idea of painting a tick with nail polish to kill it and cause it to fall off has been around for many years. However, I never recommend this method.

Nail polish will not quickly and effectively kill the tick. Thus, the chances of the tick detaching enough to be plucked off are slim. In fact, I have heard dog parents say the nail polish dried and cemented the tick to the dog’s skin, making it even harder to remove.

Also nail polish can irritate or damage your dog’s skin—and so can trying to remove the nail polish.

Can I use a match to remove the tick? NO

I put the nail polish and match question next to each other for a reason.

Several years ago, I had a client tell me that he found a tick on his brother. When researching home remedies to remove a tick, both the suggestions of nail polish and a match appeared.

My client painted his brother’s back with his wife’s nail polish to try to kill the tick. It didn’t work. Instead, the tick wiggled its head deeper. Moving on to the second suggestion, my client lit a match and put it next to the tick.

Remember that the tick was already covered in nail polish…which is flammable. Needless to say, the nail polish, the tick, and my client’s brother’s back all caught on fire. Thankfully, he was able to quickly put out the little fire and his brother wasn’t too badly burned.

As my client learned, a match is not a good way to remove ticks from dogs or people. The risk of burns when using a match, even if you don’t also put nail polish on the tick, is too high. There are much safer methods like using tweezers or a tick removal tool.

Can I remove a tick from a dog with alcohol? NO

Another home remedy for removing ticks is to pour rubbing alcohol on the tick to kill it so it detaches and falls off the dog. While rubbing alcohol will kill ticks, this is not a great way to remove ticks from dogs. One reason is because the tick may not die and fall off.

Also, pouring the alcohol on the tick may cause the tick to regurgitate its stomach contents onto your dog. This can increase the chance of a tick-borne disease or other bacteria being transmitted to your dog. Additionally, rubbing alcohol may cause your dog’s skin to become dry and irritated.

Can I remove a tick from a dog with Vaseline or Aquaphor? NO

While putting Aquaphor on your dog (or Vaseline) can be great for some problems, it isn’t a good solution for removing ticks. Just like nail polish, the idea of using Vaseline is to suffocate the tick so it dies and falls off. But also, like with nail polish and rubbing alcohol, Vaseline is not guaranteed to kill the tick. Plus it may cause the tick to regurgitate its stomach contents onto your dog.

Unfortunately, any of these methods that involve “painting” a substance (including mineral oil, coconut oil, or butter) onto your dog are not a reliable option for dog tick removal.

Can human medications help me remove a tick from my dog? NO

Human medications should never be given to a dog orally or applied to the skin without consulting a veterinarian first. Many human medications are not safe for dogs or need to be given at a different dose. Additionally, there are no specific human medications that will help with tick removal.

What do I need to watch out for after finding a tick on my dog?

Generally, ticks can transmit diseases after being attached to your dog for about 24-48 hours. However, some diseases only require 3-6 hours of tick feeding time for transmission. Dogs may develop symptoms of tick-borne diseases days, weeks, or even months after the tick bites them, which is one of the things that makes these diseases so tricky.

Tick-borne diseases in dogs (Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, etc.), may cause some of the following symptoms:

  • Depression or being a lethargic dog
  • Weakness
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Lameness or difficulty walking
  • Vomiting or diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Abnormal breathing rate (either faster or slower)
  • Bleeding problems such as nose bleeds in dogs
  • Pale gums due to anemia in dogs

If you have any concerns about your dog’s health, the best thing to do is contact your veterinarian. Most tick-borne diseases have a better prognosis if caught and treated early.

Additionally, especially if you are in an area with a lot of ticks or have found ticks on your dog in the past, it is important to allow your vet to run a blood test for dogs to screen for tick-borne diseases as part of your dog’s yearly wellness appointment.

Preventing tick bites is important

It is definitely good to know how to remove a tick, but having your dog on veterinarian-prescribed tick prevention is also extremely important. Medications that can repel and/or kill ticks drastically cut down on the risk of tick-borne diseases and the need to remove ticks from your dog.

Owner applying topical tick prevention to their dog
Applying topical tick prevention monthly can reduce the chance your dog gets a tick

There are many different medications that will help prevent fleas and ticks. And these medications come in various forms to accommodate different dogs, lifestyles, and preferences. Tick prevention is available as a chewable tablet, a collar that is worn continuously, and as spot-on treatment that goes directly on your dog’s skin. Plus, some products also prevent intestinal parasites or heartworm disease in dogs.

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine provides a great overview of flea and tick prevention for dogs and answers many of the common questions dog parents have. Additionally, your vet is a wonderful source of information on tick prevention, and should be the one who prescribes your dog’s preventive products. Using over-the-counter products runs the risk of them being ineffective or even dangerous.

Take steps to keep your dog safe from ticks

If you don’t already have a tick removal tool or pair of tweezers, now is a perfect time to buy one. In fact, you may even want one to keep at home and one to take with you on walks or hikes. Additionally, please talk to your veterinarian about which tick preventive products would be best for your dog.

With regular tick prevention and the knowledge and tools necessary to remove a tick from your dog, you can help keep your dog safe from tick-related issues—and still make the most of your time together outside!

Do you prefer tweezers or a tick removal tool for getting ticks off your dog?

Please comment below.

Filed Under: Happy, Healthy Dog Care, Our Blog: The Buzby Bark

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About Dr. Buzby

Dr. Buzby with a golden retrieverDr. Julie Buzby has been an integrative veterinarian for twenty years and has earned certification by the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association in 1998, and by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in 2002.
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Dr. Buzby’s Blog offers tips on how to give your dog the happiest life possible. The content is presented solely for informational purposes and may not be relied upon to replace face-to-face medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment by professional pet healthcare providers. [more]

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