This morning I suddenly spotted that Hugo had a tick just beside his eye - it didn't seem to bother him at all until we started approaching him with a pair of tweezers! He managed to wrinkle his face up every time we went near him and hide it in the folds of his skin - he wasn't in the least bit aggressive when we held him down but he was VERY STRONG and two of us couldn't hold him.
I had seen something recently about ticks and fleas on the Akita Rescue & Welfare forum so posted on there asking if anyone had used Lavender or citronella oil as I'd heard both could be used on dogs. After a few minutes I had several replies with a variety of suggestion - they really are a friendly bunch on there - so the first thing I tried was putting liquid soap over the tick and leaving for an hour. This didn't seem to work so we went out to buy a tick remover which we couldn't get and some lavender oil. The pet shop recommended smothering Vaseline over the beastie and leaving for 24 hours.
When we got home I duly plastered the tick with the Vaseline and put some Lavender oil drops on the back of Hugo's neck and above his tail. We then went off for our usual walk and were out for over an hour. Suspect is was probably along the canal where he picked it up from in the first place so will have to be careful in future.
When I went to check on the tick it had gone!! Don't know what it was that worked but something did and all natural products too.
Added Bonus - Hugo now smells quite good, if a little bit like an old lady, and I keep getting wafts of lavender rather than the usual windy smells he emits!
When we got home I duly plastered the tick with the Vaseline and put some Lavender oil drops on the back of Hugo's neck and above his tail. We then went off for our usual walk and were out for over an hour. Suspect is was probably along the canal where he picked it up from in the first place so will have to be careful in future.
Got home from work today to find Hugo had been playing with Martin's shoes - I've been nagging at him for years not to leave them down the side of the chair so perhaps he'll start putting them away now - thanks Hugo! Fortunately, no damage done.
Went for a nice walk with Jenny and Tinker tonight, along the canal, down the cycle track and back over the cricket pitch. Tinker has always gone slightly loopy when she gets on the pitch and tears backwards and forwards. Not to be outdone Hugo joined in too and Jenny and I ended up being tied to each other and could hardly stand for laughing so much. They had a wonderful time and we will definitely take them there again. On the way home Hugo found every gap he could to get down the bank to the canal to have a drink so think Tinker wore him out - probably not for long though.
Hugo is getting a bit of a handful when he's out walking now
and is pulling quite badly on the lead so we have bought a Haltie collar which
had improved him no end.
Hugo is the most loving natured dog and likes nothing better than to sit along side you and be cuddled - he is very playful, as our house can bear testimony to, the front doormat is being re-shaped on a daily basis - he has a passion for flowerpots and doesn't care if anything is growing in them if he wants to play with them!
