Frontline is great for fleas but it is not as effective against ticks. When you walk in the country you just have to be vigilant! You're not alone-- I live in the middle of a city and my guys get them, running through the long grass. Poor Berkeley got one on his EYELID-- took him straight to the vet for that. The nurse removed it and they didn't even charge me. I'd always take them to the vet if it's on a sensitive location. You always risk infection if it isn't properly removed.

I live in tick country. Loads of ticks in the forest. This has been a very bad year for ticks.

The record this year has been 15 ticks on one walk. I found most of them still crawling through my dog's coat when we got home. I take these off with tweezers and then drown them in industrial alcohol. Be careful with them because if you drop one they can move very fast.

If the tick is embedded then I use the tick pullers. I have always been told to "unscrew" the tick, don't pull. The worst place I found one was on the corner of the poor dog's eye.

I have found frontline doesn't stop ticks but they will die if they go into the skin.

Is there anything else you've found more effective with ticks? Advocate maybe?

How do you be vigilant? I am finding it a slight nightmare as Riley is long haired

I used to be a mountain leader in Scotland and take in a lot of rescue ferrets so I'm not stranger to ticks unfortunately.

Thanks everyone, today that bump has a little black dot right in the centre, so hopefully thats his body chucking that head out!

The easiest way to get them out is to grab the body lightly, then twist it around slowly so the head doesn't snap off. Then after a couple or rounds it will either just pop out by itself or if you very gently pull it comes off. Simple!
I never liked using tweezers or tools as I feel I don't get enough control over how much strength I use, it's easy to squeeze or pull too hard.

But, I grew up on a farm and I'm used to them. Just removed one from our cat .

I picked up one of these at the local petshop (same price as ebay) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOG-CAT-PU...item256ca9e5b9 it works great. Rosie was a real tick magnet picking up one daily for a couple of weeks it appears there are at least 2 species of varying size and colour around here! We then treated with a fipronil based tick and flea spot on and she hasn't had one since.

I haven't used Advocate-- maybe someone else could advise you on that. But I do live in Scotland and Berkeley is a long haired fuzzy yellow mutt. Easy for ticks to get lost on him, even on his face. I just give him a good stroke, all over, fingers right through the hair to the skin, checking for any lumps or bumps or ticks. You get a feel for it-- you probably already have it, with your rescue ferrets! I do like ferrets.

Hopefully so! Keep your eye on it, but hopefully it is tick-head-be-gone-o-rama time.

I live on Exmoor and ticks can be a huge problem here. I use Advantix on my dogs which works really well but can be fatal if cats come in contact with it. So if you have cats it's best to speak to your vet first.

Very good point, Spaniel04. Dog Frontline is also extremely toxic to cats and can be lethal for them.