Tick? Flea? Mite?

rosemaryninja

My mother just told me that this afternoon, she saw a tiny black speck on the inside of Honey's ear. She thought it was dirt, and tried to rub it off, but it turned out to be a...creature...which scuttled (not jumped) deeper into Honey's fur and into the ear. She couldn't remove it after that, and it was left for about five hours.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Ear mites? Fleas? A tick? She says it didn't look engorged at all, really just like a black speck.

I'm pretty worried about it but I don't know if I'm just being paranoid. I've heard feeding garlic acts as a remedy for bloodsuckers, but neither of my dogs will take garlic (even Spunky, and that's really saying something about garlic).

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I take Honey to the vet? Should I watch out for any symptoms? Should I treat either of them with anything?

Neither of them are on any preventatives like Frontline or Advantage.

lovemygreys

My guess would be a flea. Ticks don't tend to move very fast and usually implant their disgusting selves fairly quickly. I think ear mites are pretty tiny and white.

rosemaryninja

Hmm. Okay. Would my house be at risk of infestation?

I'm going to buy some Revolution tomorrow and put both dogs on it. Should I isolate Honey in the meantime, or anything like that?

lovemygreys

Isolating her won't really do much. Fleas can jump farther and get in more places than you can imagine.

One flea is most likely not going to cause an problem. But...where there's one flea, there could be more. Check both dogs over for flea dirt - little specks of black - by running your hand in the opposite direction their fur grows. You can usually find flea dirt between their shoulder blades, at the base of the tail and on their chest. If you find flea dirt, then there's more than one flea.

xpierced_goddessx

Dont give your dog garlic. I heard it is poisonous. I also heard its good for getting rid of fleas, but I wouldnt chance it.

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rosemaryninja

Thanks. I decided to go with Frontline instead.

SnowyMoose

it sounds more like a flea, you can't see ear mites with the naked eye. What you are usually seeing is the wax that coats the ear from the irritation. We have to look under a microscope to see ear mite.

rosemaryninja

Question - should I get Frontline or Frontline Plus? The difference is that Frontline kills adult fleas only, while Frontline Plus kills the larvae and eggs of both fleas and ticks, right?

Although I don't know if Frontline Plus can only be obtained from the vet's office.

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