Our Dog keeps picking up icky Ticks

[CRSeaside]

Our Blond Lab mix always gets Ticks. We live on a ranch in the rain forest & our caretaker took her in for a tick treatment. His dog is her Dad & never gets ticks. What's up?
  I usually spend 20 min each morning with 2 types of tweezers & a tick comb to rid her of these nasty ticks. We keep her coat cut short. She eats a good quality food. I even tried adding garlic to her food. Didn't seem to help.
   We have 12 1/2 acres so poisoning all the forest is not an option. I don't use poison here anyway except on house termites.
   If anyone has an idea what may help with her tick problem I would be very grateful. Thanks. Pamela

[CRSeaside]

Good ideas Ginger!
  I buy Neem oil online by the quart. It gets added to her bath water.
I also use it on a wash cloth and rub the cloth into the fur around her head.
Neem oil comes from neem trees. In India& Pakistan I think.  Thanks

[CRSeaside]

Hi Jerry. Sofiela lives in Costa Rica rain forest. ( not CA)
  We're into dry season now & in the wet season she gets ticks really bad.

[ginger899]

I have heard that a natural alternative: Rose Geranium Oil works very well. One drop between the dog's shoulder blades and one drop at the base of the tail before going out.
It can be used with a base carrier such as Almond Oil, rather than putting it neat onto the skin.
But of course still check for Ticks when you come back from a walk. People are saying this works, but it's wise to see for yourself.

[Jerry_NJ]

Gee, sorry you can't use "Frontline" or similar.  Isn't the risk of disease from ticks worse than the risk of poison?  

We have made regular use of Fronline Plus on our Westie for the nearly 3 years we had him.  Sadly we had to put him down due to a tumor rupture of an intestine.  I think the tick replant was not a factor in this loss of life.

We have lots of tics in warm weather in NJ, I'm not familiar with the "rain forest" in the beach areas of CA (California) that's a story in itself.. maybe that's just a complaint for the recent (current?) rains CA is experiencing.

Funny thing about dog difference, we had a Coonhound that lived for 15 years and lived his life before Frontline and the like was widely used.  As far as I can remember that hound never had a flea or tick... some of this is due to my aging memory.  For sure, he didn't have anything stronger than a flea collar.

[CRSeaside]

Thanks Ginger. Princesa Sofiela had a regular bath today. Yes, I'm very adverse to poison. I will continue to remove the ticks.
She's special & deserves the best. Maxy

[ginger899]

It might be best to put a Tick repellent on her. To get a safer one, get it from your vet. I know they ARE chemical, and I can completely understand if you are averse to using chemicals on her fur.
The only other option if you don't is to spend time getting every single Tick off her whenever she comes back from a walk. Not impossible to do. But something you would have to face and be willing to do.

A Tick which has only been attached a short time: less than 24 hours and less is ideal) is not so likely to transmit disease. So long as they were regularly removed there should be little danger.

Why the Ticks like her but not her Dad?? I have no idea.

My dog used to pick up Ticks when we went for walks in certain places. She was blond, short-haired, so it was easy to see them. After every walk in those places I had to check her out from ears to tail, and remove the Ticks. As they were only a nuisance we encountered now and again, I didn't use a Tick repellent on her.

Obviously, make sure they are removed completely, and the heads and biting parts not left behind. The Tick would die if its body was removed fro its head. But these embedded biting parts can cause abscesses.