Ticks and Your Dog: A Highland Owner's Guide
If you walk dogs in the Highlands, ticks are simply part of the deal. Our mix of deer, sheep, bracken and long grass makes this one of the UK's real tick hotspots, and they stay active from spring right through autumn. The good news: with a simple routine, ticks go from scary to just another bit of dog admin.
The daily once-over
Ticks wait on vegetation and grab hold as your dog brushes past, then wander to somewhere warm and thin-skinned to bite. After grassy or bracken-lined walks, run your hands over your dog with special attention to:
- Head, ears and around the eyes
- Under the collar, chin and neck
- Armpits, groin and belly
- Between the toes
A fresh tick feels like a small, smooth pea attached to the skin. They start pinhead-small and swell as they feed, so a daily check catches most of them within the window that matters.
Removing one properly
The only kit you need is a tick removal tool, the little plastic hook from any pet shop or vet for a couple of pounds:
- Slide the fork of the tool under the tick, flat against the skin
- Twist gently two or three times until the tick lets go, then lift it away
- Check the head has come out with it, and clean the spot
- Dispose of the tick so it can't crawl back (tape it into a tissue and bin it)
Please skip the folklore: no burning, no smothering in Vaseline, no yanking with fingers or tweezers. All of those stress the tick and make it more likely to regurgitate into the bite, which is exactly how disease gets passed on.
Lyme disease: what to actually watch for
Most tick bites cause nothing worse than a small itchy lump. The one to know about is Lyme disease, which is carried by a minority of ticks here. In dogs the signs usually appear weeks after a bite:
- Lethargy and loss of appetite
- A fever that comes and goes
- Lameness that can shift from leg to leg
- Swollen, sore joints
If your dog seems off colour weeks after tick season walks, mention ticks to your vet. Caught early, Lyme disease usually responds well to antibiotics.
Prevention is the easy win
Modern vet-prescribed tick treatments (spot-ons, tablets or collars) kill ticks quickly after they attach, usually before disease can transfer. If your dog walks Highland trails regularly, this plus the daily check is honestly the whole game. Sticking to mown paths and keeping out of deep bracken in high summer helps too.
The Pawkies bit
Tick awareness is baked into our walks: we know which local routes are tick-heavy in high season, and a quick check is part of handing every dog back. If you'd like your dog walked by someone who takes this stuff seriously, book a walk or get in touch. 🐾