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My dog had a huge tick. What should I watch for to know he's okay?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua (Smooth Coat) | Male | unneutered | 4 years and 7 months old | 11 lbs

I pulled off a tick and it was huge but i dont know what kind it is. I just want to know if my dog is ok.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on December 4th, 2019

I wish I could say KD is ok, but I can't say for certain without seeing him in person. Check out this PetCoach article on things to watch for: https://www.petcoach.co/article/8-common-signs-of-lyme-disease-in-dogs/

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Thank you for contacting Boop by Petco with your question about Bree. Good on you for making sure that she is protected from ticks. Given that the tick is not engorged, it did not feed her on, so no disease would have been transmitted. The tick needs to bite and feed to pass along disease into her bloodstream. I imagine she is quite tired from her busy day. To be safe, watch for continued lethargy, limping, joint swelling, and a loss of appetite. I hope this helps!
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Hello and thank you for reaching out to Boop by Petco. I’m sorry to hear that Lucky ran off but I’m glad he is back with you. I would recommend bringing Lucky to your veterinarian as soon as possible to have all of his ticks removed properly. Ticks can be challenging to remove and if not done properly, can form abscesses in the skin. Ticks carry a number of diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, that can make dogs very sick and have long last effects on their organs. Some of these diseases, such as Lyme, require the tick to be on a dog for 24 hours before the dog becomes infected, so the sooner the ticks are removed, the better. Your veterinarian will want to remove all of the ticks and likely submit bloodwork to evaluate Lucky’s blood cells and kidney and liver function. Also, if Lucky is not already on a flea and tick monthly preventative medication, I recommend asking your veterinarian about starting him on a topical or chewable
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Wow, that was an extraordinarily long stay on your dog. It's not uncommon for them to stay a couple of months, but 8 months is a long time for a tick to feed. I'm assuming that you have positively identified the bump as a tick, so I'll give my thoughts about this. First, don't worry. Ticks are a normal part of life for a dog and usually do not cause much of a problem. They can transmit a few different blood diseases though. There are a few different species of ticks that get on dogs and the potential for transmitting different diseases depends on the type of tick. If King had that tick there for 8 months and has been otherwise healthy, then the chance of him getting one of those diseases is rather low at this time. However, if he has been abnormally sleepy, sluggish or has been more prone to infections, then it would be good to get him checked out by a vet. We can easily test for the most common diseases spread by ticks and can also help advise on treatment and prevention pl
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I live in Washington state and my dog had a tick who had ballooned to huge before I found it. When I removed it and killed it, yellow pus and no blood came out of it. Is this just my dogs WBCs? She seems fine, so signs/symptoms of anything. Can I jus
Great job finding and removing the tick. The yellow material you saw as you squished the tick is likely some of the ticks internal structure/anatomy as well as the digested meal. I would just clean the site on Kona where you removed the tick with warm water and soap and monitor at this point like you said. There may be a small bump or scab or a little redness at the site where the tick attached, and this should resolve in the next 10-14 days. Lyme disease as well as other tick borne disease can cause lethargy, fevers, and joint pain. There are several tick preventative medications you can consider to prevent future ticks. Examples are Nexgard and Simparica (which are monthly oral medications) and collars such as the Preventic collar or Seresto collar.
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My dog was bitten by a tick, how do I know when and if I should take him to the vet?
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