# My Dog Eats Ticks



## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

My dog has always tried to eat ticks. Yes ticks, the nasty bloodsucking parasites that attack all summer long. And I mean he goes NUTS for ticks. To him ticks are like a big juicy streak for most dogs. I'm not sure how he got his first taste of ticks, but now if he finds one on himself he pulls it off and eats it, he even searches for them on the other dogs. He will sniff them all over to try and find them. We do our best to check everybody for ticks often and get them off before he finds them but sometimes he gets to them first. And when we pull one off of him he starts drooling and jumping up trying to get them from us. He doesn't go after any insects or anything similar, he doesn't even beg for food very often but he just gets sooo excited to find a tick..

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Why would he crave ticks? I'm always afraid he's going to find one attached to him and chew it off leaving the head.


----------



## Jod-dog (Mar 28, 2010)

I've actually known two other dogs to do that. One was a GSD and the other was a Boxer. I don't know why--maybe someone else can enlighten us on that...


----------



## NRB (Sep 19, 2009)

Please bring your dog to Virginia, we need him here.


----------



## msruby61 (Apr 29, 2010)

My miniature dotson seems to be terrified of ticks. When we find one she won't walk near it. She acts as if she is scared to death. She drools and avoids the area where the tick it laying.


----------



## marsha=whitie (Dec 29, 2008)

I used to pick full ticks of my neighbors dog and feed them... he thought that they were treats. lol. Kinda gross, but entertaining. hah


----------



## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

msruby61 said:


> My miniature dotson seems to be terrified of ticks. When we find one she won't walk near it. She acts as if she is scared to death. She drools and avoids the area where the tick it laying.


haha your dog sounds like me! I hate ticks, but my dog loves em lol



marsha=whitie said:


> I used to pick full ticks of my neighbors dog and feed them... he thought that they were treats. lol. Kinda gross, but entertaining. hah


lol Duke sure thinks they are treats too


----------



## GottaLuvMutts (Jun 1, 2009)

I'd do my best to stop the behavior. The dog could get sick with any pathogens the tick might be carrying, like lyme for example.


----------



## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

Yeah we try to keep him from them because we're afraid he will get sick from it but boy he is quick when he goes after them. I'm not sure how to keep him from them. He has a good "leave it" with other things but with ticks he ignores it, plus I can't watch him constantly to keep him from getting one that we missed. Can he get Lyme from eating them? I don't think it could get to his bloodstream by eating it could it? Maybe I should ask my micro professor about that lol, we were just going over Lyme a couple weeks ago.


----------



## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

Maybe he likes the taste of the blood that's in the tick?


----------

