rebs

I buy them from my vet, but I would imagine a pet store would sell them.

LillyRobeson

I just spoke to the vet, $120 for an emergency visit. She said to have another go...

rebs

I'm not sure where you are, so I just googled for pet stores in New York, and here's one that stocks a tick remover hook - http://www.petco.com/shop/searchresu...emover&x=0&y=0

Maybe there is a branch near to you and you can get a hook sorted out which will make getting the tick out nice and easy.

Weeze

Walmart and the like sell them too.

Nutmegger

Pinch the area around it up with thumb and forefinger, so that you have it firm and can't drag on him (that sounds harsh, but hopefully you understand what I mean -- support the flesh around the tick), and use your tweezers. You'll have to be firm -- but if you say he only just arrived, it can't be that well embedded. Then dab with alcohol or some kind of antiseptic.

PS Make sure it really is a tick! It may sound elementary, but a customer of my veterinary hospital got so tick crazed that they thought a male dog had a tick in the nether regions and attempted to rip off a nipple . . .

Bob

Aye, the big super walmarts definitely would....Target as well.

Jerseygirl

My local apothecary/chemist sells similar devices that remove ticks. You can probably get something similar from Walmare/KMart/Target/PetCo etc.

LillyRobeson

oh no! this might not be a tick. i've been reading and i've realized it's too pink.

poor dog

LillyRobeson

this is it, any thoughts?

Nutmegger

It is really apparent that something is embedded into the flesh? It couldn't be some kind of fatty external growth?

LillyRobeson

I just spoke to my husband in UK. Apparently vet saw it when the dog was checked before the flight, it's just a skin growth!!

Panic over, now I feel bad for the dog although he didn't seem too bothered about what I was doing, more curious as to why I was fiddling with his nether regions

Nutmegger

What a relief! That's what I thought the pic you posted looked like: a skin tag! But back to heartworm, I really do suggest that you get your dog checked and tested by a US vet, so he can not only create a baseline on his status, but also recommend other necessities of US dog life -- such as the Lyme shots I mentioned earlier.

HarryTheSpider

We have 4 dogs, and live in a heart worm area.

There are good reasons for testing the dog yearly for heart worm, and getting the heart worm from reputable sources.

A test to make sure the dog is free of heart worm is important because giving the dog the heart worm medication while it is already infected can create problems of its own - result = big vet bill. If it is already infected, that can be dealt with appropriately.

Dying from heart worm is a particularly nasty way to go.

Another reason for regular (yearly) testing is to make sure the preventative medication is working as it should.

Our 4 dogs are incredibly important to us, it's one reason we brought them to the US with us. I don't recall the heart worm test being expensive, and neither is the medication. We don't mind paying an extra $4-5 to know the preventative medication is from a reputable source. We pay about $24 for 6 tablets. A tablet lasts 30 days.

InKorea

My local petco offers low cost heart worm tests, as well as pet vaccines on certain Saturdays of every month. I believe they charge $18 dollars for a heart worm test. Also where I live, there is a low cost chain of vets known as value vet and it offers vaccines etc are really competitive prices. Check around and see if there is something similar in your area.